Orioles minor league report: When will it be Connor Norby’s turn? His ‘time is coming.’
When the Orioles optioned Jackson Holliday, they determined they needed a right-handed hitter to fill in for the injured Austin Hays.
They went back to an old friend, selecting the contract of Ryan McKenna to resume his oft-used role of defensive replacement and the occasional at-bat against left-handed pitchers. But McKenna wasn’t their only option in Triple-A.
Right-handed hitting prospects Connor Norby and Coby Mayo are well-regarded prospects in Norfolk, but Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias chose McKenna instead.
Mayo’s case to join Baltimore in this instance was perhaps less likely given he doesn’t play the outfield and he has less Triple-A experience at just 22 years old. However, Norby, in theory, fits the mold of what the Orioles needed in Hays’ stead.
The 23-year-old has an .856 OPS across 173 Triple-A games with experience at second base and corner outfield — although his defense remains an unanswered question — and he’s performed better against left-handers in the minors. His overall hitting ability and his success against southpaws are traits that Baltimore could use with Hays out, as the injured left fielder was mostly starting against lefties before his calf strain.
But it wasn’t Norby’s turn last week, and with one of the majors’ best teams at 18-10 and baseball’s best farm system, it’s unclear when it will be.
When asked Friday about Norby, Elias said his “time is coming.”
“Connor is doing really well. I think it feels like he’s been in Triple-A longer than he has,” Elias said of the 2021 second-round pick. “He’s moved really quickly through. … He’s also somebody that is working on his defense, whether that’s at second base and he’s also working on the corner outfield, too.
“We’re talking about him, you know, he’s a topic of conversation, which is always a good sign.”
The reason it perhaps feels as if he’s “been in Triple-A longer than he has” is because every other top Orioles prospect spent less time there. That is, of course, because of circumstances (the Orioles are better now) and talent (Norby, while a former top 100 prospect, isn’t seen by external rankers to be as good as those who came before him).
But Norby’s 802 plate appearances with Norfolk are more than the 714 taken by Jordan Westburg, who was the most recent Orioles prospect who some viewed as being in Triple-A too long. Norby’s plate appearance total is more than Colton Cowser (368) and Joey Ortiz (178), who was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in the Corbin Burnes trade, before their call-ups. Norby has played more at Triple-A than Adley Rutschman (238), Gunnar Henderson (295) and Jackson Holliday (147) combined before their debuts.
Norby might not have the flash most of those other prospects did, with his defense playing a major reason why, but his production at the level is similar to his peers. All seven of those prospects have a career Triple-A OPS between .856 and .904. Norby is slashing .292/.359/.497 — good for an .856 OPS — in Triple-A.
But barring multiple injuries or a shift in the organization’s view of its roster, Norby is one of the top names blocked by Baltimore’s logjam.
Cowser, who was in Norby’s shoes last year, said all his former teammate can do is “keep his head down.”
“I don’t expect anything else from him,” Cowser said. “Work ethic is never a question with him.”
Norby was once a top 100 prospect, but his stock has fallen over the past year to no fault of his own. During spring training, Mayo said “it’s crazy” that Norby is left off prospect lists, especially after leading the International League in hits last year and smacking 29 homers in 2022.
But whenever Norby arrives, Cowser doesn’t think he will “catch anyone by surprise.”
“I think everyone knows what type of player Norby is, regardless of how much attention he’s getting,” Cowser said. “He’s going to be a great big leaguer.”
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. Here’s who stood out:
1. Double-A Bowie catcher Samuel Basallo
Once Holliday is recalled and graduates from prospect status later this year, Basallo will be the crown jewel of Baltimore’s farm system. The 19-year-old backstop is ranked by Baseball America as the sport’s No. 10 prospect, and he has a shot to follow Holliday, Henderson and Rutschman in the top spot. Basallo, who is playing first base as his injured elbow fully heals, slumped to begin the season, posting a .555 OPS through his first 14 games. But he broke out last week, especially Sunday when he went 3-for-4 with two homers — his second and third of the season — and three RBIs.
2. Double-A Bowie outfielder John Rhodes
Basallo, though, wasn’t the Baysox’s best hitter last week. That was Rhodes, the 2021 third-round pick who posted a 1.165 OPS thanks to two doubles and two long balls. Rhodes, 23, is ranked as the Orioles’ 25th-best prospect. He hit just .228 in Double-A last year and is sporting a .222 average this season, but he’s drastically improved his contact ability. He struck out in 26.3% of his plate appearances in 2023 while walking 11.3% of the time. This year, he’s walked 13 times in 68 plate appearances versus only 12 punchouts.
3. High-A Aberdeen right-hander Jackson Baumeister
Baumeister has yet to earn the hype of fellow Orioles top pitching prospects Cade Povich, Chayce McDermott and Seth Johnson, but he might not be far away. His start last week wasn’t his sharpest — walking two batters and plunking another — but he allowed just two hits across 4 2/3 scoreless innings. Baumeister, who is 11th on Baltimore’s organizational top 30, is the highest-drafted pitcher of the Elias era after the club selected him No. 63 overall in Competitive Balance Round B last summer. He has a 1.93 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 14 innings this season.
4. Low-A Delmarva left-hander Luis De León
It’s possible by the end of the year that De León is the Orioles’ best pitching prospect. The southpaw twirled his best start of the young season Friday, striking out eight batters and allowing just one hit and zero earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. It marked the first time in the 21-year-old’s career that he’s pitched into the sixth inning. De León, who the Orioles signed out of the Dominican Republic in December 2021, is Baltimore’s fifth-best pitching prospect and No. 13 on the organization’s top 30. He’s sporting a 1.65 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings.
5. High-A Aberdeen outfielder Matthew Etzel
This list is normally for prospects ranked inside the organization’s top 30, but Etzel is playing so well that he very well could be among that group soon. Many youngsters have struggled at High-A because of the offensive environment of Ripken Stadium and the jump in pitching talent from Low-A, but not Etzel. He went 8-for-21 last week with three doubles, one home run, five RBIs and four walks. Etzel, who turned 22 last Tuesday, is slashing .333/.418/.530 — good for a .948 OPS — with nine stolen bases through 18 games.
The top prospect not featured so far
A week ago, Holliday recorded his second big league hit, staying back on a first-pitch curveball and lining it into center field. It would be the last hit of his first stint in the show, as the Orioles sent the slumping youngster back down to Triple-A on Friday. In two games with Triple-A Norfolk, Holliday went 1-for-8 with a double and an intentional walk. His results with the Tides are expected to again be excellent, but his progress with the adjustments the Orioles’ brass gave him as his marching orders is more important.
International acquisition of the week
The Orioles didn’t technically acquire right-hander Juan Nuñez on the international market, but the team they got him from did. Nuñez, 23, was one of four minor league arms the Orioles acquired from the Minnesota Twins in the Jorge López trade at the 2022 deadline, along with Yennier Cano and Povich. He struck out five in five shutout innings last week to improve his ERA to 1.72 in 15 2/3 frames. Nuñez is ranked as Baltimore’s 19th-best prospect.
Time to give a shout-out to …
The early returns from the 2023 draft have been positive, and right-hander Braxton Bragg is one of the many players who have made it so. Bragg, an eighth-round pick, struggled in his first start this year with Delmarva, allowing eight batters to reach base and five to score in 1 1/3 innings. Since, he’s pitched 10 2/3 innings without surrendering an earned run while striking out 18. He punched out six in four sparkling innings Sunday.
Farm files
Hudson Haskin, ranked as Baltimore’s No. 24 prospect, returned to Norfolk last week after completing his rehabilitation assignment as he makes his way back from hip surgery in 2023. Haskin, 25, has a career .802 OPS in the minors. … Former Terps standout Maxwell Costes began his rehab assignment and made his 2024 debut with Delmarva, going 3-for-15 with a double last week. … Utilityman Billy Cook, the Orioles’ No. 30 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, was promoted to Norfolk after Kjerstad was recalled by Baltimore. Cook was hitting .255 with a .757 OPS in Bowie.