Orioles Prospect Update: Billy Cook Cookin', Dylan Heid's Scoreless Streak, Enrique Bradfield Jr. and Leandro Arias

Wanted to preface this prospect update with a thank you to Mac Horvath, Jackson Baumeister and Matthew Etzel for their time in the Orioles system. Three gentlemen who provided a ton of entertainment and quality on the diamond. Tampa got some good ones, as did Baltimore in Zach Eflin.

Iffy week on the farm overall though, with much uncertainty looming around the deadline. Between that and the upcoming influx of players from the draft, expect to see a bunch of new names around here in the coming weeks.

Norfolk Tides
Tied series with Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 3-3

Another big week out of Billy Cook, going 9-17 at the dish with 5 RBI. Five of those hits went for extra bases, as Cook reaches the end of a month that's seen him produce gaudy .389/.436/.778 slashes. It's going to be hard to ignore the former 10th rounder if he continues producing like this.

Kyle Stowers is back at Norfolk, for those unable to keep up with the O's constant roster shuffle of late. He posted a .313/1/6 line in his five appearances, keeping the bat warm for the next time he gets a call up.

Recently demoted Cade Povich opened the series with a bumpy one on the mound, allowing 6 hits over 6 frames, plus 4 earned runs. It was an unfortunate result to what the organization was hoping would be a tune up. Saturday's acquisition of Zach Eflin makes Povich's path back to the big-league rotation a trickier one.

Buck Britton's been plugging Tucker Davidson as a starter more regularly this past month, with Wednesday night being his best yet. The lefty scattered 5 hits over 6 innings, striking out 5 while allowing just 1 earned. Unfortunately, the bats didn't pick him up in a 1-0 Tides loss. Hoping for more outings like this in Davidson's future.

Fellow left-hander Bruce Zimmermann had another solid performance on Saturday, surrendering 2 earned on 6 hits in 5 innings of work. Real gut feeling that the local guy's going to wriggle his way into Baltimore's bullpen sometime in the coming weeks, if he can stay sharp.

Bowie Baysox
Lost series with Akron Zips 2-4

Another quiet week for the Baysox' lineup, as they've managed to score just 50 runs in 21 games this July. That's good for just under 2.4 runs per, for those who don't have their calculator on hand. Not where you want to be as an offense!

Ryan Higgins was Bowie's top batter, collecting a hit in all 4 appearances on his way to a .308/2/3 line. Really strong showing out of 24-year-old as he makes an argument for himself to remain in the system.

Multi-hit games to bookend the series for Dylan Beavers, sandwiching a couple of 0'fers in between. Expect a slight uptick in appearances for the O's sixth ranked prospect with Etzel no longer there to split playing time with.

Houston Roth was lock down out of the pen, racking up 5 scoreless frames across 2 appearances. The righty allowed only two Zips to reach base, with just under half of his outs coming via strikeout. He's in the midst of his best season, currently rocking a 3.38 ERA across two levels of ball.

Fellow reliever Dylan Heid is also having a career year for Bowie, contributing shutout appearances on Thursday and Sunday. He hasn't allowed an earned run in over a month now, lowering his ERA to 0.99 in the process. Norfolk needs to give the man a look here soon.

Nice start from Trace Bright to end the week, giving up just 1 earned over 4 strong in search of his first decision victory of 2024. That win wouldn't come on Sunday, but it was the first time Bright's made it through an outing without issuing a free pass since April 14th, a trend we'd love to see continue.

Aberdeen IronBirds
Tied series with Jersey Shore Blue Claws 3-3

Happy to include Enrique Bradfield Jr. in this section for a third straight week. Baltimore's fourth ranked prospect went 5-17 at the plate, chipping in 4 RBI and 2 stolen bases. Despite his recent string of success in the contact department, his BB:K trends may be even more encouraging, as he's walked more times than he's struck out this month-- gaps that have been steadily closing since the beginning of May.

Huge series out of Reed Trimble, collecting a hit in each of his 5 appearances en route to an 8-20 line. The second-round competitive balance pick has struggled with injuries and consistency during his three pro seasons-- hoping this is a sign of things turning around.

While it may not have been another no hitter, Zach Fruit was locked in once again on Thursday. The righty lasted 5 shutout frames, allowing a single hit while striking out 5-- lowering his ERA to a meager 0.93 in July. Wouldn't be a surprise to have Bowie come calling in the near future.

Two really good relief appearances from Edgar Portes, surrendering just 1 earned over 7.1 IP-- including a Sunday win. It was a nice bounce back for the 21-year-old, who'd given up 10 earned runs in his previous two outings.

Seven strikeouts in 3 innings by Moises Chace on Saturday, elevating his K/9 number up to 13.15. He's a few innings short of qualifying, but he'd be well atop the statistical leaders for that category in the South Atlantic League.

Delmarva Shorebirds
Lost series with Fredericksburg FredNats 2-4

Don't look now, but 19-year-old Leandro Arias is starting to heat up. The O's 13th ranked prospect posted a .333/1/6 line on the week, collecting a hit in all 5 games he played. Pundits are pretty high on the young Dominican, so it's cool to see things starting to click.

Glad to see Thomas Sosa make his way back to the field after missing the last two weeks with a shoulder injury. Manager Felipe Alou Jr. eased him back into action, playing him in just 4 of the 6 six games against Fredericksburg. The outfielder went 3-11 with an RBI in his return.

Anderson de los Santos went 3-5 with a long ball and 5 RBI during the Shorebirds' 17-run explosion on Wednesday. The 20-year-old has been flirting with the Mendoza Line all season but has consistently provided some pop at the plate, with 8 home runs and a .643 OPS.

Outstanding start from Braxton Bragg on Friday, allowing just 2 hits through 5 scoreless. Last year's 8th rounder has had an up and down summer, but this appearance was surely a bright one.

Blake Money's becoming a real mainstay in these prospect updates, with this week being no different. He struck out 12 in 8 cumulative innings, surrendering just 3 earned runs while keeping his WHIP below 1.00. With the influx of new arms coming from the draft, look for him to be up in Aberdeen soon.

Nestor German should be joining him there, as quite possibly the best under-the-radar arm in this organization. German shut out the FredNats over 4.1 frames on Saturday while adding 5 strikeouts. In 14 appearances this season, he's rocking a 1.49 ERA, a 1.79 BAA and 10.61 K/9-- absolutely dominating the Class-A opposition.