Welcome to the final installment of Camden Chat’s minor league week in review series. Two more affiliates, the Chesapeake Baysox and Frederick Keys, finished their 2026 seasons this week. Let’s take one last look at how most of the Orioles’ prospects fared before they headed home for the offseason.
Triple-A Norfolk Tides
- Last week’s results: 3-3 at Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals)
- Next week’s opponent: vs. Charlotte Knights (White Sox)
- Second-half record: 27-39, last place (12.5 GB) in International League East
- Overall season record: 55-86
The Tides are the only O’s affiliate that’s still in action. They have one more series to go before closing the book on an overall miserable campaign. They finished last place in the first half and will
most likely do the same in the second. They’ve got the worst full-season record of any of the 30 Triple-A teams, including the Pacific Coast League. They’re worse than every Double-A team, too. Norfolk is the affiliate that was supposed to provide MLB-ready talent to the Orioles throughout the season, but there was precious little talent to be found here.
The Orioles’ top position player prospect at this level, Enrique Bradfield Jr., reached base eight times with two doubles this week, but his overall Triple-A numbers remain uninspiring: a .265 average and .705 OPS in 84 games. Before the season, I thought it was a foregone conclusion that we’d see the former first-round draft pick make his MLB debut this year, but barring a surprise call-up in the next two weeks, that’s not going to happen. The 24-year-old has now spent parts of two seasons at Norfolk with a .251/.332/.344 slash line. There were questions about his offense when the O’s drafted him and he hasn’t answered them, at least not in a positive way.
Outfielder Jud Fabian had a nice week, mashing three home runs and driving in seven. Fabian is finishing the season strong, but with a .198 average and .679 OPS, the former #67 overall pick can no longer be considered a prospect. Catcher Creed Willems had two dingers as well, giving him a career-high 20 home runs this season. But he hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire in Triple-A (.762 OPS), and it’s unclear what the Orioles’ plans are for him. Are we noticing a theme here? Where is the top-level talent ready to burst onto the major league scene?
There’s not much help on the pitching side, either. The Tides’ rotation started the season with three of the Orioles’ top pitching prospects — Trey Gibson, Nestor German, and Levi Wells — but only Gibson got a cup of coffee in the majors this year, making seven ineffective starts. This week he coughed up six runs and 11 hits in 4.1 innings against the Redbirds. Wells underwent season-ending core muscle surgery in May, and German has been on the IL since August. Elsewhere in the rotation, righty Juaron Watts-Brown was torched for 10 runs, 13 hits, and eight walks in 8.2 innings over two starts, while Cade Povich, who might replace Kyle Bradish in the O’s rotation, threw a quality start.
Veteran relievers Félix Bautista and Ryan Helsley continued their rehab assignments. Helsley made one perfect appearance with a strikeout, and Félix threw three innings, giving up a solo homer as his only blemish. At this point, with the Orioles out of contention, it almost feels pointless to add either or both to the O’s bullpen for the final two weeks of the season. But if doing so would give Bautista and Helsley some positive momentum heading into 2027, then maybe it’s worthwhile.
Norfolk season stats
Double-A Chesapeake Baysox
- Last week’s results: 4-1 at Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants)
- Final second-half record: 38-29, second place (4.0 GB) in Eastern League Southwest
- Final season record: 67-68
The Baysox wrapped up their 2026 campaign with a series win over Richmond, continuing their inspired late-season play. After a last-place finish in the first half, the Baysox came on strong after the All-Star break, ending just four games out of the division lead.
It’s not the end of the line for every Baysox hitter, though; infielder Aron Estrada and catcher Ethan Anderson both got promoted to Norfolk, where they’ll get a one-week taste of Triple-A ball. Estrada went 5-for-15 with a homer this week to finish his Chesapeake campaign with a .278/.321/.481 line and 24 roundtrippers, and at age 21, he was more than 2.5 years younger than the average Double-A player. Pretty impressive. Anderson, too, showed prolific power with an .881 OPS and 21 dingers in 82 games with the Baysox. It’s unclear what his long-term position will be — his catching skills reportedly leave much to be desired — but that bat will play. Fittingly, Anderson mashed two more homers this week.
Shortstop Griff O’Ferrall, the #32 overall pick in 2024, had a forgettable season overall (.222/.307/.312), but he saved the best for last. He was a hit machine with a 10-for-20 week, including a home run, and he stole three bases. Top infield prospect Wehiwa Aloy also homered, his 25th of the year, completing a .288/.358/.506 performance across two levels this season. Vance Honeycutt’s red-hot start to his Double-A career stalled this week. He hit two homers, but was otherwise 0-for-15 with seven strikeouts.
What would the final week of the Baysox season be without one last stellar turn through the rotation? The five-headed monster of starting pitching prospects dazzled again. Anthony Eyanson, Joseph Dzierwa, Caden Hunter, JT Quinn, and Patrick Reilly each allowed one or no earned runs this week for a combined ERA of 0.76. Dzierwa and Quinn each worked five scoreless, and Reilly and Eyanson each struck out seven. If any or all of these guys move up a level to Triple-A next year, the Norfolk Tides are going to be a much more menacing group than they were this season.
Chesapeake season stats
High-A Frederick Keys
- Last week’s results: Lost South Atlantic North Division Series, 2-1
- Overall season record: 83-46
The Keys’ outstanding 2026 season came to a heartbreaking end this week as they lost the best-of-three Division Series to the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the Pirates’ affiliate. The Keys had edged out the Grasshoppers for the division title in both halves of the season, nipping them by one game in the first half and 1.5 in the second, but it was Greensboro that got the last laugh. The first game of the series was all Frederick, a 13-1 win on the road, before the Keys lost both their home games by two runs and were eliminated.
It was a hit-happy series for Jaiden Lo Re, who went 5-for-13, and 2026 second-round pick Ty Head socked a homer. Enddy Azocar, who fell into a cold spell after his scalding hot stretch upon joining the O’s organization, was just 2-for-12 in the series, though he did homer. Randal Diaz drove in five runs despite just two hits.
The pitching star of the series was lefty Boston Bateman, who won the opener with a dominant five-inning, 10-strikeout performance. It was a nice way to put a bow on a strong 2026 season for Bateman, who posted a 3.65 ERA and 12.2 K/9 in 24 regular season games (21 starts), albeit with too many walks (5.0 BB/9). He’s been a bit overshadowed this year by the Orioles’ higher-level pitching prospects — if it’s possible to overshadow a guy who stands 6’8” — but it’s easy to see why the O’s made him the prize of their Ryan O’Hearn/Ramón Laureano trade with San Diego last season.
Frederick season stats
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It’s time for our final player of the week poll. Last week we crowned a new first-time winner, Vance Honeycutt, who joins other single-week winners Payton Eeles, Braylin Tavera, Wehiwa Aloy, Jaiden Lo Re, Joseph Dzierwa, Luis De León, and Heston Kjerstad. Two-time winners include Enddy Azocar, Caden Hunter, Ike Irish, Aron Estrada, and Victor Figueroa.
Our final winner of the year will be a first-timer. Who gets your vote?
