Orioles minor league report: Joey Ortiz, Drew Rom excel as farm system shows off its depth

But he was held out of Saturday’ s game as a precaution as Baltimore infielder Ramón Urías was being assessed in concussion protocol, the Orioles announced. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde wouldn’ t comment Sunday about a potential Ortiz promotion, instead focusing on how Urías was“ feeling a lot better” a day after taking a 96.2 mph pitch to the helmet.

Infielder Joey Ortiz played five solid games last week, but it was the one he didn’t play that raised eyebrows.

Ortiz, the Orioles’ No. 7 prospect according to Baseball America, hit .364 with six RBIs for Triple-A Norfolk to continue his solid start to the season. But he was held out of Saturday’s game as a precaution as Baltimore infielder Ramón Urías was being assessed in concussion protocol, the Orioles announced.

Ortiz wasn’t called up Sunday or Monday, but if Urías has to go on the seven-day injured list as he progresses through concussion protocol, it’s likely that Ortiz would receive his first call-up to the big leagues.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde wouldn’t comment Sunday about a potential Ortiz promotion, instead focusing on how Urías was “feeling a lot better” a day after taking a 96.2 mph pitch to the helmet.

Ortiz, who turns 25 in July, is one of three prominent infield prospects in Norfolk, alongside Jordan Westburg and Connor Norby, ranked Nos. 5 and 6, respectively. All three were ranked this offseason in Baseball America’s top 100 list.

Primarily a shortstop, Ortiz is the best defender among the club’s stockpile of young infielders. He made a change to his swing in the middle of last season and has hit well ever since. In nine games and 43 plate appearances in Triple-A this year, Ortiz is batting .325 with a .751 OPS.

Ortiz, however, wasn’t the only player on the farm to perform well last week. That’s why each week, The Baltimore Sun will break down five of the top performers in the Orioles’ prospect ranks and hand out some superlatives for those who didn’t make that cut.

1. Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Colton Cowser

Cowser, the Orioles’ No. 3 prospect, broke out last week after a rough start. The 23-year-old went 3-for-30 with 10 strikeouts to open the year, but he bounced back to go 10-for-23 with six walks, nine runs, two RBIs, two doubles, a triple and a stolen base since. He collected two hits in four games and has walked in five straight and in nine of his 13 starts. The 2021 No. 5 overall pick made it to Triple-A at the end of last season, and while he struggles at times with strikeouts, his batting eye and plate discipline are perhaps the best in the system. Fellow Tides outfielder Hudson Haskin, who was featured on this list last week, continued his scorching hot start to the season with a 10-for-21 week.

2. Double-A Bowie outfielder-first baseman Heston Kjerstad

Cowser and Haskin were outstanding last week, but neither was the best outfielder on the farm. That was, unsurprisingly, Kjerstad, who was perhaps the Orioles’ best hitter in big league spring training and has carried that over with Bowie. In six games, Kjerstad, Baltimore’s No. 11 prospect, went 8-for-23 with four home runs, two doubles, five RBIs and two stolen bases for a 1.401 OPS. Kjerstad is slashing .314/.429/.800 in nine games this year. The 2020 No. 2 overall pick lost two seasons, but he got his feet wet in the second half of the 2022 season, won the Arizona Fall League MVP, stood out at big league camp, and is now crushing Double-A pitching.

3. Low-A Delmarva catcher Creed Willems

In 68 games with the Shorebirds last season, Willems hit just four home runs across 246 plate appearances. He’s matched that homer total in just seven games this year. Willems, who turns 20 in June, struggled in 2021 and 2022 after the Orioles drafted him in the eighth round and gave him a $1 million signing bonus that was well over slot. He hit just .190 in 2022. But Willems is coming off perhaps his best week as a professional, going 8-for-21 with three home runs, a double and eight RBIs. Across 34 plate appearances, the 6-foot, 225-pound backstop has a 1.494 OPS with 11 RBIs.

4. Double-A Bowie left-hander Cade Povich

In his first start of the season earlier this month, Povich pitched just three innings, allowing four hits, three walks and two runs. He got back on track Saturday by pitching five shutout innings with seven strikeouts. The 6-foot-3 left-hander scattered two hits and two walks for the seventh scoreless start of five-plus innings in his professional career. Povich, the Orioles’ No. 3 pitching prospect behind Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall, was acquired from the Minnesota Twins last summer in the Jorge López trade.

5. Triple-A Norfolk left-hander Drew Rom

But Povich wasn’t the most impressive starting pitcher on the farm last week. That was Rom, who tossed 11 shutout innings across two starts for the Tides. Rom, a fourth-round pick in 2018 by the previous regime in Baltimore, allowed just three hits in six innings against the Nashville Sounds on Tuesday, striking out four and inducing 12 ground balls. On Sunday, he pitched five innings of scoreless ball, surrendering two hits and striking out five. In three starts this season, the 23-year-old has a 1.69 ERA and 0.938 WHIP.

The top prospect not featured so far

Jackson Holliday, Baltimore’s No. 2 prospect, continued to impress against Low-A pitching last week. The 19-year-old went 5-for-18 with three extra-base hits, five RBIs, six walks and two stolen bases for Delmarva. Holliday, whom the Orioles selected with the first pick in last year’s draft, went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and four RBIs on Wednesday. He’s slashing .355/.487/.581 in eight games with more walks (eight) than strikeouts (five).

International acquisition of the week

Willems and Holliday weren’t the only standouts in Delmarva last week. Stiven Acevedo, a 20-year-old outfielder, went 11-for-19 with five RBIs, two walks and three stolen bases. After hitting well in Rookie ball to begin last year, Acevedo posted a .168 average against Low-A pitching. In seven games this season, the Dominican Republic native is hitting .429 with a .933 OPS. The Orioles in 2019 signed Acevedo, just 16 at the time, and gave him a $275,000 signing bonus — the highest bonus of the first signing period under executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias.

Time to give some shine to …

Another international signee, Jean Pinto pitched well for the second straight start to begin his season in High-A Aberdeen. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed three hits across five innings of one-run ball Thursday and struck out eight batters. Pinto, who posted a 3.83 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 91 2/3 innings in Aberdeen last year, has allowed two runs in 9 1/3 innings with 14 strikeouts through two starts. In 179 2/3 career minor league innings, Pinto has a 29.6% strikeout rate. The Orioles acquired the Venezuela native in the José Iglesias trade with the Los Angeles Angels in December 2020.

()