Orioles Minor Leagues - Positives & Negatives

Positives

Joe Mahoney - After putting up a .895 OPS with the Frederick Keys, most doubted whether Mahoney's numbers were a fluke due to his age relative to league and a high BABIP. The Orioles gave him a promotion to Bowie and he hasn't stopped hitting since. He's put up some video game type numbers -- and at 23, he's slightly younger than the average Easter League player. At 6-foot-7, Mahoney's always had enormous power potential, and he's finally started to figure out his big strike zone and smooth out his swing. What makes Mahoney unique is how athletic he is for a big man. In 2009 he stole 29 bases and this year had the highest vertical jump of anyone on the Bowie Baysox.

Ryan Berry - Currently on the temporary inactive list so he can attend school this Fall, Berry was undeniably good this year. But it remains to be seen whether he can handle a starter's workload. He was limited to 5 innings per start this season and his overall statistics look much better when you factor in his 13 innings as a reliever towards the end of the season. His future may be in the bullpen, but he's already established himself as my top pitching prospect behind Zach Britton.

Ryan Adams - The bat has finally come and Adams has finally established himself as a true second base prospect with some serious gap power. He set the Baysox team record for doubles (40) about three-quarters through the season. He's always been noted for having some serious attitude issues, but his breakout season his given him more confidence and he's out there just having fun now. He's been a bright spot in a system that lacks middle infield prospects.

Pedro Beato - After a few so-so years as a starter, Beato's put himself back on the map with some dominating relief work out of Bowie's bullpen. He's held hitters to a .225 batting average, struck out 50 in 59 IP and given up just 49 hits. He may have done enough this season to establish himself as the #1 relief prospect in the system and should find himself wearing an Oriole uniform in 2011.

HMs: Luis Noel, Xavier Avery, L.J. Hoes, Jesse Beal, Jonathan Schoop

Negatives

The 2009 Draft Class - The Orioles knew what they were getting into when they spent money on pitchers coming off serious injuries such as Randy Henry, Jake Cowan, Ryan Berry, Cameron Coffey and Tim Berry. Little did they know that injuries would take over their entire draft class.

This table doesn't even include Cameron Coffey who missed time earlier in the season due to a shoulder injury.

More Injuries

Brandon Erbe labored through 14 starts with the Norfolk Tides, posting a 5.73 ERA while giving up 11 home runs and 86 hits in 73 innings. He's now out for the season after undergoing labrum surgery.

Brandon Snyder has struck out 89 times in just 315 at-bats and missed almost 3 weeks with a back injury.

It's clear this system's stock has gone way down. The 2009 draft class has been a mess thus far. There are more injuries that haven't been listed here and on top of that, multiple players who were expected to contribute in the majors this season have struggled. Let's hope I can write a post like this next year with something more positive to say.