Archive for April, 2014

Minor League Recap: April 21-April 27

Posted in Minor Leagues, Offense, Pitching, Prospects with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 29, 2014 by oriolesprovingground

The Bowie Baysox AVERAGED over 7 runs a game last week, yet only won 4 of their 7 games. How’d they do that? I’m not even mad, that’s amazing. I don’t really have anything else to add in this week’s introduction to the Minor League Recap. So let’s get right to it.

Weekly Summary

Norfolk (AAA): 2-4 (W-L), 26 RS, 30 RA

Bowie (AA): 4-3, 52 RS, 34 RA

Frederick (High-A): 3-4, 31 RS, 42 RA

The Good:

Hitters

Norfolk (AAA): 2B Cord Phelps – 6/17 (H/AB), 1 2B, 1 HR, 6 BB’s, 3 SO’s

If you remember from last week (and you should since I only posted it a half hour ago), Phelps had one of the worst weeks you could imagine. I think it’s safe to say that he rebounded very nicely, getting on base 12 times in 23 plate appearances. Continue reading →

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Minor League Recap: April 14-April 20

Posted in Minor Leagues, Offense, Pitching, Prospects with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 29, 2014 by oriolesprovingground

This recap is now a week late, and a lot has happened since then. For example, a whole entire week has passed! With that in mind (let’s throw in a little laziness as well), I’m going to leave out pretty much all analysis/commentary.

Weekly Summary

Norfolk (AAA): 2-5 (W-L), 22 RS, 37 RA

Bowie (AA): 1-4, 18 RS, 22 RA

Frederick (High-A): 4-2, 22 RS, 18 RA

The Good:

Hitters

Norfolk (AAA): 2B Jemile Weeks – 5/18 (H/AB), 2 2B’s, 1 3B, 9 BB’s, 4 SO’s Continue reading →

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Minor League Recap: April 7-April 13

Posted in Minor Leagues, Offense, Pitching, Prospects with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 16, 2014 by oriolesprovingground

First, apologies for the minor league update coming to you a day late. No excuses from me, so I won’t tell you some intricate story how the cat knocked over a glass of cranberry juice (no, it was beer, yeah that’s what it was!) just as I was about to hit the post button. Better late than never, right? Also, as an FYI, I can already tell you that it’s going to be AT LEAST a day late next week too.

Other than it being a pretty tough week for all 3 affiliates, I don’t have much more to say, so let’s get right to it.

Weekly Summary

Norfolk (AAA): 2-4 (W-L), 25 RS, 32 RA

Bowie (AA): 3-4, 25 RS, 27 RA

Frederick (High-A): 1-5, 18 RS, 35 RA

The Good:

Hitters

Norfolk (AAA): OF Julio Borbon – 7/21 (H/AB), 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 BB’s, 5 SO’s

Borbon was picked up by the Orioles in the minor league portion of this past winter’s Rule 5 draft, giving them some much needed outfield depth in AAA after losing Xavier Avery and L.J. Hoes in two separate trades.  Probably the most impressive line from Borbon’s week is the fact that he walked 7 times (career 5.7% walk rate in more than 850 major league PA’s). Continue reading →

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Orioles Still Have a Problem Getting On Base

Posted in Offense with tags , , , , , , on April 11, 2014 by oriolesprovingground

Over the last 2 off seasons, one of the main issues the Orioles have needed to address was their lineup’s ability to get on base.  That issue wasn’t addressed before the 2013 season, as the team finished towards the bottom of the league in OBP, and was ranked dead last in BB% in the American League (ok, they weren’t DEAD last, they were tied for dead last).  While they made some newsworthy acquisitions during this past offseason, it wasn’t clear that they did anything to improve their on base skills, and two weeks into the season, it’s starting to look pretty obvious that they didn’t.  It’s very early in the season though, so do they have a chance to be a better OBP team?  I take a look at it today over on ESPN Sweetspot Network Orioles blog Camden Depot.

Direct Link to Article –> Orioles Still Have a Problem Getting On Base

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Minor League Recap: March 31-April 6

Posted in Minor Leagues, Offense, Pitching, Prospects with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 8, 2014 by oriolesprovingground

With the new season back in full swing, it’s time for the return of the weekly installment of the Minor League Recap, which looks at the performances of Baltimore’s AAA (Norfolk Tides), AA (Bowie Baysox), and High-A (Frederick Keys) minor league affiliates. Since this was an idea that came to me with 2 weeks remaining in the 2013 minor league season, there have only been 2 previous installments. However, I’m planning on making it a weekly post in 2014. This first week is a light one, with each of the team’s playing only 4 games.  If you remember back to when I began doing these posts last season, the following is based on a player’s on-field performance for the current week only, and is not to be considered a list of prospects or future major league contributors.

Weekly Summary

Norfolk (AAA): 1-4 (W-L), 7 RS, 10 RA

Bowie (AA): 4-0, 35 RS, 14 RA

Frederick (High-A): 2-2, 20 RS, 14 RA

The Good:

Hitters

Norfolk (AAA): 2B Jemile Weeks – 6/12 (H/AB), 2 3B’s, 2 BB’s, 2 SO’s

Weeks was in the mix to make the opening day roster as the starting second baseman or the backup middle infielder.  He landed in Norfolk instead, despite the extra roster spot in Baltimore due to Manny Machado’s knee rehab placing him on the DL to start the season.  Weeks is off to a hot start in the first few games, even getting a start in CF.  He has a good chance to be the first player called up if J.J. Hardy hits the DL or Ryan Flaherty continues to struggle. Continue reading →

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