No hitting prospect under the Orioles’ current regime has put up better numbers in Triple-A than Joey Ortiz.
In 63 games at the highest minor league level, Ortiz is slashing .350/.403/.579 with 35 extra-base hits, 11 stolen bases and stellar defense. Those numbers are better than any prospect who has played at least 40 games for Norfolk since Mike Elias took over as executive vice president and general manager before the 2019 season.
That fact is almost hard to believe considering the Orioles have the sport’s No. 1 farm system and that Baltimore barely played Ortiz, who was demoted last week in favor of fellow infield prospect Jordan Westburg, during his time in the majors this year. Ortiz, the club’s No. 5 prospect according to Baseball America, was once seen as a weak-hitting prospect with defensive prowess, but he’s now paired his slick glove with offensive success in three straight seasons.
His .982 OPS is better than Westburg’s career Triple-A mark of .899, although, to the latter’s credit, his consistent production came in 158 games. Colton Cowser, the organization’s No. 2 prospect who is still in Triple-A, has a career .920 OPS at the level. Adley Rutschman’s was .879; Gunnar Henderson’s was .894.
The mystery of why Ortiz, considering his impressive offensive numbers at Triple-A, totaled just 34 plate appearances in the 24 games he was on Baltimore’s roster will have to remain one for now. His time with the Orioles came across three stints as he’s been shuttled back and forth between Triple-A and the majors.
Each time he returned to the Tides, though, he picked up right where he left off. Last week was no different, as Ortiz went 11-for-22 with four doubles, three walks, four stolen bases and seven RBIs. On the season, Ortiz is hitting .353 with a .992 OPS.
But Ortiz wasn’t the only Orioles prospect to stand out on the farm. That’s why each week, The Baltimore Sun will break down five of the top performers in Baltimore’s prospect ranks and hand out some superlatives for those who didn’t make that cut.
1. Low-A Delmarva catcher Samuel Basallo
Perhaps no prospect in the Orioles’ system has raised his stock more this year than Basallo. The 18-year-old backstop continued his stellar 2023 this past week by hitting two home runs, including a grand slam Sunday, and driving in eight runs. Now a top 100 prospect on Baseball America’s list, Basallo is ranked No. 7 in Baltimore’s system. Basallo, who the Orioles signed out of the Dominican Republic for a then-organization-record $1.3 million in January 2021, is hitting .294 with an .851 OPS.
2. Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Colton Cowser
Cowser had his best week since returning from the injured list in early June, going 7-for-17 with three multi-hit games, a home run, four RBIs and five walks. The 2021 first-round pick has been one of the best hitters in Triple-A this season with a .330/.459/.537 slash line — good for a .996 OPS.
3. Double-A Bowie infielder Coby Mayo
The Orioles prospect putting up the best numbers in the minor leagues isn’t Ortiz, Cowser or even Jackson Holliday — it’s Mayo. Baltimore’s No. 9 prospect is putting up monster numbers with the Baysox. In 73 games, Mayo is slashing .316/.431/.628 — good for a 1.059 OPS — with 29 doubles and 17 home runs. In the past week, the third baseman, who has also started to learn how to play first, went 9-for-26 with three homers, three doubles, three walks and five RBIs.
4. Triple-A Norfolk right-hander Grayson Rodriguez
In his five starts since being optioned to Triple-A in late May, Rodriguez has either struck out 10-plus batters or allowed one run or fewer in each of them. After struggling with a 7.35 ERA through his first 10 major league starts, Rodriguez was sent down to improve his fastball command and sharpen his off-speed pitches. He delivered another solid start last week, delivering six innings of one-run ball Wednesday while striking out eight. In 28 1/3 innings since his demotion, the organization’s top pitching prospect has a 2.22 ERA and 39 strikeouts.
5. Low-A Delmarva right-hander Zack Showalter
Showalter, a 19-year-old right-hander, needed just 10 innings in rookie ball before being promoted to Low-A Delmarva. In his first two appearances with the Shorebirds, he’s allowed six hits and one run across 7 1/3 innings. He struck out six batters and gave up just one hit in 3 1/3 scoreless innings Saturday. Showalter, the Orioles’ 11th-round pick in 2022, is ranked as Baltimore’s No. 24 prospect by Baseball America.
The top prospect not featured so far
After a torrid first two months of the season, Holliday has cooled down over the past few weeks. Since June 15, the Orioles’ No. 1 prospect is hitting .204 with a .646 OPS. That’s not to say, of course, that all has been bad for Holliday, who is still hitting .317 with a .970 OPS. On Friday, Holliday blasted a walk-off home run for his seventh long ball of the year.
International acquisition of the week
When Frederick Bencosme was promoted to High-A Aberdeen last year, he struggled to adjust to the new level, hitting just .154 in 12 games. Then he hit .209 with a .600 OPS in his first 50 games of the 2023 season. The 20-year-old shortstop has started to heat up, though, batting .364 with an .895 OPS in his past 13 games. Last week, Bencosme, who the Orioles signed out of the Dominican Republic in August 2020, went 5-for-16 with two doubles, five walks and two stolen bases.
Time to give a shout-out to …
Right-handed pitcher Cooper Chandler. After playing five years in college, Chandler signed with the Orioles as an undrafted free agent in August. In his first full season of professional baseball, the 24-year-old has a 2.54 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings with High-A Aberdeen. Last week, he delivered one of the best starts of his career, pitching five innings of one-run ball while striking out eight. In his past 22 innings, Chandler is 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA, 13 hits allowed and 25 strikeouts.
Short-season snippets
Outfielder Braylin Tavera reached base in eight of his 14 plate appearances this past week, going 3-for-9 with five walks and a solo home run for Baltimore’s Florida Complex League team. Tavera, who the Orioles signed out of the Dominican Republic for a then-organization-record $1.7 million in January 2022, is ranked as Baltimore’s No. 23 prospect by MLB Pipeline. … Also in the FCL, left-hander Luis De León, a Dominican Republic native the Orioles signed in December 2021, pitched five scoreless innings with five strikeouts Thursday. … Right-handed pitcher Jesús Palacios, a Dominican Republic native the Orioles signed in January 2022, struck out 10 and allowed just three batters to reach safely across six shutout innings Monday for Baltimore’s Dominican Summer League club. … Also in the DSL, Luis Vicioso, a catcher the Orioles signed out of the Dominican Republic in January and the younger brother of shortstop Jorge Mateo, went 10-for-19 over the past week with two home runs, a triple and seven RBIs.
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