Around the Minors week 19: Infant Orioles Edition

So I have been kicking the can on covering the GCL and DSL Orioles all season, and this week I thought I would exclusively focus on these 2 teams and see what is down there. There is a huge caveat at looking at these numbers, as these games are essentially high school games, though in fairness to the GCL, probably like prospect tournaments for high schoolers. And it is also worth noting for many of the foreign born kids, Sarasota has got to be an adjustment in a lot of ways.

The GCL Orioles are 8 games under 500 and with the season coming to a close in the near future, they have been eliminated from the playoff contention. Probably the biggest name on the squad is third round pick SS Adrian Marin. Marin is an 18 y/o right handed hitter, and has done well in 44 games as a pro, with a slash line of 284/339/361/700 with a K/BB of 32/11 in 169 at bats. He certainly doesn't seem overwhelmed, and it looks like he has passed his first test. Hector Veloz is a name familiar to many, and almost as advertised, he has brought power. The right handed hitting Dominican is now 18, and through 121 at bats is slashing 281/338/463/801 with a K/BB of 30/8. That's a pretty strong ISO. Only counting 18 year olds, his is the third highest SLG in the GCL.

On the hill, the GCLers have a few interesting guys. 19 year old Venezuelan righty Jhondaniel Medina continues to pitch effectively in the GCL with an ERA of 3.72 in 46 IP with a K/BB of 47/17. His K/9 has essentially remained the same from his DSL days last year, but his BB/9 has dramatically improved. So these are some good signs obviously. 18 y/o Millersville native Josh Hader was just promoted to Aberdeen, but as a GCL Oriole, the lefty reliever hailing from Old Mill High put up a comical K/BB of 35/7 in 20.1 IP. The other pitching prospect of interest is Elias Pinales. He is a 19 y/o Dominican lefty, who started the season in the DSL. Since being promoted to the GCL squad, he has posted a K/BB of 33/9 in 36.1 IP and and ERA of 2.48. Others: Lex Rutledge has been promoted to the iBirds and the lefty had a K/BB of 13/3 in 11 IP.

More on the DSLers below the jump!

Offensively it really has been something of a lost season of the DSL Orioles. Their best hitter is Ronarsy Ledesma, a 19 y/o right handed DH on his 3rd tour in the DSL. 18 y/o Oscar Vasquez has performed adequately in his first taste of pro ball, with a slash line of 261/355/339/664. He is a switch hitter and has posted a K/BB of 40/30 in 218 at bats, with 18 steals in 25 attempts (72%).

17 y/o Brasilian rightie Rafael Moreno has to be the most compelling arm on the team. He has a K/BB of 59/22 in 65.1 IP with an ERA of 3.86. Considering this is his first season as a professional, you have to like some of the things he is doing. 17 y/o Venezuelan righty Cristian Alvarado has a 3.68 ERA in 66 IP with a K/BB of 51/21.

It really is difficult to figure out what to make of these statistics, as these are just kids, really. It's funny, I think one of the biggest complaints I had about MacPhail was how little he spent in Latin America. But the reality is that it feels like he was not foolish about it, with a few guys in Delmarva and Aberdeen to his credit (Eduardo Rodriguez being just one example). How has time graded Mr. MacPhail?