Orioles Prospect Report: Samuel Basallo to Norfolk, Zach Fruit shines, Austin Overn on fire

Outside of the Tides, it was a great week down on the Orioles farm! The new draftees are playing well in Delmarva while many of the other guys are enjoying post-promotion successes.

Norfolk Tides
Lost series with Worcester Red Sox 1-5

To nobody's surprise, Coby Mayo didn't skip a beat reentering Norfolk's lineup, posting a .286/1/5 line on the week. Hoping this move down helps him clean some things up before his eventual return to the bigs, a la Jackson Holliday.

After going 0-7 with 6 K's in the first two games, Jud Fabian ultimately had himself a nice first series of AAA ball. The team's 13th ranked prospect ripped 6 hits, including a long ball, and drove in 4 over the next four games, showing a quick adjustment to the increase in competition. 13 total strikeouts though, need to clean that up.

Niko Goodrum collected 5 hits in his 12 at-bats, with one or more in each of his three starts. The journeyman's hit .277 for the Tides since signing at the beginning of July.

Great start out of Carlos Tavera on Friday, returning to Norfolk on a high note. The 25-year-old gave up 1 earned run on 4 hits over 5 dominant frames, continuing a hot streak that he started earlier this month in Bowie. He should get a few more chances in this rotation down the stretch.

Brandon Young quietly continues to impress, striking out 10 while allowing just 2 earned over 4.2 on Saturday night. He's got to be worth a look in Baltimore at some point sooner than later here...

...especially with Trevor Rogers pitching this way. Things were bad enough for him at the major league level, but getting lit up for 10 earned on Sunday was a new low point for the uninspiring trade deadline acquisition. One would think he'll be spending the foreseeable future down in AAA, attempting to figure things out.

Bowie Baysox
Tied series with Erie SeaWolves 3-3

Enrique Bradfield Jr.'s lightning-fast adjustment to AA ball has been awesome to witness. The kid went 10-25 out of the leadoff spot, driving in 3 and stealing 4 bases in just his second series with the team. If 2023's first round pick keeps this up, he could really position himself to make next year's Opening Day roster.

That's exactly what Samuel Basallo is hoping to do, quite possibly with an even shorter timeline. Baseball's 11th ranked prospect battered the SeaWolves, posting a .421/1/6 line while adding 6 walks and playing some solid defense. He's hitting .363 in August, showing the world that he doesn't have much more to accomplish at Bowie. Look for him to make his Norfolk debut tonight!

Fellow catcher Silas Ardoin was productive for the Baysox as well, going 6-21 on the week with a yard ball and 5 RBI. With Adley and Basallo entrenched ahead him, the fifth-round pick doesn't have the clearest future with this organization but is priming himself to earn a look as a backup somewhere in the coming years.

After two consecutive bumpy starts, Cameron Weston was back to form on Wednesday, allowing just 3 hits over 5 scoreless. The righty's had a nice season thus far, sitting at 6-7 with a 2.70 ERA across two levels of play.

Alex Pham was fantastic once again Saturday evening, giving up just 1 hit and 2 walks over 5.1 shutout frames. The 27th ranked Orioles prospect is rocking a sub-one ERA on the month with 23 strikeouts and a .144 BAA. It'd be nice to see him get a look in AAA before wrapping up 2024.

Two-time Orioles draftee Bradley Brehmer has struggled a bit since moving up to Bowie but is coming off his best week with the club, contributing 3.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. The University of Indiana product was twice taken by the club in the 2018 and 2022 MLB draft, so he must bring something to the table they like!

Aberdeen IronBirds
Won series with Winston-Salem Dash 5-1

Quiet week for the IronBirds bats, especially when considering they only lost one game. Leandro Arias led the way with 6 hits in his five appearances, driving in 3 in the process. Small sample size, but we love seeing the 19-year-old hitting .297 since his call up from Delmarva.

Zach Cunningham continued to be productive for Aberdeen as well, collecting 5 RBI on 4 hits. Similar to Arias, the promotion has been kind to Cunningham at the dish, as he's currently slashing .361/.425/.417 with a .842 OPS in 11 games.

Tuesday's 1-0 win was particularly impressive, as the IronBirds could only manage 2 hits on the evening. Zach Fruit was a huge part of the unlikely victory, walking 2 and striking out 4 as he took a no-no into 7th. Jared Beck and Cooper Chandler couldn't preserve the no-hitter, but they did maintain the shutout to earn Fruit his third decision of the season.

Levi Wells and Nestor German took note of Fruit's quality start and tried to match, each collecting 5 K's during 4 scoreless innings frames the following night. German allowed 4 hits compared to Wells' 2, but lowered his ERA to 0.66 since moving up to High-A. Hayden Niermann worked a scoreless ninth to give the boys back-to-back shutouts.

Strikeouts galore for Trey Gibson on Saturday night, with 8 of his 12 outs coming that route. The Dash managed just 1 earned off of the undrafted pitcher from Liberty University.

Delmarva Shorebirds
Won series with Down East Wood Ducks 4-2

Third rounder Austin Overn continued his hot start in the minors, going 8-19 on the week with an RBI and 8 stolen bases. The USC alum has quickly turned into a quality leadoff man for Delmarva, hitting .314 with a .435 on-base percentage since arriving.

A warm welcome to Vance Honeycutt! The Orioles top pick in this most recent draft made his Shorebirds' debut on Thursday, going 1-3 while walking twice and swiping 2 bags. He'd finish with a .273 average in 3 games, not yet displaying any of his renowned power-- a trend that we don't expect to last long. He also struck out 4 times, another trend we'd like to buck.

Huge showing from catcher Ryan Stafford, going 7-13 plus 5 walks-- good for a gaudy OBP of .667. The fifth-round selection has taken nicely to class A ball, splitting time behind the dish with fellow draftee Ethan Anderson.

Riley Cooper and Eccel Correa were lockdown in the series opener, combining to allow just 5 hits and 1 unearned run while striking out 11. It was particularly refreshing to see Correa get back to form, who'd struggled on the bump for much of this summer.

There may be a week we don't write about Braxton Bragg in this column, but it's not going to be this one! His scoreless streak ended at 21.1 innings, courtesy of an Echedry Vargas solo shot, but Bragg wouldn't allow anyone else to score during his 5.1 frames, racking up 11 K's as he went. Tremendous first full season for the righty.

Nice start from Yeiber Cartaya on Friday night, shutting the Wood Ducks out over 4 frames while giving up just 1 hit and striking out 5. At 6'5" and just 21 years old, the Venezuelan is going to be a fun project for the Orioles minor league coaches.