The four Orioles full-season minor league affiliates are all in action as of Friday. The play of the major league team through the first couple of weeks of the MLB season might end up having everyone far more focused on the farm than we wanted to be this season. Whether the big league club improves or not, Paul Folkemer and I will be here every Tuesday morning to recap the last week of minor league action.<\/p>\n
These updates focus on the team\u2019s top prospects, particularly those on Camden Chat\u2019s composite top 20 Orioles prospect list<\/a> from before the season. They also include other guys who interest us who might develop into prospects over time. I do not tend to spend much time on non-prospect journeymen, though one never knows who might turn into the next Jeremiah Jackson. Not that we know whether turning into Jackson has any kind of medium-term positive impact on the franchise.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how things went this week:<\/p>\n Last week: 1-5 at Memphis (Cardinals)Coming week: vs. Jacksonville (Marlins)Season record: 3-6, t-7th place (5 games back) in International League East<\/p>\n This is a very unfortunate time to emulate the MLB team. The top Orioles affiliate has done it, with Norfolk starting out 2-1 and then going 1-5 over the past six games.<\/p>\n What makes the Tides roster interesting to begin the season is the presence of three starting pitching prospects on whom hopes are pinned to turn into something in the near future. That\u2019s Nestor German, Trey Gibson, and Levi Wells. This was a poor week for two of those three guys. German struggled with command, walking five guys in only three innings; he was lucky to have just four runs allowed after having a WHIP of 3 for the game. Gibson was socked around, allowing nine hits in four innings, with four runs (three earned) in that time. Gibson\u2019s first start also stunk, as did most of his starts in AAA last year. German\u2019s was better.<\/p>\n Wells, on the other hand, had a nice start this week, allowing a run over five innings. He largely scattered four hits and two walks, picking up three strikeouts along the way. If one really wants to nitpick, one will want to see more strikeouts over time. For now, hey, it\u2019s better than for those other guys.<\/p>\n Not as much of interest here for hitting prospects as the year begins. There\u2019s Enrique Bradfield, who some people already want to see in Baltimore while others are more in tune to his need for further Norfolk development. Bradfield made a catch against the outfield wall on Thursday and was removed from the game early. Media was provided the information that this was \u201cas a precaution.\u201d Would you like to guess who didn\u2019t play on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday? That\u2019s right: Enrique Bradfield! As of this writing, no injury has been announced and Bradfield remains on Norfolk\u2019s active roster.<\/p>\n RHP Dean Kremer – Not a prospect, obviously. Probably has a role to play for the 2026 Orioles, and it\u2019s weird they didn\u2019t promptly summon him to fill that role when Zach Eflin got hurt. Three runs allowed in 4.2 innings.2B Jackson Holliday – Being eased back into action while rehabbing his surgery for a broken hamate bone. 5-17 over four games, with a pair of doubles.C\/1B Creed Willems – Nobody wanted him in the Rule 5 draft. He\u2019s got two dingers and a 1.025 OPS in his first seven games.OF Jud Fabian – For those who just can\u2019t quit him: He went 4-14 this week, drawing five walks and striking out six times.<\/p>\n Tides season-to-date stats.<\/a><\/p>\n Double-A Chesapeake Baysox<\/p>\n Last week: 1-2 at Hartford (Rockies)Coming week: vs. Erie (Tigers)Season record: 1-2, t-4th place (2 games back) in Eastern League Southwest<\/p>\n These articles will typically cover six games at a time. For Double-A, High-A, and Low-A, it was only a half-week with three games played, so there\u2019s even less to say about it. No need to panic about three bad games for anybody. I\u2019d say this even if my guy Aron Estrada wasn\u2019t on this list: two hits, none for extra bases, in his first nine at-bats.<\/p>\n On the other hand, outfield prospect Thomas Sosa ripped up the ball over these first three games, hitting 6-13 with five of the six hits going for extra bases. That\u2019s a 1.539 OPS across three games. I dig it.<\/p>\n One of the team\u2019s top pitching prospects begins the season here with the Baysox. That\u2019s Luis De Le\u00f3n. I\u2019d like to report to you a good first outing from him. However, the reality is that he walked three guys and allowed four earned runs in four innings. Oh well.<\/p>\n SS Brandon Butterworth – The highest-level position player acquired from the Padres last July, Butterworth went 4-9 at the plate in two games.IF Griff O\u2019Ferrall and IF Ethan Anderson – Two of the cursed 2024 draft picks start here. Anderson took an 0-for in his two games. O\u2019Ferrall had one hit in two games.<\/p>\n Baysox season-to-date stats.<\/a><\/p>\n Last week: 2-0 at Hub City (Rangers); one game postponedComing week: at Winston-Salem (White Sox)Season record: 2-0, t-2nd place (0.5 games back) in South Atlantic League North<\/p>\n For my money, or rather for my blogging on this website, the most interesting of the Orioles affiliates to begin the 2026 season is the newly-returned Frederick team. With Wehiwa Aloy, Nate George, and Ike Irish all in the lineup, and Vance Honeycutt for the morbidly curious, plus spring breakout guy Joseph Dzierwa on the rotation, there is excitement to be had on this roster.<\/p>\n Even better news: I can say good things from these first two games about every one of the bolded names in the previous paragraph! Well, not Honeycutt. His spring training did not immediately transfer to the regular season and he struck out four times in eight at-bats while notching just a single hit. That was a fun dream for a little while there.<\/p>\n We\u2019re all going to have to learn how to spell Dzierwa\u2019s name if he keeps pitching like this. The 21-year-old lefty, making his pro debut here after being taken in the second round by the Orioles last year, torched the competition in his first real game outing. He struck out nine guys over six shutout innings, with just one hit and one walk allowed. Here\u2019s a guy who may be rapidly building some prospect heat for himself.<\/p>\n Aloy, George, and Irish each played in just one game, and if you want to freak out in a good way about Aloy getting a double and two walks, be my guest.<\/p>\n