Earlier this year I wrote a blog about the pros that moved around when Dan Duquette decided to blow things up. Now it’s time to see where the prospects the O’s received are in the farm system.
Manny Machado to LAD for OF Yusniel Diaz, RHP Dean Kremer, INF Rylan Bannon, INF Breyvic Valera, and RHP Zach Pop
To start, Valera is on the Toronto Blue Jays and Zach Pop is on the Miami Marlins. Valera’s rights were purchased by the Giants and he was eventually picked up on waivers by the Blue Jays, and Pop was drafted in the Rule 5 draft by the Diamondbacks and was then traded to the Marlins.
Yusniel Diaz is a bit behind schedule due to a combination of small injuries and lackluster play this year. He’s hitting .174 with an OBP of .241 and OPS of .519. He was expected to be called up to the Majors this year; however, it doesn’t look like that will end up happening until next year.
Dean Kremer has started 12 games this year in the Majors and has an ERA of 7.25 and a record of 0-7. He was optioned to Norfolk at the end of June and has an ERA of 6.29 and a record of 0-5. Safe to say Kremer has some room for growth in the coming years.
Rylan Bannon was having an uninspired 2021 season up until August, but he’s been scorching hot since then. He had a streak at the end of August of 10 home runs in 10 games. Some fans have been calling for him to get called up, and when asked Brandon Hyde said “hopefully we’ll see him up here” in regard to how hot he’s been.
Jonathan Schoop to MIL for INF Jean Carmona, RHP Luis Ortiz, and INF Jonathan Villar
Luis Ortiz was elected to free agency by the Orioles and is now with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliates with an ERA of 4.85 this year.
Jean Carmona is on the Orioles High-A affiliate Aberdeen and is hitting a very respectable .268 with an OBP of .349 and an OPS of .782. Carmona is only 21 so he has plenty of time to work his way through the minors. According to Prospects1500.com Carmona is the 46th ranked O’s prospect who is ahead of the game for being only 21.
Villar was most definitely not a prospect but he’s been pretty solid for the Mets this year.
Zach Britton to NYY for RHP Dillon Tate, RHP Cody Carroll, and LHP Josh Rogers
Cody Carroll was released by the Orioles in early August of this year and has not done much since. He’s in the Marlins’ Low-A affiliate at age 28. Josh Rogers was released in June of this year and is now at Triple-A for the Nationals. He has an ERA of 4.75 this year.
Dillon Tate, the only player left on the O’s from this trade, has been in the Majors the entire year and has an ERA of 4.19. He has been improving recently as he has given up just two hits and no runs over his last six appearances. He still seems to have some upside and can be a solid reliever in the future.
Darren O’Day and Kevin Gausman to ATL for C Brett Cumberland, 3B Jean Carlos Encarnacion, LHP Bruce Zimmermann, RHP Evan Phillips, and international slot money
Evan Phillips was released by the O’s at the beginning of August and has eventually landed with the Dodgers. His ERA in his years in Baltimore reached 7.36, and he is just getting started in LA.
Encarnacion was having a poor 2021 season, so he was released in June, and eventually signed by an Atlantic League team called the York Revolution.
Brett Cumberland is in Norfolk hitting .195 with an OBP of .366 and OPS of .711. He was supposedly known for his power at the plate, but we have not seen a lot of that out of him so far. He will likely be leapfrogged by the best catching prospect in the league, Adley Rutschman.
Bruce Zimmermann was starting in Baltimore until June when he got left bicep tendonitis. He had an ERA of 4.83, which was alright considering some of the alternatives. He was on a rehab assignment earlier this month until he was eventually shut down for the season being put on the 60 day IL. He will likely have a chance to start some games again next year.
Dylan Bundy to LAA for RHP Isaac Mattson, RHP Zach Peek, RHP Kyle Bradish, RHP Kyle Brnovich
Isaac Mattson only has three appearances in the Majors and has an ERA of 9.00, and his ERA in Norfolk is 8.10 in 15 games. It appears he’s had a rough go of it so far but we’ll see if he can turn it around because it is very clear that the O’s will not hold back cutting anybody.
Zach Peek is in High-A with a respectable ERA of 4.20 and 96 strikeouts over 70.2 IP. Peek is showing a bit more upside than Mattson so far in his short time with the O’s.
Kyle Bradish’s stats are nearly identical to Peek, but Bradish is in Triple-A. Bradish is the 8th ranked O’s prospect right now. It sounds as though he’s always improving his game, like how he increased his fastball velocity from 88-94 to 92-97 just in his time with Norfolk. We could potentially see him in the Majors as soon as next year.
Kyle Brnovich has had a standout rookie season between High-A and Double-A. He has an ERA of 3.36 and a record of 4-2. He has also had some outstanding outings like a start with 13 strikeouts in six innings and another start with 10 strikeouts in five innings. He is clearly on the way up, so watch out for him in Triple-A soon.
There are a few standouts in these trades and some very clear disappointments. But with the O’s recently being ranked the top farm system in the entire league, it’s hard to feel too bad about these trades. The farm system is a forever changing place so dwelling on these disappointments truly isn’t worth the time. The O’s are trying to make themselves known in Latin America and the draft picks from this year’s draft are all playing right now. Looking back at these names was very tough I must admit however knowing there is a future in Baltimore is a great thing.
