The Low-A affiliate for the Baltimore Orioles, the Delmarva Shorebirds, kicked off their 2023 season this past week. Like usual, their first series was a short three-game set as opposed to their usual six-game series.
Headlined by former No. 1 overall pick Jackson Holliday, the Shorebirds look to improve upon their abysmal season last year. That shouldn’t be too hard, as the talent that is currently in Delmarva is much better out of the gate.
The Shorebirds opened up their 2023 campaign against the Salem Red Sox, the Low-A affiliate for the Boston Red Sox. Delmarva won this series 2-1 while scoring a total of 28 runs in these three games.
An 11-run effort won them game one by a score of 11-7, while a 15-run effort took game two 15-8. Game three was a low-scoring affair for Delmarva, with the Shorebirds losing by a score of 10-2.
Jackson Holliday had himself a great opening series, going 9-for-13 with four RBIs. That’s good for a 1.225 OPS to open up the season.
On top of his offense, Holliday showed out with his glove as well. Check out this beautiful diving play he made.
Samuel Basallo, an 18-year-old catching prospect, also had himself a very nice start to the 2023 season. His first games land him at a .286 average, with two home runs and five RBIs.
Basallo is a must-see prospect who has some serious power, especially for being so young. If you are in the Delmarva area, you have to go see Basallo play before he gets called up to Aberdeen because it won’t be long.
One more position player who got off to a good start is Creed Willems, yet another very good catching prospect. Willems went 4-for-7 in his two games of action, hitting one home run and driving in three runners. Yes, it’s only two games, but the young Willems has an OPS of 2.013.
On the mound, it was a shaky series all around for the Shorebirds. The pitching staff allowed a total of 25 runs in these three games. For Delmarva, the pitching staff will have to be better because you can not expect the offense to score 28 runs every three games.
The Shorebirds’ next action comes on Tuesday as they open up their first six-game series against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, the Low-A affiliate for the Chicago White Sox. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. EST.
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