Archive for Parker Bridwell

Minor League Recap: August 25-September 1

Posted in Minor Leagues, Offense, Pitching, Prospects with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 5, 2014 by oriolesprovingground

The minor league season came to an end on Labor Day, and with Norfolk, Bowie, and Frederick all missing their respective postseasons, this will be the final installment of the weekly minor league recap for the 2014 season. Don’t worry, it will return next year with some old faces and some new faces, and possibly a revamped format.

With the end of the minor league season also comes the expanded rosters in the major leagues. The Orioles decided to bring up pitchers Evan Meek, Joe Saunders, and Ryan Webb, along with catcher Steve Clevenger and outfielder Quintin Berry. Additionally, the team made trades for Kelly Johnson and Alejandro De Aza. I discussed each of those moves (and more!) in a post yesterday up on Camden Depot.

Each of these affiliates played at least 9 games over the last week and a day of the season, so there’s a lot to get to.

Weekly Summary

Norfolk (AAA): 4-5 (W-L), 30 RS, 29 RA

Bowie (AA): 5-4, 46 RS, 47 RA

Frederick (High-A): 6-4, 48 RS, 37 RA Continue reading

Minor League Recap: August 18-August 24

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

I apologize for this version of the weekly minor league update being late, but I was busy…like REALLY busy. The minor league season is coming to an end next week (which may or may not be good news), so there will only be one more installment of the weekly minor league recap after this one.

What was the big story last week? Of course it was the Manny Machado knee injury and the revelation that Machado would miss the rest of the season because of it. The injury is in the opposite knee from the one he injured last year, and isn’t considered to be as serious, as Machado is expected to be 100% ready to go by the start of spring training. The other positive aspect to this development was reported by Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports.

Continue reading

Minor League Recap: August 4-August 10

Posted in Minor Leagues, Offense, Pitching, Prospects with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 13, 2014 by oriolesprovingground

We’re going to keep this Minor League Recap short and sweet, just like they used to be. For most of this season (leaving out the 6 weeks I took off from actually doing a recap), I’ve included a little blurb on every single player I’ve mentioned. It’s gotten to the point where some of it has just become nonsense, and as I admitted in last week’s installment, sometimes I simply just can’t think of anything instructive to say.

The Baltimore minor league affiliates had a week to forget. I think it’s safe to say that the hot streak of Norfolk Tides, which had cooled 2 weeks ago, is officially over as they only came away with one victory last week. Bowie was the only team that came away with AT LEAST a .500 record, but even that doesn’t look quite as good since they were outscored by 6 runs. None of these 3 teams are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but I would not hold out hope for a postseason appearance.

Weekly Summary

Norfolk (AAA): 1-5 (W-L), 16 RS, 30 RA

Bowie (AA): 3-3, 21 RS, 27 RA

Frederick (High-A): 2-4, 21 RS, 33 RA Continue reading

Minor League Recap: May 26-June 1

Posted in Minor Leagues, Offense, Pitching, Prospects with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 4, 2014 by oriolesprovingground

Ain’t nobody got time for an in depth minor league recap this week, so let’s get right to it.

Weekly Summary

Norfolk (AAA): 3-5 (W-L), 29 RS, 33 RA

Bowie (AA): 2-5, 28 RS, 45 RA

Frederick (High-A): 4-3, 36 RS, 29 RA

The Good:

Hitters

Norfolk (AAA): OF Julio Borbon– 7/23 (H/AB), 2 3B’s, 1 HR, 2 BB’s, 4 SO’s

The speedster showed some unusual power this week, hitting 2 triples and a home run. How unusual is it to hit 2 triples in one week? I don’t know, you shouldn’t depend on me to figure everything out for you. Continue reading

Minor League Recap: May 12-May18

Posted in Minor Leagues, Offense, Pitching, Prospects with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 20, 2014 by oriolesprovingground

Last week, we saw the Orioles call up top pitching prospect Kevin Gausman for a spot start against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday. It was an unexpected and curious move, especially since that Gausman would be pitching on short rest and it was only his second start after spending time on the disabled list with a bout of pneumonia. Long story short, Gausman’s start for the Orioles did not go well, and he was sent back down to Norfolk the following day. What’s even more baffling is that on the day of Gausman’s start, Miguel Gonzalez was available out of the bullpen for long relief, if needed (he was). This raises the questions that if Gonzalez was available for long relief, why wasn’t he available to start? I don’t think I’ve seen a reasonable explanation for his call-up, and even if there was, it doesn’t seem like a sound decision.

Weekly Summary

Norfolk (AAA): 3-4 (W-L), 37 RS, 48 RA

Bowie (AA): 4-2, 26 RS, 17 RA

Frederick (High-A): 4-3, 45 RS, 28 RA

The Good:

Hitters

Norfolk (AAA): 1B Brett Wallace – 11/27 (H/AB), 1 2B, 3 HR’s, 5 BB’s, 6 SO’s

It was a banner week for Wallace as he continues to hit the ball well after a slow start to the season. The 3 home runs during the week are certainly impressive, but it’s also nice to see him walk about as much as struck out. Continue reading

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