Today the O’s had guests at their camp: the Pirates minor leaguers. There were a pair of games scheduled and played so the wait to see Birds prospects take on another team finally ended.
On one field it was AA/AAA experienced players, but the one I focused one was the other one, where it was Low-A and A. The Bradenton Marauders won their league last year and came in ready to play. The O’s matched up with the future Aberdeen Ironbirds, with the subs coming from what appeared to be the Delmarva group. The O’s pitchers who had things moving the best were once again righty Jean Pinto early, and Thomas Girard late. Girard can hit his corners extremely well and got several called strikes that appeared to be right on target, a great sign.
Outfield prospect Colton Cowser had a really solid game. He saw plenty of pitches per AB (fans, get used to that ASAP), covered lots of ground in CF, and managed a hit and sac fly. It’s just a matter of time before those skills become enhanced to the level of big leaguer. John Rhodes used his yelling skills in RF to track down a high pop fly and call off his charging teammates. Outfield prospect Donta Williams lined a triple to deep center, catcher Creed Willems threw out a runner stealing second base, and infield prospect Collin Burns had a nice opposite field single.
Third base prospect Coby Mayo looks to be the player that will normalize 105-mph exit velocities, so he sizzled a double early that was hard to see or hear.
Orioles 3B prospect Coby Mayo laces a double in today’s exhibition action pic.twitter.com/o2Jc7t0cl6
— Eric_Birdland (@Eric_Birdland) March 17, 2022
That swing action turns mistakes into extra base hits, so if you’re eager to see him and Cowser use their skills in the same lineup, you’re not alone. Corner Jacob Teter had a great piece of clean contact, but the Pirates had a man in deep right. When the subs came in for both teams, the O’s youngsters held their own against the lineup of Low-A SE champs. Pittsburgh’s arms brought some gas, including starter Tahnaj Thomas, but the O’s held their own against them.
It was another chance for the O’s minor leaguers to show that they’re improving daily. They are!
Finally, I got to catch up with former O’s prospect Zach Matson, now a Pirates farmhand, on the same fields where I filmed him spinning his stuff like a wizard. We took a minute to reflect on the baseball lifestyle and his career path. He looked around and took it all in. The coaches that showed him how to be elite have moved on. The team he pitched against today was the one he used to play for, with some of his old teammates and friends. He’ll ramp it up in the next week and show a new group of eyes that he can get guys out. Every day I’m reminded how that sixth tool, belief, is the true separating skill in the competitive environment that is the minors.
Tomorrow’s games have been cancelled so there should be practices to see.
