After the Orioles traded for beginning pitcher Jack Flaherty, Mike Elias complimented the St. Louis Cardinals on getting a “great deal” from Baltimore.
Last Tuesday’s commerce deadline was Elias’ first as a purchaser since he took over the membership’s baseball operations in November 2018, and whereas the manager vice chairman and common supervisor didn’t purchase a marquee title, he did should half methods with three prospects the group valued.
To get Flaherty, a right-handed rental in his seventh massive league season, the Orioles gave up infielder César Prieto, left-hander Drew Rom and right-hander Zack Showalter — Baltimore’s Nos. 13, 15 and 16 prospects, in keeping with Baseball America.
“It’s always tough,” Elias mentioned about buying and selling prospects. “You look at the trades this year, these were huge returns, even for the rentals. I think that this landed in an appropriate spot for both teams. I’m sure these players will go on to have very fruitful careers, but we’re here. 2023 is a priority.”
Whether the commerce goes down as a great one for the Orioles relies upon extra on how Flaherty pitches down the stretch and within the postseason than how the three prospects pan out. Bolstering a contender with a top quality beginning pitcher — one with playoff expertise — doesn’t come low cost. While Elias didn’t have to surrender any of Baltimore’s high 100 prospects, the trio of kids represented a big haul for the Cardinals in alternate for a beginning pitcher with a 4.43 ERA on the time.
Elias acknowledged shortly after the commerce that consumers typically find yourself within the purple. To get two-plus months of Flaherty’s providers, the Orioles gave up doubtlessly 18 years of service time amongst Rom, Prieto and Showalter.
“But that’s part of trying to win, and the focus [is] on the team that’s in a good position,” Elias mentioned.
In complete this yr, Elias has traded 5 prospects in player-for-player offers. Before delivery off Showalter, Prieto and Rom, he gave up left-handed reliever Easton Lucas for reliever Shintaro Fujinami in July and shortstop Darell Hernaiz for left-hander Cole Irvin and a pitching prospect in January — two trades with the Oakland Athletics.
The undeniable fact that this season — one during which the Orioles have stunned as soon as once more and personal the American League’s greatest report — was one value taking a danger for doesn’t change the truth that giving up prospects is, nonetheless, a danger. Given that, right here’s a take a look at the 5 prospects Elias traded — how they joined the group, what makes them intriguing gamers and the way they’ve carried out thus far of their careers.
Darell Hernaiz
The standard logic behind buying and selling Hernaiz, a shortstop the Orioles chosen within the fifth spherical of the 2019 draft, was much like that used when giving up Prieto. The Orioles’ farm system isn’t simply ranked tops within the sport, it’s chock-full of infielders, that means Hernaiz was maybe blocked from making his option to Baltimore.
At the time of the Irvin deal in January, Hernaiz’s rating as Baltimore’s No. 16 prospect on MLB Pipeline had him behind a number of different infielders, together with Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg, Joey Ortiz, Coby Mayo and Connor Norby. When Hernaiz joined the Athletics’ farm system, he was rated by Baseball America as its 18th-best prospect, however after a profitable first half in Double-A, he jumped as much as No. 8 within the publication’s midseason rating.
Hernaiz hit .297 with 31 stolen bases final yr between Low-A Delmarva and High-A Aberdeen earlier than struggling in 13 video games with Double-A Bowie to finish the yr. In his first season in Oakland’s system, he dominated the extent he struggled at simply six months prior, hitting .338 with a .879 OPS to earn a promotion to Triple-A Las Vegas. He’s been even higher on the highest minor league stage, slashing .355/.419/.553 for a .971 OPS, though these numbers might be inflated contemplating the offense-friendly environments in Las Vegas and different Pacific Coast League stadiums.
While Irvin hasn’t caught in Baltimore’s rotation, he has a 3.60 ERA since he was recalled from Triple-A in June. The Orioles additionally acquired right-handed pitching prospect Kyle Virbitsky, a 24-year-old with a 4.54 ERA with Aberdeen, within the deal.
Disclaimers apart, Hernaiz’s inventory has risen for the reason that Orioles traded him away, however the group’s infield stockpile remains to be lots sturdy.
Easton Lucas
For a pitcher with Fujinami’s upside, giving up a 26-year-old reliever with minimal Triple-A expertise appeared greater than honest. But much like many of the prospects the Orioles traded, Lucas was having maybe his greatest skilled season this yr.
In 17 innings with Bowie, he allowed simply three runs and struck out 24 batters. The success earned him a promotion to Triple-A Norfolk and an look on Baseball America’s midseason checklist, rating No. 30 in Baltimore’s farm system.
Lucas, who the Orioles acquired within the Jonathan Villar commerce with the Miami Marlins in December 2019, didn’t have the identical stage of success to start his Triple-A profession, posting a 4.61 ERA and strolling 9 batters in 13 2/3 innings. In his first 4 2/3 innings with Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate, Lucas has allowed seven hits and 4 runs.
Meanwhile, in 8 2/3 innings with the Orioles, Fujinami has displayed his risky profile, however he has a 3.12 ERA with 11 strikeouts — many courtesy of his blazing fastball.
César Prieto
Prieto fell into the identical bucket as Hernaiz, though the 2 are totally different gamers. Hernaiz’s pace and defensive potential are his greatest instruments, whereas Prieto is 2 years older together with his contact potential on the plate his greatest trait. At No. 13 within the Orioles’ system, he’s the best prospect Elias has ever dealt, however he was ranked behind 10 different hitters, half of whom play infield as their major place.
In 378 plate appearances between Double- and Triple-A this season, he has struck out simply 28 instances — a price of simply 7.4%. Prieto, who the Orioles signed as a world free agent in January 2022, hit .364 with Bowie to earn a bump as much as Norfolk, the place he hit .317.
Earlier this season, Bowie supervisor Kyle Moore mentioned Prieto’s bat-to-ball abilities have been “elite,” noting how hardly ever he swings and misses. Given that potential, Moore mentioned the group’s give attention to “swing decisions” was essential to Prieto’s enhancements in 2023.
“Before this year, he was making contact with pitches maybe on the outer black of the plate, right on the corner outside, inside, up, down, whatever,” Moore mentioned. “This year, we’ve sort of gotten him to understand that if he really hunts a zone where he does damage that he can really increase some numbers, and he’s done that. He’s no longer making the weak contact ground ball out on a pitch that he can’t really do damage on.”
Drew Rom
Rom is the one one of many 5 gamers who has made it to the most important leagues — though he nonetheless hasn’t made an look but.
The Orioles promoted Rom, whom they drafted within the fourth spherical in 2018, in May, however the 23-year-old didn’t pitch out of the bullpen earlier than being optioned again down. Last week, Elias referred to as Rom a “major league-ready lefty.”
Rom has had an up-and-down 2023 marketing campaign, performing as Norfolk’s high starter to start the season, together with an 11-strikeout efficiency throughout six scoreless innings in May, however he’s struggled of late. He has a 3.79 ERA in 439 2/3 profession minor league innings with 514 strikeouts. At Triple-A, although, his ERA is 5.09 and his 25.4% strikeout price is simply barely above common.
Zack Showalter
Elias mentioned all 4 of the gamers he gave up on the deadline are “big leaguers if they stay healthy.” That’s not a shock admission for Lucas, Prieto and Rom — three Triple-A gamers — however it was excessive reward for Showalter, one of many group’s largest risers in 2023 who remains to be a number of years away from doubtlessly taking part in within the majors.
The Orioles drafted Showalter, 19, out of highschool final summer time, persuading him to signal for greater than what an Eleventh-rounder would sometimes obtain relatively than pitch for the University of South Florida. He didn’t pitch in rookie ball final season and opened the yr not ranked contained in the group’s high 30.
But with a mid-90s fastball and a misleading supply, Showalter struck out 31.8% of batters he confronted in 30 1/3 innings between the Florida Complex League and Delmarva. His efficiency earned him a hefty bump within the rankings, showing on the checklist for the primary time at No. 16 when Baseball America launched its midseason replace.
Farm information
Another week, one other award for pitcher Chayce McDermott.
The right-hander has spent three full weeks with Norfolk and has received the International League Pitcher of the Week award twice. After claiming the consideration final week, McDermott received it once more after permitting one hit and hanging out seven in six shutout innings Wednesday. McDermott, who the Orioles acquired from the Houston Astros final summer time in a commerce for slugger Trey Mancini, is 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA since being promoted. He’s struck out 31.3% of the batters he’s confronted in 87 1/3 innings between Double- and Triple-A.
McDermott wasn’t the one Orioles minor leaguer to win an award Monday. In his first week as knowledgeable, 2023 Tenth-round choose Matthew Etzel received the FCL’s Player of the Week Award. The outfielder out of Southern Miss went 5-for-14 with two doubles and a triple.
Also on the farm, Holliday returned from an sickness to hit two house runs over the weekend for Bowie. The 19-year-old high prospect is slashing .396/.448/.642 — good for a 1.090 OPS — in 13 video games at Double-A. Bowie outfielder Billy Cook hit 4 house runs and drove in 12 runs final week. Norfolk outfielder Kyle Stowers went 6-for-15 with two house runs, Tides shortstop Ortiz went 10-for-25 to spice up his OPS to .976, and DL Hall, the group’s high pitching prospect, returned to Triple-A with two scoreless innings, hanging out 5 and displaying improved velocity.
Minors strikes
The Orioles are selling 10 prospects inside their farm system, a supply with direct data of the strikes confirmed to The Baltimore Sun.
The largest title on the transfer is 2023 first-round choose Enrique Bradfield Jr., who’s being promoted from the FCL to Delmarva together with second-round outfielder Mac Horvath, third-round outfielder Tavian Josenberger, Etzel and Twentieth-round shortstop Jalen Vasquez. In his first weekend {of professional} ball, Bradfield, a speedy outfielder out of Vanderbilt, went 5-for-9 with 4 runs, three walks, one double and a stolen base.
No. 20 prospect Max Wagner was bumped up from High-A to Double-A, together with outfielder Collin Burns and former Terps standout Maxwell Costes. Delmarva infielder Carter Young was moved as much as Aberdeen.
MASNSports.com first reported the promotions.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com