This week's top O's Minor League performers
Joe Trezza
@JoeTrezzWith the Orioles' Minor League system now ranked the fifth best in baseball by MLB Pipeline, it's time to pay attention.
All summer at orioles.com, we’ll be keeping tabs on the top performers from each rung of the Minor League ladder with a weekly Sunday roundup. Think of it as a way to track the rebuilding process in real time.
Here are the O’s top Minor League performers, plus some additional news items, from the past week (all stats as of Sunday morning):
Triple-A Norfolk
Pitcher: RHP Mike Baumann
Prospect ranking: No. 7 club
It took Baumann longer than expected to reach Triple-A this year, thanks to a lingering right elbow injury. But he’s fully healthy now and dominating for the Tides. After Baumann went the distance in a rain-shortened five-inning win for his first victory, he fired six innings of one-hit ball against Jacksonville on Friday in his second start at the level. Through two starts with Norfolk, Baumann has held opponents to two runs on five hits in 11 innings, striking out 10 and walking just two. This comes after a strong four-start stretch at Double-A Bowie, where he pitched to a 2.05 ERA in July.
Position Player: OF Robert Neustrom
Prospect ranking: Unranked
Since being transferred from Bowie on July 21, Neustrom has hit safely in 12 of the 17 games he’s played in -- including a 2-for-4 performance with a home run on Friday night against Jacksonville. The homer was his fourth with the Tides and 11th overall in 80 games across two levels. He’s also reaching base at a .364 clip.
Double-A Bowie
Pitcher: RHP Grayson Rodriguez
Prospect ranking: No. 17 overall, No. 2 club
The Orioles are managing Rodriguez’s workload carefully this year coming off the shortened 2020 season, which is why he’s yet to pitch more than five innings in any of his 11 starts at Double-A Bowie. Meanwhile, he’s been dominant in nearly all of them, the Baysox’s 4-0 win over Somerset on Thursday being the latest example. Rodriguez struck out nine across 4 2/3 innings of one-hit ball, allowing just two of the 16 batters he faced to reach. All told, Rodriguez is 4-1 with a 2.63 ERA at Bowie, with a 74-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Position Player: C Adley Rutschman
Prospect ranking No. 1 overall, club No. 1
What does an Adley Rutschman homer look like? The game’s new top overall prospect is providing plenty of examples lately, like the mammoth solo homer he hit right-handed in support of Rodriguez on Wednesday.
It was the 18th homer of the season for Rutschman, and sixth in 70 at bats as a right-handed hitter. He’s hitting .274/.395/.514 with 55 RBIs, 55 walks and a .909 OPS in 79 games overall.
High-A Aberdeen
Pitcher: RHP Zach Peek
Prospect ranking Unranked
Peek logged four scoreless innings of long relief in his second appearance for Aberdeen, then five shutout frames as a starter in Friday’s 3-0 win over Jersey Shore. Peek struck out two without a walk, holding Jersey Shore to five hits. It is the first season of pro ball for the 24-year-old right-hander, who was acquired in the Dylan Bundy trade with the Angels in 2019. Peek didn’t debut during his Draft year, like many Angels prospects. He then had 2020 lost to the pandemic; all told, he’s 3-3 with a 4.01 ERA in 16 games (10 starts) across two levels this season.
Position Player: 1B JT Mundy
Prospect ranking Unranked
An undrafted free agent in 2020, Mundy raked during a 20-game stint with Delmarva before earning a promotion to Aberdeen in early June and hit 10 homers in 45 games at the level. The left-handed-hitting first baseman collected multiple hits in three of six games this week, with two doubles and six walks. He’s slugging an impressive .526 with a .882 OPS at High-A.
Low-A Delmarva
Pitcher: RHP Jean Pinto
Prospect ranking Unranked
The best pitching performance of the Shorebirds’ week came from Pinto, a 20-year-old right-hander who recently earned promotion from the Florida Complex League. Pinto cruised in Delmarva’s 4-3 win over Down East on Tuesday, striking out six without a walk across six scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits, both first inning singles.
Position Player: SS Darell Hernaiz
Prospect ranking No. 27 club
One of the biggest hits of the Shoresbirds' week again came from Hernaiz, the Orioles’ fourth-round pick in 2020. His two-run first-inning homer paced the club’s 5-3 win over Down East on Wednesday, the fifth in 65 games for the 19-year-old shortstop. Hernaiz has also stolen 13 bases in 15 tries in his first full season of pro ball, to go along with 68 hits and 41 runs scored.