Another week of Minor League Baseball is in the books, and we saw a mix of good and bad this week.
The good news is that we saw a few returns, as outfielder Tavian Josenberger and right-hander Zach Fruit both made rehab stints as they came back from injury.
In bad news, we saw the Aberdeen IronBirds get a combined perfect game get thrown against them.
With that said, let’s discuss the O’s Prospects of the Week for the first time in the month of July.
Triple-A Norfolk: Dylan Beavers – OF / Yaramil Hiraldo – RHP
The next high-profile outfielder to watch in the Baltimore Orioles organization is the 33rd pick of the 2022 MLB Draft, Dylan Beavers.
Beavers is versatile enough to play any of the three outfield spots and has even played some first base. After this week, Beavers is knocking on the big league door and is seeing his trade value sore if the O’s choose to buy at the deadline.
Beavers finished 8-for-18 this past week, kick-starting a strong beginning to the month. Since returning from the IL at the end of May, the former Cal product has been on an offensive onslaught.
Beavers is in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak and an eight-game on-base streak that has seen him reach multiple times in six of those games.
Beavers collected a double and two home runs among his eight hits while driving in and scoring five runs, stealing a base, picking up a walk and striking out just once.
For the season, Beavers is slashing .319/.407/.504/ .911 with 10 home runs and 37 RBIs. He has collected 76 hits in 65 games, scored 48 runs, stolen 19 bases and walked 37 times.
Yaramil Hiraldo had one of the strongest starts to July of any of the Tides’ pitchers, which is why this week, he finds himself as the Pitcher of the Week.
Making two appearances and pitching two innings in each one, Hiraldo has not allowed a hit, run or walk and has struck out six of the 12 batters he has faced, throwing 32 of his 40 pitches for strikes (80%).
The 29-year-old righty has now appeared in 21 games (one start), picking up one win, three holds and a save in his lone opportunity.
Hiraldo has pitched 32.1 innings with a 2.51 ERA and 1.05 WHIP at the Triple-A level this season. He has struck out 43 batters while walking only seven and has prevented eight of the nine runners inherited from scoring, holding opponents to a .225/.266/.325/.591 slash line.
Double-A Chesapeake: Creed Willems – C/1B / Trey Gibson – RHP
Creed Willems had a team-high 1.179 OPS in five games this past series against Richmond, collecting eight hits, two doubles and knocking in three RBIs.
Willems has been having a very up and down season and is currently slashing .246/.337/.421 with a .758 OPS. He has 59 hits, 16 doubles, one triple and eight home runs to go along with 31 RBIs.
On the pitching side, Trey Gibson pitched a complete game shutout during a doubleheader day. He went seven innings, gave up one hit and struck out six batters, which earned him Eastern League Pitcher of the Week honors.
When Gibson was a part of the IronBirds, he carried a 5.12 ERA in nine total games. As a Baysox, he has made five starts, has a 2.05 ERA and is holding batters to a .161 batting average.
The 23-year-old Liberty product has only given up six earned runs in 26.1 innings of work with Chesapeake. His future gets brighter and brighter the more he dominates the Eastern League.
High-A Aberdeen: Aron Estrada – INF / Zach Fruit – RHP
Despite having a perfect game thrown on them, Aberdeen still had some prospects show out. That includes Aron Estrada, who continues to be a star for the IronBirds.
Estrada collected five RBIs this week, leading the team, and carried a .316 average while playing in all six games.
The best overall hitter on the team, Estrada is slashing .282/.359/.419 with a .778 OPS in 69 games. He has 70 hits, 12 doubles, five triples and four home runs while knocking in 32 RBIs. The Venezuelan native has also showcased his plus speed, stealing 26 bases in 32 attempts.
Pitching-wise, it came down to a guy who had an impressive rehab outing. Zach Fruit was given the ball, and he looked like his 2024 self in Aberdeen. He pitched four shutout innings, giving up just one hit and striking out five.
The season hasn’t been great for Fruit between his stats and the injury concerns. Fruit carries a 6.75 ERA in just 12 innings of work, and that includes giving up nine earned runs on just 11 hits.
Fruit has also had a control problem, walking seven batters and striking out just 12. Hopefully, Fruit will build off this setback and return to that dominant 2024 form.
Low-A Delmarva: Nate George – OF / Yeiber Cartaya – RHP
Both Joshua Liranzo and Nate George had exceptional weeks. However, George had the slight edge offensively, hitting .381 with three doubles and three RBIs while also stealing four bases in five attempts.
George has been on fire this season between rookie ball and Low-A. The 19-year-old has a .373 average, 60 total hits and has stolen 26 bases. The Illinois native was selected in the 16th round last year and is looking like an absolute steal from the draft.
On the pitching side of things, Yeiber Cartaya has continued to look great on the mound. He pitched six shutout innings, giving up just two hits and striking out seven batters, which earned him the title of Carolina League Pitcher of the Week.
After Cartaya pitched on May 30, his ERA for the season was at 6.17. That ERA is now down to 4.04 after his last six starts. The 22-year-old has had one start of giving up three or more earned runs between the months of June and July, after having four starts of giving up three or more earned runs in the first two months of the season.
What are your thoughts on our picks from this past week? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, X, Bluesky and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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