Orioles Prospect Report: Brandon Young, Dylan Beavers on Fire, Nestor German Perfection and The New Kids From UVA

Tough couple of series on the week for the Baby Birds as their prospects, new and old, acclimate to their new teammates and assignments. As always though, some impressive performances worth highlighting.

Norfolk Tides
Lost series with Gwinnett Stripers 1-5

Another solid showing out of Daniel Johnson, posting a .292/1/4 line in 6 games. He's been a lot like Daz Cameron was for this team last season: a consistently solid producer that simply has too many bigger names in front of him to realistically crack into the major league outfield. Cameron did parlay his stint here to land himself on the A's roster, something Johnson would love to work towards.

Terrin Vavra may ultimately find himself in that same boat in the coming months. The 27-year-old utility man only managed 4 hits in his 5 appearances against the Stripers, but he did drive in 5.

Right hander Brandon Young continued his hot stretch, bookending this series with two quality starts. All in all, he totaled 10.2 IP, allowing 9 hits and 2 earned runs while striking out 10. With Chayce McDermott on the mend, Young's quietly emerging as a legitimate candidate to bolster the rotation this September.

What a fall from grace it's been for reliever Nick Vespi. After years of being one of the steadier forces on this farm, he's completely fallen off in recent weeks, allowing 9 earned runs in just 1.1 innings versus Gwinnett. His ERA in August is currently 34.71-- not a misprint. Even with the Orioles bullpen completely in shambles, there's unfortunately no way Vespi's sniffing a move up anytime soon.

A warm welcome to Matt Bowman. After being released by Minnesota last week, Mike Elias scooped up the Chevy Chase product, who rewarded him with a strong week-- throwing 3 shutout frames over 2 appearances, racking up 6 K's along the way. Elias included an upward mobility clause in his deal, meaning he has until the end of next week to be promoted to Baltimore, or he can opt out of the minor league deal. A few more outings like this should earn him that nod.

You know it's a tough series for the Tides' arms when you see Nick Maton out there pitching twice. The outfielder had to finish off Wednesday and Thursday's lopsided losses on the mound, allowing 2 hits and an earned run over 1.1 total innings. Gwinnett averaged 9 runs per game this series, so Maton was right on par with the rest of this staff.

Bowie Baysox
Won series with Altoona Curve 4-2

After an 0-4 start to the series, Dylan Beavers exploded with 4 consecutive multi-hit games. He'd wrap up the series with 9 hits and 5 walks-- good for a .560 OBP-- plus 4 RBI. It hasn't been the best year for Beavers overall, but it'd be surprising if he didn't get a look in Norfolk after the AA season concludes.

The recent move up didn't have Reed Trimble looking overmatched, going 5-16 at the plate while driving in 6 in his four games. The 2021 competitive-balance pick had a rough July, but has come on strong in August, currently hitting .333 across two levels of ball.

Jud Fabian making his way back to the prospect update, for mostly good reasons. The O's 13th ranked prospect posted a .263/1/6 line on the week to continue his solid month, but reminded us all of his volatility by picking up a Golden Sombrero on Thursday. We'll be seeing him with the Tides next week, with news of his promotion breaking on Monday morning.

Pitching was the name of the Baysox' game this week, allowing just 2.7 runs per game. Alex Pham was the headliner of the group, with excellent starts on Tuesday and Sunday. In total, Pham threw for 12 innings, allowing 2 earned on 6 hits and a walk, lowering his ERA nearly half a point in the process. He's surrendered just 3 runs in August while keeping his WHIP at a squeaky 0.77.

4.1 more scoreless innings out of Peter Van Loon on Wednesday, the fifth time he's not allowed a run in seven starts since returning from injury. Most impressively, 8 of the 13 outs he recorded came via strikeout.

Carlos Tavera had the best start of his season the following evening, scattering 2 quiet hits over 5 shutout frames. The 2021 5th-rounder has floated between AA and AAA this year but seems to be getting the opportunity to settle into the rotation in Bowie.

Aberdeen IronBirds
Lost series with Greenville Drive 2-4

Jake Cunningham, what a way to announce your arrival in Aberdeen. Three 3-hit games for the left fielder, plus a four stolen base effort on Thursday. He started slow down in Delmarva but is emerging as a useful player as the season goes.

19-year-old Leandro Arias looked comfortable in his A+ debut as well, collecting a hit in 4 of his 5 appearances en route to a 5-19 week. Outside of his 6 strikeouts, it was a much smoother transition than Arias had going from rookie ball to Class A-- a promising sign of growth.

Tough L for Zach Fruit to take on Wednesday after allowing just 1 earned on a hit and 3 walks over 5.1 innings. Last year's ninth rounder has been a steady presence for the IronBirds' rotation throughout his first professional campaign, currently rocking a 3.24 ERA with just under 10 K/9.

Nestor German just continues to impress, tossing a perfect 4.2 frames on Thursday evening, striking out 5 along the way. He's posted a 1.40 ERA through 58 innings so far this season, with 68 strikeouts, a .167 BAA and a meager 2.33 BB/9. Eye-popping numbers for a real sleeper.

A second straight solid start from Edgar Portes on Saturday night, striking out 8 while giving up 3 scoreless hits over 4 innings. The righty's boasting an 11.69 K/9 in 84.2 innings of action, just below his career high of 11.74.

Delmarva Shorebirds
Tied series with Carolina Mudcats 3-3

Can't imagine Griff O'Ferrall will be in Delmarva long if he continues to play like he did in his first pro series against Carolina. The 32nd overall pick went 6-14 with 7 walks compared to just 1 strikeout-- good for a .636 on-base percentage. Small sample size, but his contact tool seems to be translating from the collegiate level just fine.

Ethan Anderson, his teammate from the University of Virginia, started off a little colder, going 0-8 in his first two games. After a day off, he exploded over the weekend for 7 hits and 4 RBI, while also striking out just one time. Some live bats have quickly been infused into this Shorebirds lineup.

Best week we've seen out of Maikol Hernandez this year, going 6-20 against the Mudcats and driving in 2. At 6'3", 175, the 20-year-old shortstop has ample room to fill out, but he's got to keep this type of play up to improve on a skimpy .154 average.

2 scoreless hits allowed by Ty Weatherly in his 4 innings of action Tuesday. The undrafted arm from Ball State has pitched well all season, allowing over 1 earned run in just one of his ten appearances.

The Braxton Bragg train rolled on last Thursday, with the righty throwing for 6 shutout frames. Last year's 8th rounder did not surrender a walk and struck out 4 in what was his 4th straight scoreless outing, spanning 21 innings.

Got to see Juan Rojas pick up a decision win live on Saturday, tossing 4 shutout innings out of the bullpen. The lefty has looked much more comfortable in this go-round at Delmarva, significantly lowering his ERA and BAA compared to last year's numbers.