Another week down of Minor League Baseball, and it’s time to discuss who were the Prospects of the Week around the Orioles organization.
This week consisted of a couple grand slams, some solid pitching performances and sneaky hitting showcases.
Without further ado, let’s get right into it and discuss this edition of O’s Prospects of the Week.
Delmarva Shorebirds: Aron Estrada – INF / Jared Beck – RHP
Aron Estrada continues to have an insane month of June after showing out once again this week.
The 19-year-old slashed .375/.464/.947 with a 1.411 OPS in six games this past series, collecting nine hits, one double, one triple and two home runs with six RBIs. Estrada also walked four times in this series.
In 61 games this season, Estrada is slashing .282/.347/.432 with a .779 OPS. He has 66 hits, 10 doubles, two triples and seven home runs with 31 RBIs and has walked 17 times and stolen 21 bases in 25 attempts.
The Venezuelan native was our Prospect of the Month for May, and the closer we get to the end of this month, the better the chance his odds are growing to go back-to-back, as he was officially named Carolina League Player of the Week as well.
Jared Beck pitched in relief on Saturday’s game and tossed two scoreless, hitless innings with one walk and six strikeouts, a season-high for the 23-year-old.
Beck has really turned his season around after having a 20.25 ERA in the month of April. The former Savannah Banana is currently looking to have his second straight month of an ERA below three, which helps lower his ERA to 6.38.
Beck has pitched in 18 games with Delmarva, is 3-5 with a save, has pitched 24 innings and has struck out 33. He has also walked 28 and is holding batters to a .216 average this season.
Aberdeen IronBirds: Carter Young – INF / Moisés Chace – RHP
Carter Young had a great week amongst a season that has seen some struggles.
The young (pun definitely intended) shortstop got into some pitches this week, going 6-for-20 with five RBIs.
Young also added a double as one of those six hits, as well as three steals. The former Vandy product notched two multi-hits games during the series, as he works towards a promotion in the future.
On the mound, it was great to see Moisés Chace return to form.
In his third outing since suffering a concussion, Chace got back on his feet with a scoreless three-inning outing on June 22. In those three innings, Chace logged four strikeouts and no hits.
Bowie Baysox: Frederick Bencosme – INF / Dan Hammer – RHP
Frederick Bencosme had himself the best week in recent memory after going through a small slump.
In six games, Bencosme slashed .315/.435/.368 with a .803 OPS, collecting seven hits and two RBIs in the series.
Bencosme has been struggling this season in his first year with Bowie, slashing .234/.316/.339 with a .655 OPS in 60 games this season. He has 51 hits, seven doubles, two triples and four home runs with 23 RBIs.
The 21-year-old looks to continue to hit the ball well and get back to the top 30 prospect that he is.
Drafted in 2019, Dan Hammer has been an overlooked prospect for the Orioles.
Hammer pitched three times this week and gave up just four hits in 5.2 innings pitched. He also gave up just one earned run, walked two batters and struck out seven.
Hammer was called back up to Bowie in late May after a rehab assignment in Aberdeen, and he has started to pick up on the mound. In 12 games, the 26-year-old has a 2-0 record with a 4.74 ERA in just 19 innings pitched. He’s given up 14 hits and 10 earned runs, has walked 12 batters and has struck out 25.
Norfolk Tides: Connor Norby – INF / Nolan Hoffman – RHP
The taste of the big league seems to have put Connor Norby into a new gear. Against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Norby once again showed why he is one of the top hitters in the organization.
Norby, who returned to Norfolk’s lineup on June 13, would go 8-for-22 (.364 avg), including two doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs and six runs scored.
For the season, the O’s No. 6 prospect is now slashing .291/.378/.512/.890, collecting 71 hits in 61 games. He has 19 doubles, one triple and 11 home runs while driving in 43 runs and scoring 51. Norby has also stolen eight bases and has picked up 32 walks on the year.
Nolan Hoffman has been one player who was more than happy to put the month of May behind him. After pitching to a 6.10 ERA in May, Hoffman continues to show that it was just a blip on the radar.
Hoffman was able to get into two games against Lehigh Valley, combining to pitch four innings. He allowed just one hit, no runs, no walks and struck out five between the two outings.
These two outings helped drop Hoffman’s season ERA 0.72 points and kept his ERA for June at 0.00 across six innings.
For the season, Hoffman is 3-1 across 20 games with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. He does have a hold and has struck out 35 batters across 25.1 innings while not allowing a home run.
Which prospects stood out to you this week? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
Represent The Baltimore Battery and show off your fandom with our official merchandise! Reasonably-priced attire made just for you! Visit our official shop site by clicking here!
Like Zack’s content? Follow him on X – @Zackattack8211 and @OsMilbUpdates for all the latest news and updates on the O’s farm system! Also, check out the latest episodes of The First Flight podcast!
Like Stephen’s content? Follow him on X – @SRJHeckman, and listen to the official podcast of The Baltimore Battery, The Final Strike, anywhere you get your podcasts!
Like Justin’s content? Follow him on X – @orioles4life96
The Baltimore Battery 
Leave a comment