We are two months into Minor League Baseball, and the Orioles still have the best farm system in baseball. This month was filled with many impressive performances by O’s prospects and even saw the number of top 100 prospects be increased to eight. (Congrats to Coby Mayo).
Qualifications for being a Prospect of the Month for a certain affiliation means they need to play at least 50% of the games that the affiliation played. Some players did show out in certain affiliations but played less than 50% of games to qualify. As for the overall Prospect of the Month, they need to play in 17+ games in the month.
Without any more interpretation, let’s get into it.
SINGLE-A DELMARVA: ELIO PRADO – OF
Let’s start with some honesty. Reese Sharp, who was Delmarva’s April Prospect of the Month, was so close to winning Delmarva’s May prospect, but Elio Prado had a month that could not be overlooked.
Prado was part of the 2019 trade that sent right-hander Andrew Cashner to the Boston Red Sox. Prado has had decent success in his time with the organization, but nothing compares to the May he had.
Prado played in 21 games, 78 at-bats, this month and slashed .308/.400/.487 with a .887 OPS. The 21-year-old outfielder had 24 total hits, 16 runs, four doubles, two triples, two home runs, eight RBIs and walked 11 times. He also stole three bases, had a BABIP of .349 and continues a season where he has a .764 OPS and 38 total hits.
Honorable Mentions: Samuel Basallo C/1B, Reese Sharp RHP, Alejandro Méndez RHP
HIGH-A ABERDEEN: ALEX PHAM – RHP
Aberdeen had a two-man race between Jake Lyons and Alex Pham. Two pitchers who had outstanding months and have had career years.
However, Pham had five dominant starts in May. Originally selected in the 19th round of the 2021 draft, Pham’s career has not been talked about as much and continues to be underrated.
In those five games in May, Pham went 2-0 with a 1.54 ERA in 23.1 innings pitched and gave up 10 total hits, four earned runs, one home run, walked 12 batters and struck out 34. The California native also held batters to a .128 average and had a 0.94 WHIP for the month.
Pham continues his season with a 2-1 record in nine total games, 36.2 innings pitched. The 23-year-old righty has a 2.21 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 51 strikeouts.
Honorable Mention: Jake Lyons RHP
DOUBLE-A BOWIE: JUSTIN ARMBRUESTER – RHP
Bowie was hands down the most difficult decision on who to choose as the Prospect of the Month. There were arguably four players that could have been chosen and three players that were knocking on the door.
Justin Armbruester’s May was just too good to pass up. As another 2021 draft pick, Armbruester is another pitcher that is being seen as underrated and having a season that barely anyone is talking about, even though he’s a top-30 O’s prospect.
Armbruester started five games and went 2-0 with a 1.40 ERA in 25.2 innings pitched. He gave up 20 total hits, four earned runs, three home runs, walked seven batters and struck out 19. Armbruester also had a 1.05 WHIP and held batters to a .211 average.
Armbruester continues his season with a 2-1 record in 10 total starts, 50 innings pitched. He has a 1.62 ERA and a WHIP of 1.06. The former University of New Mexico product has been nothing short of stellar so far this season.
Honorable Mentions: Connor Gillispie RHP, Coby Mayo INF, César Prieto INF
TRIPLE-A NORFOLK: JORDAN WESTBURG – RHP
Jordan Westburg had a historical month of May that we had not seen in Norfolk since August of 2021. Westburg’s May was about the same he does every month, but this month had some difference.
Westburg played in 27 games and had 110 at-bats in the month. He slashed .300/.384/.645 with a 1.029 OPS, tallying 33 total hits, 28 runs, nine doubles, one triple, 24 RBIs and 15 walks. He also had nine home runs, which is the most home runs in a month for Norfolk since Rylan Bannon in August of 2021, who hit 10.
Westburg’s season consists of a .992 OPS and 15 home runs. The former 2020 draft pick is inching closer to a big league call-up if he keeps this production up.
Honorable Mentions: Connor Norby INF, Reed Garrett RHP, Cole Irvin LHP
OVERALL PROSPECT OF THE MONTH: JACKSON HOLLIDAY – INF
He is just 19 years old! Jackson Holliday is dropping jaws and showing no flaws.
Holliday has been phenomenal this season, and his month of May was better than stellar. Holliday played the entire month of May with Aberdeen, which included 24 games, 86 at-bats, and slashed .384/.509/.628 with a 1.137 OPS.
Holliday had 33 total hits, 26 runs, six doubles, three triples, three home runs, 19 RBIs and 21 walks. He also had 22 strikeouts to 21 walks and stole eight bases. The young second generation talent has a 1.089 OPS and 59 total hits on the season.
Which O’s prospects stood out to you this past month? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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