With 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 weekly Sunday roundups. 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):
NOTABLE PROMOTIONS/TRANSACTIONS
• No. 7 prospect RHP Mike Baumann from Double-A Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk
• No. 25 prospect LHP Drew Rom from High-A Aberdeen to Double-A Bowie
- RHP David Lebron from Double-A Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk
- RHP Ofelky Peralta from Bowie to Norfolk
- LHP Nick Vespi from Bowie to Norfolk
- C Chris Hudgins from Bowie to Norfolk
- RHP Logan Gillaspie from Aberdeen to Bowie
- C Ramon Rodriguez from Aberdeen to Bowie
- RHP Brandon Young from Low-A Delmarva to Aberdeen
- RHP Jean Pinto from Florida Complex League to Delmarva
Triple-A Norfolk
Pitcher: RHP Mike Baumann
Prospect ranking: No. 7 club
Slowed by an elbow issue early, Baumann is fully healthy and one small step away from the Majors. He showed well in his first start for the Tides, going the distance in a five-inning rain-shortened win over Durham. Baumann held Durham to two runs in five innings, striking out four without a walk. He is coming off a strong four-start stretch at Double-A Bowie, where he pitched to a 2.05 ERA in July.
Worth noting: No. 15 prospect left-hander Kevin Smith also enjoyed his best outing yet at Triple-A on Wednesday, logging 4 2/3 one-hit innings in the Tides’ 2-0 win over Durham. Acquired in the Miguel Castro trade from the Mets at the 2020 Trade Deadline, Smith is 1-3 with a 5.26 ERA in seven starts so far at Norfolk.
Position Player: OF Robert Neustrom
Prospect ranking: Unranked
Need a sleeper prospect in the Orioles system? Try Neustrom, the club’s fifth-round pick in 2018. Neustrom earned a promotion to Triple-A after posting a .364 OBP in 62 games at Double-A Bowie, and is hitting .297/.400/.622 with three home runs over his first 12 games at Norfolk. His week included a walk-off, three-run home run in the Tides’ 4-3 win over Durham on Wednesday.
Double-A Bowie
Pitcher: LHP Drew Rom
Prospect ranking No. 25 club
The Orioles are encouraged by the progress made this season by the 21-year-old Rom, whom they drafted in the fourth round out of Kentucky’s prep ranks in 2018. Rom reached Double-A on Saturday and did not disappoint, pitching five innings of one-run ball in the Baysox’s 2-1 win over Richmond. The southpaw struck out six and walked two; he owns a 4.16 strikeout-to-walk ratio across two levels in 2021.
Position Player: C Adley Rutschman
Prospect ranking No. 2 overall, club No. 1
Rutschman continues to rake at Bowie, hitting .297/.435/.703 with four home runs and 26 total bases over the past 10 days. He clocked his 16th home run Wednesday, most among Orioles Minor Leaguers, and is hitting .272/.399/.504 in 73 games overall. Is a promotion to Triple-A in the works soon?
High-A Aberdeen
Pitcher: RHP Zach Peek
Prospect ranking Unranked
In his second appearance since being promoted to Aberdeen, Peek logged four innings of long relief in the Ironbirds’ 10-inning loss to Bowling Green on Friday, striking out six. It is the first season of pro ball for the 23-year-old right-hander, who was acquired in the Dylan Bundy trade from 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 2-3 with a 4.39 ERA in 15 games (nine starts) across two levels this season.
Position Player: SS Jordan Westburg
Prospect ranking No. 6 club
Westburg initially slumped upon advancing to High-A but enjoyed a sizzling July, hitting .333/.447/.576 during the month. The power really showed over the past 10 days, when Westburg hit .361 with four home runs and a 1.278 OPS. He’s also swiped eight bases in 11 tries in 50 total games at Aberdeen.
Low-A Delmarva
Pitcher: RHP Houston Roth
Prospect ranking: Unranked
Roth enjoyed an excellent return to the starting rotation July 23, picking up the win with 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball against Lynchburg. He then twirled five scoreless innings in Friday’s 7-3 win over Fredericksburg, striking out four. The 23-year-old righty is 6-1 with a 3.25 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP and a .182 batting average against in 15 games (five starts) this season.
Position Player: SS Darell Hernaiz
Prospect ranking: No. 27 club
The Orioles’ fifth-round pick in 2019, Hernaiz’s upside was plain to see Wednesday night, when he reached base in all four of his plate appearances and scored four times to pace Delmarva’s 13-6 win over Fredericksburg. All told, Hernaiz hit safely in six of seven games this week, hit his fourth homer and picked up his 13th stolen base. The 19-year-old has collected 63 hits and scored 40 runs in 61 games in his first full season of pro ball.