O's minor league system off to a slow start in 2016

[Frobby]

Norfolk (3-8):

Christian Walker has 3 HR's and a .919 OPS. That's about it for Norfolk highlights. The starting pitching has been abysmal, with Todd Redmond already released after two horrid outings, and Despaigne and Doyle carrying ERA's over 6.00. Outside of Walker, the rest of the team has combined for 2 HR. The team has the second-worst OPS and the worst ERA in the league.

Bowie (4-7):

Trey Mancini is raking to the tune of .308/.438/.769, with 5 homers. Garabez Rosa has a 1.016 OPS, and Chance Sisco is holding his own at .753. Gunkel, Hess, Lee and Garcia are all off to respectable starts, but the team ERA is worst in the Eastern League, thanks in part to a disastrous outing from Brian Matusz in a rehab stint and some pretty poor middle relief.

Frederick (5-7):

Jomar Reyes has had a solid start at .273/.365/.500, with 2 homers. The other top hitters are 25-year old Cameron Kneeland (.981) and 24-year old Jay Gonzalez (.855). John Means (2.57 ERA) and Matthew Grimes (0.82) are off to good starts, the others are not. Frederick has the 2nd worst ERA in the Carolina League.

Delmarva (5-7):

Alex Murphy has been the pleasant surprise, hitting .362/.400/.553 in the early going. Among the starters, Lucas Long has stood out, pitching to an 0.50 ERA in three starts. Overall, the pitching has been pretty solid, but the hitting is very spotty (2nd worst OPS in the Sally League). Stewart (.539 OPS) and Mountcastle (.386) have been abysmal. Cedric Mullins (.582) also has disappointed.

It is very early in the season, but so far, there isn't a lot to get excited about.

[MachoMachadoMan]

Unfortunately I don't know if this can be described as a slow start, or just what is to be expected from a weak farm system.

The potential gems (Mancini, Sisco, Reyes) have all looked good. Stewart was highly ranked, but I don't think anyone can really be surprised he's continued to disappoint. The only real disappointment this early in the season has been Mountcastle.

Without Harvey giving us something to get excited about every fifth day, we don't have a pitcher that projects to be more than Mike Wright or Tyler Wilson. All top arms considered potential reliable MLers are back end power arms like Scott and Cleavinger. Maybe Peralta will change that for us these next few months or Fenter will mow people down in Aberdeen and shoot up the rankings.

Don't think it's a slow start. This is just what we have to expect for the rest of the summer.

[Rene88]

The Tides scored 20 tonight. They seem to be doing alright:)

I keep hearing nobody but Walker is doing anything...does anyone watch any of these games?

A Perez is on FIRE and batting nearly .500.

Henry has been swinging a hot stick too.

Alvarez despite an okay average has hD some timely hits.

Reading the box score is nice and all but check out milb.tv.

Went to Keys game this weekend and Reyes looks very good, a man among boys.

Macini in AA is beyond absurd. Send Terdoslavich down. He is batting sub 200 and we should have no loyalties to him.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[hoosiers]

Not much to track. Mancini, Sisco, Reyes, Hart, Stewart - only takes a few seconds to see what is going on.

[Frobby]

The Tides scored 20 tonight. They seem to be doing alright:)

I keep hearing nobody but Walker is doing anything...does anyone watch any of these games?

A Perez is on FIRE and batting nearly .500.

Henry has been swinging a hot stick too.

Alvarez despite an okay average has hD some timely hits.

Reading the box score is nice and all but check out milb.tv.

The Tides had scored 31 runs in 11 games prior to scoring 20 in one game last night. So yes, everyone's statistics look a lot better this morning.

I appreciate those folks who watch MiL games on milb.tv and report their impressions. I don't really have time for it.

[sportsfan8703]

Not much to track. Mancini, Sisco, Reyes, Hart, Stewart - only takes a few seconds to see what is going on.

Sad but true. Tanner Scott and Mountcastle are good checks. But not if you want to be happy right now.

[Frobby]

With April now in the books, it's time for an update.

Norfolk (9-15): Christian Walker continues to put up a solid slash line of .287/.343/.479, but he has cooled over the 2nd half of April. Xavier Avery has been hot and is up to .288/.373/.423. Trey Mancini has been respectable since his promotion, .240/.367/.360, but we will need to see more than that over the balance of the season to maintain the enthusiasm he generated while at Bowie. Nothing too inspiring on the pitching side, with Nick Additon the only starter with more than one start who has an ERA under 4.00 to date.

Joe Gunkel was recently promoted and we'll see how he does. Terry Doyle got released after posting a 5.87 ERA in four starts.

Bowie (11-12): With Trey Mancini promoted, the hitter to follow is Chance Sisco, now hitting .321/.465/.411. 27-year old Corban Joseph and 26-year old Garabez Rosa are posting decent numbers, and Mike Yastrzemski was recently voted EL player of the week. On the pitching side, Chris Lee (4-0, 2.49 ERA, 0.91 WHIP) and David Hess (1-1, 2.74 ERA, 1.48 WHIP) are looking good, while Jason Garcia is struggling.

Frederick (8-14): Jomar Reyes has been cold (.680 OPS) and there are no other hitting prospects here, unless you want to include Jonah Heim (.701). Starters Matthew Grimes (1.75 ERA in 4 starts) and John Means (2.14 in 4 starts) have been good, and Lucas Long has a 2.45 ERA in 2 starts following a promotion from Delmarva.

Delmarva (13-9): This team has been hot since I last checked in. Yermin Mercedes is hitting .391/.394/.667. DJ Stewart has warmed up a little (.679 OPS but has hit .323 with a .500 OBP in his last 10 games. Mountcastle continues to struggle. Ofelky Peralta (2.60 ERA) and Brian Gonzalez (3.48) are holding their own through four starts.

[Frobby]

Through the end of May:

Norfolk (18-34) is just pathetic. Nobody with 100 PA has an OPS over .800. Mike Yastrzemski has started hot in his first 14 games (.959 OPS in 53 AB) and Trey Mancini has been OK while adjusting to AAA (.775). Audry Perez has hit well (.799) but the O's apparently think so little of his defense that they promoted Francisco Pena (.491) over Perez to fill in for Caleb Joseph. The Tides are 13th/14 in runs scored, and 13th in ERA, having been outscored by 51 runs in 52 games. The average Tides hitter is 26.7 years old (League average 26.6); the average pitcher is 27.8 (26.8).

Bowie (20-30) is almost as bad. With Mancini and Yastrzemski promoted, there is little to see here on offense, other than Chance Sisco, who has a .307/.410/.380 slash line. On the pitching side, Chris Lee (5-0, 2.98) and David Hess (2-3, 2.96) are both having solid seasons, though Lee's K rate is crazy low and Hess's is mediocre. John Means was just promoted from Frederick after dominating there and we'll see how he does. Ashur Tolliver pitched his way into the LOOGY role in Baltimore. The Baysox are 4th/12 in runs scored, 11th in ERA, and have been outscored by 27 runs in 50 games. The average Baysox hitter is 25.5 (24.5), the average pitcher is 24.3 (24.6).

Frederick (25-25) has been a bit more interesting, at least on the pitching side. The hitting has been paced by Wynston Sawyer (24 years old, .970 OPS), Aderlin Rodrgiuez (24, .861) and Conor Bierfeldt (25, .856). Prospect Jomar Reyes has really fallen on hard times (.592 OPS) and Josh Hart is worse (.535). Jonah Heim (.731) is the only position prospect who is making noise. On the pitching side, Matt Grimes (24, 1.21 ERA) has been very dominant and probably needs to be promoted. John Means (23, 1.80 ERA already got his promotion last week. The Keys are 5th of 8 in runs scored, 4th in ERA, and have been outscored by 9 runs in 50 games. The average Keys hitter is 23.3 (22.5), while the average pitcher is 23.9 (23.0).

Delmarva (28-21) has been the bright spot in the organization. Catchers Yermin Mercedes (.926 OPS) and Alex Murphy (.792) lead the offensive attack. Ryan Mountcastle (.718) was hitting very well recently before missing a week with an injury, and D.J. Stewart (.725) walks a lot but doesn't do much else. The pitching has been very good, with Brian Gonzalez (5-2, 2.26) and Ofelky Peralta (2-2, 2.55) leading the way among the starters, and Ryan Meisenger (0.38 ERA, 14.1 K/9), Garrett Cleavinger (1.61, 13.2) and Christian Turnipseed (2.41, 9.0) providing relief. The Shorebirds are 11th/14 in runs scored, but 2nd in ERA, and have outscored their opponents by 21. The average Shorebirds hitter is 21.6 (21.3), while the average pitcher is 21.7 (21.9).

Overall, it is a very thin system, with a few bright spots here and there.

[weams]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Minor League Podcast: Alan Mills talks pitching prospects, mid-90s O’s and Darryl Strawberry <a href="https://t.co/KxVwktctQ3">https://t.co/KxVwktctQ3</a></p>— Dan Connolly (@danconnolly2016) <a href="

">June 1, 2016</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[weams]

As Tony said, we have some interesting prospects but they all have warts of one sort or another. Very disappointing season from Reyes so far.

The Hook of Hamate strikes again.

[weams]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congrats <a href="https://twitter.com/FrederickKeys">@FrederickKeys</a> Wynston Sawyer & Matthew Grimes, named the Carolina League Player & Pitcher of the Week respectively for May 23-29.</p>— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) <a href="

">June 1, 2016</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[webbrick2010]

Wow when you actually look at the system you can see why folks are so angry that DD continues to give away draft picks

Signing Chris Davis, and Matt Wieters taking the QO really hurt the re-stocking of the farm, and of course the Gallardo signing was beyond dumb

[sportsfan8703]

I'm actually impressed that Frederick and Delmarva are doing well. Usually they are under .500. Norfolk and Bowie are usually propped up by DD's depth signings doing really well. This year the depth signings and org. guys at the top are doing terrible.

Doyle was released early on from AAA. He was a beast in AA last year. Terdoslavich has been terrible at AAA and AA.

Results aren't a good indicator. We've had a lot of guys pitch well this year. It's just they profile more a 5th SP's or relievers at the MLB level, if at all. Not a lot of upside in the system.

[Frobby]

Update at the midpoint of the MiL season.

Norfolk (26-46) has the worst record in the International League. Their offense is 13th/14 in runs per game, and their ERA is 11th. Their top hitters are Audry Perez (.820 OPS), Mike Yastrzemski (.817 after being promoted from Bowie) and Trey Mancini (.807 after his promotion). Disappointments include Christian Walker (.708), Dariel Alvarez (.689) and Henry Urrutia who had a.651 OPS and was demoted. The starting pitching is not terrible (Additon 3.20, Gunkel 3.45, Despaigne 3.59) but nobody stands out as a serious prospect. The back of the bullpen is decent with Drake (2.03) and Beato (2.12) but the middle relief has been bad. Overall, it's a very uninspiring team and it's difficult to believe that the Tides finished 78-66 a year ago and won the International League South.

Bowie (30-39) is 4th of 6 in the Eastern League East Division. The offense actually is relatively potent, 3rd/12 in runs/game. The pitching is poor, 10th in ERA. Mancini and Yastrzemski anchored the offense before their promotions. Chance Sisco is the only real offensive prospect currently at Bowie, sporting a .313/.407/.384 slash line. The starting staff featured Chris Lee before he got hurt, and is now highlighted by David Hess, Jayson Aquino and newcomer Brian Barker (from the Matusz trade) and John Means (promoted from Bowie). Jimmy Yacobonis and Donnie Hart have done well in the bullpen. This team has taken a big step down from 2015, when they were Eastern League champions.

Frederick (36-34) finished the first half of the Carolina League split season a distant second in the North Division. They were 3rd/8 in runs/game and 3rd/8 in ERA. Offensive players of note were Wynston Sawyer (.923 OPS) and Jonah Heim (.725); other top hitters were older non-prospects. Jomar Reyes continues to struggle, at .619 OPS, though he has improved a bit in June. Among the starters, John Means posted a 1.80 ERA in 9 starts and earned a promotion to Bowie, while Matthew Grimes posted a 1.55 ERA in 13 starts. The most interesting reliever is Tanner Scott, who has an uninspiring 4.17 ERA but has struck out 52 batters in 36.2 innings (also walking 35, unfortunately).

Delmarva (42-27) finished a half-game behind Hagerstown for the first-half crown in the Sally League Northern Division, the unfortunate result of having one game rained out. It's not an inspired offensive team (10th/14 in runs/game), but has very strong pitching (2nd in ERA). While 23-year old catcher Yermin Mercedes was the offensive star (.924 OPS), 19-year old Ryan Mountcastle (.812 OPS) has been on a huge tear for the last 6-7 weeks and is the player to watch, with 21-year old Alex Murphy (.768) also keeping us interested. Last year's no. 1 pick, D.J. Stewart, continues to stagnate, posting a .719 OPS. On the pitching side, starters Brian Gonzalez (20 years old, 2.55 ERA) and Ofelky Peralta (19, 3.56) and Christian Alvarado (21, 3.76) are all commanding attention, with relievers Ryan Meisinger (0.78 ERA, 12.5 K/9) and Garrett Cleavinger (1.38, 12.2) clearly poised to be promoted.

The system still looks weak, but things have brightened a bit in the lower levels. Mountcastle in particular has come on very strong and is rising up the prospect list.

[Frobby]

With a few weeks left to go in the MiL season, it's likely that no Orioles affiliate will make the playoffs, and it's possible that they will all have losing records.

Norfolk 49-68

Bowie 49-66

Frederick 56-58

Delmarva 59-55 (but missed the first-half title by half a game, and 17-28 in the second half)

Aberdeen 21-29

GCL Orioles 20-19