Wednesday Bird Droppings: The final day of the Orioles west coast trip

Good morning Birdland,

The annual west coast road trip for the Orioles is always the time that I, personally, feel the most out of touch with the club. If I’m lucky, I catch an inning or two before admitting that it would be a lot better for the tomorrow version of myself if I head to bed after just an inning or two. This year has been no different.

Today is the final day of the O’s first trip to the west coast of the season. Yes, first! They have a three-game set against the Angels in early July, but that takes place over 4th of July weekend, so my hopes are high that I can make it to the end of at least one of the games that starts after 9 p.m. on the east coast.

If the O’s could replicate the success they have had against the Athletics and Mariners they will be in good shape. They enter the day 3-2 on the road trip. A loss later today would mean a solid six-game stretch, while a win would provide a big boost.

Links & Notes

Minor league baseball returns with Orioles prospects Heston Kjerstad, Michael Baumann away from affiliates | The Baltimore Sun
It is not ideal for two of the Orioles top 10 prospects to be starting the season away from an actual team. However, it seems like the club is being wise here, refusing to push them harder than necessary. Baumann was expected to debut in Baltimore at some point this season, and that should still happen unless he experiences serious setbacks.

The plan for Zimmermann and minors update | School of Roch
This is now an obvious strategy that the O’s are going to employ. If they want their young pitchers to make it to September, they need to be conservative with their innings. Dean Kremer was already optioned, and now Bruce Zimmermann gets the same treatment. They will likely employ other strategies throughout the minors as players build back up from no season in 2020.

Hall fans 10 in debut for Double-A Baysox | Orioles.com
There has been a lot of chatter around the Orioles organization about how much DL Hall has improved over the offseason. His fastball reportedly touched 100 mph in the pre-season. Well, how hard he was throwing on Tuesday night is not apparent, but he was fooling hitters. Hall is not currently on the Orioles 40-man roster, which makes a 2021 big league debut unlikely, but not impossible. He could make a big splash sometime next season, though.

Updates on Oriole prospects Kjerstad, Baumann, Akin; International presence growing | BaltimoreBaseball.com
There will apparently be around 30 international players at the Orioles extended spring training. I’m not sure how that compares to years past, but that feels like a big numbers for a single team. Hopefully there are a couple of future stars among that group.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

Chuck Locke is the only former Oriole with a Cinco de Mayo birthday. The right-handed pitcher was born on this day in 1932. He appeared in two games for the 1955 Birds.

Orioles history

1962 - The Orioles get no-hit by Angels lefty Bo Belinsky. As a team they strike out nine times and work four walks, but fail to score in the 2-0 defeat.