The DSL thread 2022

[LookinUp]

On 8/5/2022 at 6:23 AM, Chaka Garcia said:

Do kids like Estrada and Deleon stay in the DSL all season despite excellent performances? I’m assuming many of them have not been to US and would need some extensive transition to play in the FCL.

It doesn’t seem to me that we do a ton of in-season movement from DSL to the states. At this point I’d doubt it unless the Os want to start bringing guys to fall instructs in the states.

[RZNJ]

1 minute ago, LookinUp said:

It doesn’t seem to me that we do a ton of in-season movement from DSL to the states. At this point I’d doubt it unless the Os want to start bringing guys to fall instructs in the states.

Brayner Sanchez, a 21 yo pitcher signed in 2019 and in his 3rd DSL season was promoted to the FCL recently.  It’s rare but it happens.

[RZNJ]

Lots of interesting positional and high profile players on DSL Black.   Only a few on DSL Orange.

 

Edwin Amparo (17 - SS - DR)  $650,000

A really rough first two months but in August after 6 games he's hitting .423 with a .964 OPS

https://www.milb.com/player/edwin-amparo-800348?stats=splits-r-hitting-mlb&year=2022

 

Jean Mata (17- OF - Venezuela)  $210,000

Mata is making progress.  His OPS has gone up each month and currently over 1.000 OPS for August with 4 walks and only 2 K's

https://www.milb.com/player/jean-mata-800411?stats=splits-r-hitting-mlb&year=2022

 

These are probably the two best (on DSL Orange) moving forward.  Thomas Sosa (400K) shows power and better plate discipline this month (4 walks - 3 K's) but hasn't shown much progress otherwise.

[LookinUp]

I'd love some insight into how the O's are handling the DSL kids. Are they putting them through the same hitting and throwing programs that our recent draftees are getting in the FCL, Low A and High A? 

If so, they may move quickly once they graduate from those programs. I have no idea.

[Frobby]

DSL Black has some hot hitters in August:

Raymon Ramos .444/.488/.556 in 41 PA

Aron Estrada .370/.469/.556 in 32 PA

Cristian Benavides  .342/.386/.634 in 48 PA

Braylin Tavera .370/.564/.444 in 39 PA

Alfredo Vasquez .323/.382/.548 in 34 PA

All five are 17 years old.

For good measure, on Orioles Orange:

19-year old Carlos Vicioso of Orioles Orange is hitting .375/.447/.594 in 38 PA.

17-year old Edwin Amparo is hitting .378/.417/.489 in 48 PA.

 

 

Edited August 17, 2022 by Frobby

[scarey1999]

There were 11 - ELEVEN - combined hit batsmen in today’s DSL Os Black game, a 13-9 loss, vs the White Sox.  8 of them by the young Orioles.
 

Aron Estrada continues to rake.  2-3 today with two 2B and two RBI and a BB. 
 

 

[Master Guns]

https://twitter.com/bslontheverge/status/1562127381304860676?s=21&t=5FzqTbZfnK87dBTLBgwGmg

[Frobby]

I noticed that DSL Orange finished the year pretty strong.  At one point they were 11-23, but they finished the year at 26-34, so they went 15-11 down the stretch.  Wish I could say the same for DSL Black, but they went 8-13 during that same stretch to finish 23-34.  

Offensive standouts for Orange during that stretch were 17-year old Jean Mata (.970 OPS), 17-year old Edwin Amparo (.950), 19-year old Carlos Vicioso (.877)(love the name!) and 19-year old Jose Cosme (.840).

For Black during that stretch, 17-year old Aron Estrada raked at 1.061, 17-year old Alfredo Velasquez hit 1.050, 17-year old Braylin Tavera hit .932, 17-year old Cristian Benavides hit .914, 19-year old Luis De La Cruz hit .907, 19-year old Ronnie Marinez hit .898, and 17-year old Raylin Ramos hit .875.   You’d think that with all those hot hitters, Black would do better than 8-13, so you can imagine what the pitching was like.

On the year, Black’s .709 OPS was 24th of 49 teams, while Orange’s .597 was worst in the entire DSL.   But on the pitching side, Orange’s 3.42 ERA was 4th in the league, while Black’s 4.52 was 23rd.

Despite having a 23-34 record, Black was outscored by only 7 runs, 277-284.   Orange was outscored by 35 runs, 195-230, but had the better record at 26-34. Take that, Pythagoras.

For the season as a whole, Aron Estrada was the obvious standout for Black, posting a 1.049 OPS.  Nobody really stood out for Orange   But as indicated above, both teams had several hitters who finished strong.   The pitching is really hard to sift through, as I don’t see anyone who has a really impressive combination of age, ERA, K/9 and K/BB.  Everyone seems oretty flawed, and a lot of the pitchers who logged the most innings or had good numbers were 20-21 years old.  If I had to single out one guy, I’d probably choose Orange’s Bryan Bautista, an 18-year old who had 9.9 K/9 vs. only 2.1 BB/9, but posted a so-so 4.33 ERA and allowed more than a hit per inning.

 

[RZNJ]

56 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I noticed that DSL Orange finished the year pretty strong.  At one point they were 11-23, but they finished the year at 26-34, so they went 15-11 down the stretch.  Wish I could say the same for DSL Black, but they went 8-13 during that same stretch to finish 23-34.  

Offensive standouts for Orange during that stretch were 17-year old Jean Mata (.970 OPS), 17-year old Edwin Amparo (.950), 19-year old Carlos Vicioso (.877)(love the name!) and 19-year old Jose Cosme (.840).

For Black during that stretch, 17-year old Aron Estrada raked at 1.061, 17-year old Alfredo Velasquez hit 1.050, 17-year old Braylin Tavera hit .932, 17-year old Cristian Benavides hit .914, 19-year old Luis De La Cruz hit .907, 19-year old Ronnie Marinez hit .898, and 17-year old Raylin Ramos hit .875.   You’d think that with all those hot hitters, Black would do better than 8-13, so you can imagine what the pitching was like.

On the year, Black’s .709 OPS was 24th of 49 teams, while Orange’s .597 was worst in the entire DSL.   But on the pitching side, Orange’s 3.42 ERA was 4th in the league, while Black’s 4.52 was 23rd.

Despite having a 23-34 record, Black was outscored by only 7 runs, 277-284.   Orange was outscored by 35 runs, 195-230, but had the better record at 26-34. Take that, Pythagoras.

For the season as a whole, Aron Estrada was the obvious standout for Black, posting a 1.049 OPS.  Nobody really stood out for Orange   But as indicated above, both teams had several hitters who finished strong.   The pitching is really hard to sift through, as I don’t see anyone who has a really impressive combination of age, ERA, K/9 and K/BB.  Everyone seems oretty flawed, and a lot of the pitchers who logged the most innings or had good numbers were 20-21 years old.  If I had to single out one guy, I’d probably choose Orange’s Bryan Bautista, an 18-year old who had 9.9 K/9 vs. only 2.1 BB/9, but posted a so-so 4.33 ERA and allowed more than a hit per inning.

 

3 19 yo LHP.  Luis DeLeon.  Jose Ramirez. Jose Leandro.   
 

Strong age appropriate performers last year were Basallo, Lara, and Angel Tejada.  Just a lot more moving up to FCL next year.  All 17 this year.

Tavera

Ramos

Mata

Amparo

Arias

Estrada

Benavides

Velazquez

Cuevas

[Frobby]

From Roch:

“Orioles Dominican Summer League pitcher Henry Tejada has received a 60-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Nandrolone, a performance-enhancing substance, in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The suspension will be effective at the start of his 2023 season.

“Tejada, 18, had a 2.10 ERA in seven games, including three starts. He walked 15 batters and struck out 25 in 25 2/3 innings in his first professional season after signing in January.”

https://www.masnsports.com/blog/taking-another-look-at-orioles-offseason-interests

[RZNJ]

1 minute ago, Frobby said:

From Roch:

“Orioles Dominican Summer League pitcher Henry Tejada has received a 60-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Nandrolone, a performance-enhancing substance, in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The suspension will be effective at the start of his 2023 season.

“Tejada, 18, had a 2.10 ERA in seven games, including three starts. He walked 15 batters and struck out 25 in 25 2/3 innings in his first professional season after signing in January.”

https://www.masnsports.com/blog/taking-another-look-at-orioles-offseason-interests

Ouch.  I almost put him on my Latin FA team yesterday!   He had a decent debut season for a 17 year old.

[RZNJ]

BTW, how does this work?  Tejada likely wouldn't be pitching until June anyway in the DSL or FCL.   Does it count games for those teams from when the season starts in June or does it start from when the minor league season starts.   And if it is the former, what stops a team from being a wiseguy and putting him on the Delmarva roster to start the season so those 60 games get eaten up before the short season teams start?   Inquiring minds want to know.

[RZNJ]

Baseball America back in the spring.

 

One of the most tooled-up players in the class is Cristian Benavides, a shortstop from Venezuela. He's athletic, has plus speed, a plus arm and shows big power for his age from the right side of the plate, driving the ball with impact from right-center field over to his pull side during batting practice. The results against live pitching as an amateur were another story, with a high swing-and-miss rate. The Orioles worked with him to implement a tap step into his hitting mechanics, which has helped Benavides improve his timing at the plate. He's an exciting player if he can maintain more consistent timing and keep his strikeouts to a manageable rate.