All four Orioles minor league affiliates are now in action.
As of this past weekend, all full-season Orioles minor league affiliates are in action for the 2025 season. Starting today and continuing every Tuesday for the rest of the minor league season, we’ll be taking a weekly look at how each team has done, with a particular focus on the performance of players from Camden Chat’s composite top O’s prospect list.
Triple-A Norfolk Tides
- Season so far: 4-5
- Coming week: vs. Gwinnett (Braves)
- Overall record and standings: 4-5, sixth place (3 games back) in International League East
The headlining bad news of this whole article occurred over the weekend at Norfolk, with catching prospect Samuel Basallo suffering a hamstring injury of not publicly reported severity. What’s certain is Basallo is now on the Tides injured list. It’s an unfortunate injury because it’s going to cost him development time at the catching position and for his bat too. He’d already homered twice in his first seven games before getting hurt.
Things are starting off poorly for Coby Mayo, who has OPSed just .578 over his first nine games. That’s five hits in 33 at-bats. Mayo had a bit of fulfilling his own prophecy about this possibility and here it is. He’s not doing the thing so far, but there’s plenty of time for that to change. Dylan Beavers also ain’t got it so far, with five hits and only one extra-base hit over his first eight games. He’s struck out 17 times. That’s a rough start.
Neither injured nor bad is fellow outfielder Jud Fabian, mostly because he’s homered three times through eight games so he has an .815 OPS even though he’s only hitting .233 with a .281 OBP. If he ever has some MLB success, that’s probably what it’s going to look like (hopefully with an OBP at least over .300).
For the Tides pitching prospects, Brandon Young has already seen action twice and he’s still sporting a 0.00 ERA across 11.1 innings, with 11 strikeouts and only two walks. That’ll keep the 26-year-old righty on people’s radar as the next prospect who ought to debut when there’s a need for him. Cameron Weston allowed one run in a four inning start.
Also notable
- IF Vimael Machín is not a prospect but the spring training non-roster guy kept hitting in Sarasota and he’s doing it so far for the Tides too: .429/.500/.607 in eight games for the 31-year-old
Double-A Chesapeake Baysox
For those checking in on the Orioles minors for the first time in a while, this team used to call itself Bowie. It is still playing its games in the same stadium in Bowie but is now going by Chesapeake for greater regional appeal.
- Last week: 2-1
- Coming week: vs. Erie (Tigers)
- Overall record and standings: 2-1, tied-third place (1 game back) in Eastern League Southwest
Each of these next three teams has only played three games. Not worth getting too excited over it or too panicky. My philosophy is always that I’d rather see nice small samples than bigger ones, and the rechristened Chesapeake delivers: Enrique Bradfield was on base five times in his first three games and 22-year-old infielder Frederick Bencosme managed the same feat while playing in only two games.
Not in on this early party is the catcher Creed Willems, who has just one hit over his first ten at-bats. This was about in line with the rest of the Chesapeake team from the opening weekend as they’re sitting on just a .556 OPS as a team to date.
Another recent spring training sensation, Zach Fruit, had the most interesting season-opening start for the Baysox, tossing 4.2 scoreless innings. He also walked three dudes over that time. Orioles pitching prospects, stop walking so many dudes! The Baysox walked 16 batters in three games overall. That’s, uh, a lot of walks.
Chesapeake season-to-date stats.
High-A Aberdeen IronBirds
- Last week: 1-2
- Coming week: at Jersey Shore (Phillies)
- Overall record and standings: 1-2, tied-fourth place (2 games back) in South Atlantic League North
This is a team where, if you want to be generous, there’s something interesting about just about the entire lineup in most games. Several of these guys really showed their stuff over the first weekend of action for this team, with outfielder Austin Overn having three hits (including a homer) and three walks, plus two stolen bases, over the first series.
Catcher/first baseman Ethan Anderson got the on-base percentage even higher than that, with four hits and three walks. He also stole four bases. That probably won’t carry over against better catchers at higher levels, but good for him for now. Aron Estrada and Griff O’Ferrall also had some good things going on at the plate over this first weekend, while outfielders Vance Honeycutt (2-11 with five strikeouts) and Thomas Sosa (1-8 with four strikeouts) did not.
As I wrote in my preview of Aberdeen’s season yesterday, there are also interesting things going on with this starting rotation with prospects Michael Forret, Nestor German, and Trey Gibson starting here. Only Forret pitched the opening weekend, a 4.2 inning scoreless start where he allowed two hits and two walks while striking out five batters. Forret just turned 21 years old two days ago, so if he can perform at this level at his age he’ll have some more prospect heat by season’s end.
Also notable
- OF Jake Cunningham has fallen behind some other 2023 picks but he’s still just 22 and he had a double and a homer over the first two games he played this year.
Aberdeen season-to-date stats.
Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds
- Last week: 0-3
- Coming week: vs. Fayetteville (Astros)
- Overall record and standings: 0-3, tied-fifth place (3 games back) in Carolina League North
Counting honorable mentions, there are 29 players named on my composite top Orioles prospect list. Exactly two of these players have appeared for the Shorebirds through the first three games of 2025. It’s not out of line with how the Shorebirds have been for the past couple of years. This is a team of young guys who the O’s hope will develop into something down the line.
Pitching prospect Keeler Morfe is one of just two players on the team who’s not yet reached his age 20 season. He had a terrible beginning to his 2025 season, walking five batters of the eight he faced while failing to get out of the first inning in a start. Not much to do about that but hope for improvement over time. Chase Allsup, a fourth round pick from last year, gave up three runs (two earned) in a 4.1 inning start. On the plus side, no walks.
Delmarva season-to-date stats.
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A regular feature of our minor league weekly recaps is the choosing of the Orioles Minor League Player of the Week by a poll of readers. It’s not the fairest of polls this week since Triple-A has played a week-plus of games where the rest of the levels have only gone a weekend, but hey, maybe you’ll be really excited by someone’s first three games for Chesapeake or Aberdeen.