Well, well, well. It has been a big weekend in Birdland. About as big as could exist in the current timeline. Yesterday morning, we got the news that the Orioles were calling up number three prospect Dylan Beavers. Beavers debuted last night in right field and got his first major league hit, a double. He is back in the lineup today, playing left field and batting 8th.
As if that wasn’t enough, this morning the Orioles also promoted number one prospect Samuel Basallo. Basallo starts today as the DH, batting 6th. Adley Rutschman is catching a rare day game after a night game today. I don’t expect Basallo will see much time this season, but I am often wrong. So we’ll see! He’s seen substantial time in Norfolk at catcher, DH, and first base. Jackson Holliday will have to get used to being the second-youngest player on the team, as Basallo just turned 21 a few days ago. Yes, he was born in 2004.
Colton Cowser is also back, and he’ll start today in center field. Concussions are particularly challenging, so I hope he’s fully recovered and ready to contribute. There remain many questions about the Orioles’ offense, but I am pretty excited about this lineup. It looks like it could do some damage. At the very least, it’s much better than the game I attended last week that featured Alex Jackson, Greg Allen, and Jordyn Adams.
The streaky Dean Kremer starts today for the Orioles. Last week he bounced back from a string of mediocre starts with a great eight-inning appearance against the Mariners. The Orioles lost that game, but not because of him. I am hopeful for more of that today and less of say, the four runs in six innings in his previous start.
Cristian Javier is scheduled to start for the Astros. Javier is making just his second start of the season after returning from Tommy John surgery. With a win today, the Orioles can grab a series win against another team in playoff contention.