Down On The Farm, The O's Future Is Looking Bright
BALTIMORE (WJZ) – O's fans knew that it was going to be a painful season.
But after a 4-1 start to the year, the season has turned out to be… just as painful as expected.
Baltimore is working to rebuild after a surprising 2018 campaign in which the team went just 47-115, and ultimately traded star Manny Machado and parted ways with manager Buck Showalter.
As of now, the O's have the second-worst record in baseball at 30-66. The Detroit Tigers have claimed that unwanted prize for time being, at 29-64.
Some games are just flat out frustrating to watch for O's fans. Chris Davis continues to look lost at the plate, and we've seen dropped pop-ups and botched rundowns all too often. In short, the team currently lacks the fundamentals of baseball.
But, believe it or not, there is hope for the Orioles- and that hope comes from down on the farm.
Most baseball fans don't pay much attention to the farm system, but for the O's, it's where their future is headed- and that future is looking bright for these reasons:
Delmarva Shorebirds – Class A Affiliate – The Shorebirds have the best record in all of minor league baseball. They currently sit in first place in the South Atlantic League Northern Division with a record of 67-30. Most impressive about this team, 19-year-old starting pitcher Drew Rom. He has started 10 games for the Shorebirds and has a 6-1 record with a 1.82 ERA and a WHIP of 1.14. If Rom continues this pace throughout his minor league duration, he will be a future ace for the O's.
Bowie Baysox – Double A Affiliate – At 52-44, the Baysox show some promising talent that could possibly be called up in September. Again, more young talented arms are on this starting rotation. 22-year-old Alex Wells is 8-1 this season with a 1.95 ERA. Even more impressive, a WHIP of 1.00. The O's No. 24 prospect has also made an impact in Bowie. This season, Michael Baumann threw the first no-hitter for the Baysox since the 2007 season. There is some bad news, to report, however. Yusniel Diaz, the biggest prospect the O's landed in the Manny Machado trade, has not made much noise. He is batting just .252 with nine homers and 45 RBIs.
Norfolk Tides – Triple A Affiliate – The O's 2015 first-round draft pick, DJ Stewart, is starting to develop into a solid player. In Norfolk this season, Stewart is batting .284 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs. The chances are astronomically high that Stewart will be called up in September, where he will get some more repetitions against big-league pitching.
Don't get me wrong, the O's aren't going to have a winning record for quite some time. But, believe it or not, the future is looking very bright for the O's, if – of course – their prospects develop into the players that they are capable of becoming.