Minor League Ball: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Login-facebook
Around SBN: In depth coverage of FIBA World Basketball Championships

Orioles Minor Leagues - Positives & Negatives

More photos » Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

7 days ago: Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter watches his team from the dugout during the ninth inning of a baseball game and 7-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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.

Star-divide


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.

Name Round InjuredInjury
Matthew Hobgood 1 He's missed more than 6 starts this year due to a shoulder injury and back spasms.
Mychal Givens 2 Broke his thumb 7 games into his stint with the Shorebirds.
Tyler Townsend 3 Has been on the DL 3 times this season with hamstring issues.
Randy Henry 4 Has missed most of the year with elbow problems.
Ashur Tolliver 5 Shoulder problems kept him in extended spring training.
Justin Dalles 6 Two concussions this season.
Aaron Wirsch 7 Oblique injury has kept him in the GCL.
Ryan Berry 9   He's not injured, but due to his strict innings limit he's done for the season.
Jake Cowan 10 Threw just 40 innings for the Shorebirds. Out for the season - labrum surgery.
Michael Ohlman 11 Missed about two weeks with a knee injury.
Steven Bumbry 12 Injury unknown but is currently on the disabled list.
Tyler Kelly 13    
David Baker 14 Injury unknown but hasn't pitched since July 14th.
Ryan Palsha 16 Injured. I'll leave it at that.

 

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.

0 recs  |  Comment 5 comments  |  Add comment |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

Yikes

Bummer with those labrum injuries.

by Slizeezyc on Aug 25, 2025 3:02 PM EDT reply actions  

Very nice summary of the season.

The problems up top in the majors have had a way of putting pressure and trailing to the levels below. The injury picture might set up a decent bounce back year next season. You do a good job of describing how deep and fluky the injuries have been. I don’t know if you’ll ever see a whole draft class pretty much go down. Then again the labrum issues to the pitchers really concern me. That might have a way of crossing off a bunch of promising pitchers off the prospect charts for the time being.

As your injury picture helps to fill in the picture, this explains why the Orioles drafted the way they did. They set a franchise record in signing bonuses knowing that they’d have to really go a little extra to bring reinforcements for next year to cover this year’s losses. Again, if a conservative number of those injuries bounces back to have good campaigns the Orioles system might be in pretty good position later when you factor in the 2010 draft class.

by basemonkey on Aug 25, 2025 4:00 PM EDT reply actions  

Adams and Beato

Got both of them in my dynasty league last year and couldn’t be happier with them this season. I also got Erbe but let’s not talk about that…..

What are your thoughts on Oliver Drake’s season?

by Pelferized on Aug 25, 2025 4:12 PM EDT reply actions  

I'm liking Adams

He’s had a solid season. He, Cord Phelps, and Descalso are all fringe every day 2Bs for me.

by blackoutyears on Aug 26, 2025 11:00 AM EDT reply actions  


User Tools

Minor League Ball: Where the Future of Baseball is Discussed
Start posting on Minor League Ball »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

Connect_with_facebook

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Small
MiLB 8/31
Small
MiLB 8/29
Strasburg
Minor Leagues August 27Th, 2010
Small
Strasburg to have Tommy John surgery

Recent FanPosts

Small
AFL Rosters Announced
Small
Red Sox Trade Delcarmen for Balcom-Miller
MiLB Aug. 30th 2010
Small
Scouting Kyle Christensen, SP, Oakland A's (with video)
Orioles_small
08-28-10 Game Day Thread
Astros_logo121009_small
2010 Draft: Sleepers For Next Season
Bullpen_banter_logo_small
BB Top 10 Catcher List

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

MLB -- FanHouse

  • FanHouse TV: Second Day of McCourt Divorce Trial in Books
  • Max St. Pierre to Make Major League Debut After 14 Years in Minors
  • Mets Trade Jeff Francoeur to Rangers
  • Aroldis Chapman Hits 103 MPH in Major League Debut for Reds

SBNation.com Recent Stories

An unidentified fan sits amidst empty seats during a baseball game between the Florida Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays at Land Shark Stadium in Miami, Sunday, May 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

MLB Power Rankings: Briefly Touching On Baseball's Status As The National Pastime

Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman throws against the Milwaukee Brewers in the eighth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010, in Cincinnati. Chapman was making his major league debut. Cincinnati won 8-4. (AP Photo/Al Behrman) +2 updates

Aroldis Chapman Makes Major League Debut And Hits Triple Digits As Reds Drop Brewers

San Diego Padres' Chris Denorfia reacts after he was called out on a close play against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the sixth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

Padres Drop Another To D-Backs, NL West Lead Cut To Four Games

More from SBNation.com >


Managers

Bert_small John Sickels

Jeri_avatar_small mssickels

Authors

Small SethSpeaks

Favicon1_small ravensfan3

Moderators

Small mrkupe


Site Meter