The final O’s Prospect of the Week piece for August is here, and we had a lot happen around the farm.
We saw multiple walk-offs, career firsts and even saw Baltimore Battery writers enjoy games live.
Let’s get right into it and see which top prospects stood out this week in Birdland.
Triple-A Norfolk: Jordyn Adams – OF / Thaddeus Ward – RHP
Jordyn Adams was showing off his slug this week for the Tides.
Adams led the team offensively this week, posting a .385 average and 1.275 OPS. He collected five hits, including a team-high two home runs and a tied team-high four RBIs.
This year, Adams has a .653 OPS, is batting just .208 and has a .296 on-base percentage. He has 46 hits, six doubles, three triples and seven home runs in 75 games.
It was such an off week for the Tides’ pitching staff, but that didn’t include Thaddeus Ward, who tossed two shutout and hitless innings in relief, walking two batters and striking out four.
Ward has not showcased his best this season, yet he still has solid numbers in certain categories. For example, he leads Norfolk in strikeouts with 117 but also has a 5.78 ERA in 104.1 innings of work.
Batters are hitting .267 against Ward, and he has walked 83 of them. It’s nice to see the 28-year-old have a productive week on the mound.
Double-A Chesapeake: Douglas Hodo III – OF / Michael Forret – RHP
Douglas Hodo III, in four games played this week, slashed .375/.412/.563 with a .975 OPS, as he collected six hits, including three doubles, and knocked in four RBIs. Hodo III now has a nine-game hitting streak to his name.
Hodo’s season has been a down one, but his month of August has been a huge upside. The 24-year-old currently owns a .209 average and has a .664 OPS in 98 Chesapeake games.
Hodo III has 68 total hits on the year, 18 doubles, eight home runs and has knocked in 29 RBIs. He has also shown some speed, stealing 23 bases in 32 attempts.
On the pitching side, Michael Forret continues his dominant season.
In just his second Chesapeake start, Forret went 4.2 shutout innings, giving up three hits, walking two batters and striking out five. The 21-year-old gone 10.2 innings without giving up an earned run so far at the Double-A level.
Forret has a 1.28 ERA in 17 starts and 70.1 innings between High-A Aberdeen and Chesapeake and has given up just 10 earned runs this season, with 19 walks to 88 strikeouts. Forret had also held batters to an impressive .150 batting average.
High-A Aberdeen: Colin Tuft – C / Jack Crowder – RHP
Offensively, we have a new face taking home the weekly honor, and that new player is catcher Colin Tuft.
The right-handed backstop notched a five-hit series in 13 at-bats, with a triple and a home run as two of those five knocks. The former eighth-round pick came through with pivotal RBIs in the IronBirds’ victories on Wednesday and Saturday.
Playing in 67 games between three levels this season, the Tulane product has posted a .218/.379/.311/.690 slash line with two home runs and 17 RBIs.
For the pitching side, another 2024 draftee, this time a ninth-round selection, makes their weekly honor debut, as right-hander Jack Crowder had a lights-out week for Aberdeen.
Between outings on Tuesday and Sunday, Crowder threw eight combined innings, allowing just five hits and zero runs with 10 strikeouts. He tossed five innings of scoreless relief with seven strikeouts in his first outing and followed that up with a three-inning scoreless outing that earned him a save on Sunday.
The Illinois native has posted an ERA of 5.27 in 18 games between Low-A Delmarva and High-A Aberdeen this year, with 75 strikeouts to 24 walks in 68.1 innings of work.
Low-A Delmarva: RJ Austin – INF / Andy Fabian – LHP
The Orioles’ fourth-round pick in just his second week of pro ball showed how good of a pick he was.
RJ Austin posted a .938 OPS while slashing. 400/.471/.467, picking up six hits, including a double, driving in three RBIs and stealing three bases.
Austin has had an impressive nine games to start his career, posting a .345 batting average and .838 OPS with 10 hits, two doubles and four stolen bases. He has also been versatile playing games at second base with the Shorebirds, even though he was drafted as an outfielder out of Vandy.
Andy Fabian is quietly having an impressive season, and that continued this past week with Delmarva.
In five relief innings, Fabian didn’t give up a single run, allowed just three hits, walked three and struck out eight. The 22-year-old has been the best pitcher on Delmarva’s roster since his call-up, and that was with him starting with a 9.00 ERA.
Fabian has pitched in 23 games and has given up just six earned runs in 34.2 innings of work. He has given up 18 hits, walked 22, and struck out 56.
What do you think of our selections this 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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