In recent years, baseball has placed its best prospects in Double-A and used Triple-A teams as a way station for those players that can provide immediate help.
That’s not the case this year with the Norfolk Tides, the Baltimore Orioles top minor-league affiliate.
Seventeen players on the Tides opening-day roster did not have major league experience. Interesting players are everywhere in the Orioles’ minor league system, rated No. 1 by MLB Pipeline.
Many of those players are currently on the Tides roster, including pitcher DL Hall and slick-fielding infielder Jordan Westburg, both recent first-round draft picks
Grayson Rodriguez, the top minor league prospect, started the season with the Tides but was promoted to Baltimore a few weeks ago. Rodriguez has made three starts for the Orioles, his most recent on Sunday, tossing five scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers.
Only 30-year-old pitchers Kyle Dowdy and Reed Garrett could be called career minor-leaguers. Both Dowdy and Garrett have already been on the Orioles roster this season for temporary depth purposes.
Hall, who may have made the big-league roster out of spring training, but was slowed by right lower back discomfort, is getting stretched out in Tidewater.
The option to Norfolk to open the season was made so that he could get fully stretched out as a starter.
And that’s exactly what is happening. In his past two appearances, Hall has thrown 85 and 89 pitches. Last Friday Hall went 5 1/3 innings against Rochester, his longest outing this season.
Currently Norfolk stands 15-5, which tops all International League teams. In 2021 Minor League Baseball went to a six-game scheduling format, in which opponents play one another Tuesday through Sunday. The format reduces travel and further promotes player development.
This week in Tides baseball
The Tides start a six-game road trip in Charlotte (Chicago White Sox), following a 5-1 week against the Rochester Red Wings (Washington).
Norfolk’s Colton Cowser was named International League player of the week. Cowser hit .391, scoring 10 runs, with a double and three home runs. Cowser may be the next Tides player heading north to Baltimore.
Barring injury at the big-league level, the Tide’s pitching roster should be stable, for a while at least.
Baltimore has two pitchers completing rehab stints. Michael Givens, a reliever, is at Double-A Bowie, while reliever Dillion Tate is eyeing an early May return to Baltimore. Givens is currently pitching for the Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds, who are owned by Cal Ripken.
Charlotte is 11-10 on the season, and calls Truist Park in Uptown Charlotte as home.
The Knights’ top major-league prospect is pitcher Sean Burke, who will start Tuesday’s series opener.
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