The early weeks of the 2026 Orioles season are giving off vibes that maybe it is going to turn into an anxious look down to the farm for better times for the team in the future. Hopefully those vibes go away. Until they do, every prospect development story feels essential. It’s important even if things get better for the team. They’re going to need guys they can trade to supplement the MLB roster with players who are actually capable of coming here and performing well for the duration of the remaining
time before they hit free agency.
These weekly updates focus on the team’s top prospects, particularly those on Camden Chat’s composite top 20 Orioles prospect list 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.
Here’s how things went this week:
Triple-A Norfolk Tides
- Last week: 3-3 at Durham (Rays)
- Coming week: vs. Memphis (Cardinals)
- Season record: 8-13, t-last place (6.0 GB) in International League East
The Tides are home to this week’s International League Pitcher of the Week. The winner of that honor is a guy I had pretty much given up on going into this season, Brandon Young. He was on fire this past week, though, throwing 5.2 hitless innings where he struck out ten batters. Counting his MLB start, Young has given up just two earned runs across 21.2 innings. I don’t know if it means anything in the long run, but it’s interesting.
Young was not the only Norfolk starter to have a good week. His fellow erstwhile Oriole, Cade Povich, also struck out ten men, with one run allowed over five innings. Pitching prospect Nestor German also struck out ten men, in fact every out he recorded was by strikeout over 4.1 innings where he allowed one run. Trey Gibson didn’t manage to strike out ten guys, but two runs allowed in five innings isn’t bad.
Levi Wells could not complete the party, allowing nine runs in four innings. Rehabbing major leaguer Andrew Kittredge also had a tough one, like seven earned runs in 1.2 innings over two outings. Keegan Akin is also rehabbing here. He did better, allowing a run over 2.1 innings. Dietrich Enns was also part of the rehab squad, pitching one scoreless inning.
For Norfolk batters, the standout for the week was a guy who’s making an early bid to be this year’s version of Jeremiah Jackson. That’s shortstop José Barrero, who smashed three homers over these games to raise his early season OPS to .982. Jud Fabian hit two homers, drew four walks, and struck out eight times. Whatever that guy is, he continues to be very that. Enrique Bradfield Jr. also had a nice week at the plate, with five hits in four games, and two stolen bases in the field.
Others of interest
- C/1B Creed Willems – Was not part of the hitting party this week, going just 3-18. He did draw five walks though, so good for him.
Double-A Chesapeake Baysox
- Last week: 1-4 at New Hampshire (Blue Jays)
- Coming week: vs. Akron (Guardians)
- Season record: 7-7, fourth place (5.0 GB) in Eastern League Southwest
Since I’m doing the update this week, you will have to first endure an update on my prospect crush, Aron Estrada. Not much to say about him this week, though, as he batted 4-16 with one double. At 21, he remains young for this level, but it’d be more exciting if he was OPSing above .629.
Chesapeake’s top hitter over these games was Brandon Butterworth, one of the players from the big Padres trade last year. He had seven hits, including a homer, and stole a pair of bases over five games played. I dig that.
It was the pitching staff that sent the Baysox to a poor record over these games. They gave up at least six runs in all five games that were played and allowed 10+ in three games. Among the guys who absorbed bad numbers were lefty Luis De León, who allowed four runs over four innings in his lone start, and reliever Tyson Neighbors, another guy from the Padres trade, who surrendered six earned runs in a three-inning outing.
Others of interest
- C/1B Ethan Anderson – Hitless in 12 at-bats across three games
- IF Griff O’Ferrall – One hit in 12 at-bats. If you want to feel better, he walked five times
- OF Thomas Sosa – The power-hitting outfielder was 4-22 at the plate; three of the four hits were doubles
High-A Frederick Keys
- Last week: 2-4 vs. Hudson Valley (Yankees)
- Coming week: vs. Wilmington (Nationals)
- Season record: 6-8, fifth place (4.5 GB) in South Atlantic League North
The tradition last season was to begin Aberdeen’s updates by asking, how many times did Vance Honeycutt strike out this week? It continues with Frederick, and this week’s answer is 11 times in 20 at-bats. It’s a lot of strikeouts. However, Honeycutt did also get five hits, including two dingers, and he stole three bases, so that’s not nothing.
Your favorite recent Orioles first round pick and mine, Ike Irish, had five hits, including a homer, and also stole three bases. Irish outpaced Honeycutt in OBP by walking four times. Two guys managed to top both of these OPS numbers: Victor Figueroa (yet another player from that Padres trade) and Braylin Tavera. Figueroa now has a 1.157 OPS through ten games.
Joseph Dzierwa proved to be human over these games, giving up three runs while walking four batters over five innings. Okay, so he’s not just going to pitch shutouts with double digit strikeouts all the way up to MLB. His teammate JT Quinn, another early round pitcher from last year, continued to rock, tossing five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.
Others of interest
- 2B Jackson Holliday – Played two games of a new rehab assignment, notching two hits in eight at-bats
- SS Wehiwa Aloy – 3-19 at the plate over this week, with nine strikeouts
- OF Nate George – 5-22 over five games, including a double, and he stole three bases, but with no walks that’s still a rough OBP for the week
- RHP Juaron Watts-Brown – Rehabbing at this level after starting on the IL with a shoulder injury, allowing one run on three hits and three walks over five innings
- LHP Boston Bateman – Piggybacked a relief outing, three scoreless innings with two hits, a walk, and a hit batter while striking out five guys
Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds
- Last week: 1-5 at Fredericksburg (Nationals)
- Coming week: vs. Wilson (Brewers)
- Season record: 4-11, fifth place (6.0 GB) in Carolina League North
DJ Layton, I see you. After spending last year with the Florida Complex League squad, the 2024 sixth round pick is making his full-season affiliate debut this year. It’s off to an excellent start, which the shortstop added to over the last week by going 6-18 with a double and a homer, plus five walks, plus two stolen bases. (He was caught twice, too. Not the ideal percentage.) The 19-year-old Layton is still a young guy for this level. He’s OPSing 1.062 through his first 14 games. Love to see some more of that.
The pitcher most worth following on this roster, at least going into the season, is Esteban Mejia. I do not have good news to share about him this week. He failed to complete the third inning in his one start, walking a whopping eight guys. No, I’m not kidding. Eight walks! This time last year, the similarly-command-challenged Keeler Morfe got some attention. Hopefully Mejia does not follow down the same road. Three starts in, the results aren’t encouraging.
Others of interest
- OF Jordan Sanchez – One of my hoped-for sleeper picks for the system this season. 3-21 batting and a .445 OPS overall so far isn’t an early winner on that pick.
- RHP Kiefer Lord – Barely pitched since being drafted by the team in 2023, which is why he’s 23 and still in Low-A. Eight strikeouts in five innings this week, with only one run allowed.
Shorebirds season-to-date stats.
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This is the only week all season where all four of these affiliates are at home. The Orioles will also be at home for the coming weekend. You have the opportunity to watch a lot of O’s-connected baseball in the mid-Atlantic from now through Sunday.
Past seasons have allowed us to present a poll where readers are able to choose their minor league player of the week. Unfortunately, technical changes outside of our control no longer allow us to embed polls the way we could before and we cannot track winners as the season goes along.
Rather than a poll, the comments are up for discussion. Who were the standout efforts for you over this past week? Whose early minor league performance has you concerned? Who are you excited to follow as the season goes along? Let us know in the comments below.
