Norfolk
Nice to see Akin gets bumped up. With the way the new regime was talking, you didn’t quite know…No big surprises with the pitching. As far as catching, I can’t see all 3 of them being there come Thursday. No big surprises in the infield, it will just be interesting to see how all the moving peices are used. The infield is almost as fluid as water, with almost everyone being able to be used at every spot. Wilkerson might actually get some extra reps in the outfield and might play some centerfield, while Hays recovers. Showing that type of flexability and getting the bat going is the only way he can get a 40 man spot back. The outfield lost a little luster with Hays being hurt and Diaz being in Bowie, but this might work out best for DJ Stewart. If anyone needs a good year, it is him.
Bowie
Not a whole lot going on here. Lowther gets a bump to Bowie, which is nice. Erwin also got moved up, after an impressive Frederick campaign. The big questions in the rotation will be the health of Harvey and Lee. Can either stay healthy and get through a full season? Tate will also need to show some improvement, while Zimmerman can build on last year. Cervenka is the starting catcher and probably gets the majority of the starts, instead of a platoon. This could be really beneficial for Cervenka as he needs to win the favor of the new regime. The infield could be the weak point of the team. Bannon will likely move around the diamond and play “Mr. Utility.” Palmeiro returns to first after a season at second. His bat will need to show that the bandbox of Frederick wasn’t a fluke and if he can do that, he could be a good surprise. Miller will likely hold second and be the “hometown” guy, but that’s about it. Clare can play short, but needs to work on the bat. Feliz was a huge surprise last season and will hold down third. Nothing beyond organizational depth, but if he can put together another nice season like last year, that would be very helpful to the team. The outfield has 5 players right now, with Diaz being a question mark with his health after reportedly injuring his foot a few days ago. Billingsley gets bumped up and so does Nichting, which will make this outfield very fast, between Billingsley, McKenna, and Nichting. Diaz has a little speed too, but the previous three should get to anything that leaves the dirt to the fence. Rifaela gets lost in the shuffle as he fell off big time from his Frederick MVP season, so he will need to prove he can stay.
Frederick
The big name in the rotation is DL Hall. Dietz gets another attempt in Frederick and everyone hopes he found some control since last season. Sedlock is also in Frederick and he needs to do something amazing, otherwise the only jersey he will wear from the MLB club will be a custom one on MLB Shop. Camp hero Diogenes Almengo appears here, so getting autogrpahs should be easy. David Lebron ends up here after coming over from Texas, so this will be easy to see if the Orioles spent money wisely or not. For the guys squatting behind the plate, Breazeale and Carrillo move up while Levy stays where he is. Breazeale probably isn’t long for the catching gear, while Carrillo and Levy are both good (for minors) defensive catchers. Biggest surprise of the infield is Reyes as he is in his 4th year in Frederick. Hope he knows a realator. Escarra getting moved from Aberdeen to Frederick is a good sign, as he has the hit tool to move quickly and should put up some video game stats in the Frederick stadium if Aberdeen wasn’t a fluke. The infield is what it is, but keep an eye on how they use Mason McCoy. That will go a long way to say how they feel about him. The outfield only has 3 listed right now, with Jake Ring being the repeat there. Jarrett dropped a bit since his power display in Delmarva, so maybe the ease of homering in Frederick will help. Moesquit is going to have a lot of room to cover in center and needs to do some work at the plate, but should be worth the price of admission to watch him cause havoc on the basepaths.
Delmarva
Not going to lie, I don’t know much about the staff here. Fenter has fallen on hard times, so he really needs a strong season. Grayson Rodriguez is probably the biggest name on the list now, after his performance last season. For catchers, Fajardo drops a level from Frederick and most likely splits time with Roberts. Fajardo will probably be working with Roberts a bit on defense, as Fajardo is a really strong defensive guy. The infield is a little crowded, with Becker (most likely utility), Curran (first), Encarnacion (third), Grenier and Hall (short), mainly rounding out the infield. Fregia and Miller most likely take second, once we figure out who they are. The outfield has a large variety of names, most were at Aberdeen last year. Will Robertson is the lone repeat, who was on a great start last season before dropping off. Horvath, Neustrom, Thorburn, and Turchin will fight for time.
Extended Spring Training/Rehab
Probably the most interesting list.
Pitchers – Carroll, Wells, Baumann are all here and nothing was reported about needing to rehab anything. A lot of the guys on the list were in full season last year, so this is also a little surprising. 2 big names that stand out: Alex Murphy and Lenin Rodriguez. Murphy was “catcher turned 1st baseman” before suffering a season ending ACL injury last year, while Rodriguez was acquired from the Phillies recently for slot money. Waiting on confirmation of the position change, but this is strange.
Catchers – Cumberland and Ringhofer being down here is interesting. No report of injuries of either, with Cumberland being a prospect. Maybe they will clear up some roster spots before Thursday, but still…
Infield – Carmona being here is the strange one. Figured he would be bumped up after his time in Aberdeen last year, but seems ticketed to Short Season ball again. Fisher is still recovering from Tommy John surgery, while Gulf Coast League season starting hero John Ham gets to work on some stuff. Sadly, Jack Zoellner is only here and not in Frederick, sending warning shots to the highway.
Outfield – Lamar Sparks is probably here as he is still coming back from labrum surgery. Dalton Hoiles is until a spot opens. Jaylen Ferguson seems to have a lot of connections here, as he hasn’t made it above Aberdeen yet.
Still trying to find out what happened to Collin Woody. He was a 3rd/1st baseman in Frederick and was supposedly being used as a pitcher in Instructionals, but was in the infield during Spring Training games.
I’ll be at a bunch of Bowie games and will be at a few Frederick games. Delmarva gets the yearly trip, but might try and head there more. Norfolk might get some flights there, as the roster will probably look different every week.
Which affiliate are you looking forward to seeing?
