Injury updates on Rizer and Baumler (plus Orioles notes)

Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Johnny Rizer, the Orioles’ seventh-round draft pick in 2019 out of Texas Christian University, underwent hip surgery last week in Philadelphia and is out for the remainder of the season.

The Orioles made the announcement this afternoon.

Rizer appeared in 22 games with the Tides and went 14-for-72 (.194) with five home runs and 12 RBIs in 81 plate appearances. He hit a combined .253/.312/.423 last summer with 15 doubles, three triples, 14 home runs and 53 RBIs in 98 games between Double-A Bowie (83) and Single-A Aberdeen.

Carter Baumler, a fifth-round selection in 2020 out of Dowling Catholic High in Iowa, will miss his next start at Single-A Delmarva due to right shoulder inflammation.

Baumler didn’t begin his professional career until this year after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He’s allowed two earned runs, walked seven batters and struck out 20 in 11 2/3 innings.

Minor league notes on Norfolk's strong start and more

GettyImages-457264630

OAKLAND – While we are awaiting first pitch between the Orioles and Athletics tonight for Oakland’s home opener to start the road trip, here are a few minor league notes around Birdland.

The Triple-A Norfolk Tides are off to an 8-4 start, their best mark after 12 games during their time as a Baltimore affiliate since 2007.

Norfolk has scored 76 runs in the 12 games and has a run differential of plus-27, which is third-best in the International League that features 20 teams. The Tides lost via a 1-0 walk-off in Game 2 of Sunday’s doubleheader at Scranton to snap a five-game winning streak.

Right-hander Kyle Bradish was the winning pitcher in Norfolk’s Game 1 5-1 win, when he allowed just two hits and one run over five innings. Nick Vespi and Cole Uvila each threw a scoreless inning to complete the combined two-hitter.

Bradish is 1-0 with an ERA of 1.00 in two starts to begin his season. He is doing his part to get noticed for a call-up to the Orioles roster. Over nine innings, he’s allowed four hits and the one run with two walks, nine strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.67.

Fast start, strong finish, final day win leads Bowie to playoffs

Fast start, strong finish, final day win leads Bowie to playoffs
As they get ready to play for a league championship for the third time in the team's 28-year history, the Double-A Bowie Baysox can look back on a special regular season where they got off to a sizzling start and produced a strong finish. The Baysox were 21-5 on June 4 and were about the best team in all of Minor League Baseball to that point. Late in the year, as they pushed for a postseason spot, Bowie won 12 of 14 in the last two series, going 7-0 versus Harrisburg and 5-2 against...

The Bowie Baysox win to reach the playoffs

The Bowie Baysox win to reach the playoffs
They took an early lead but then fell behind. But the Double-A Bowie Baysox put together a dramatic rally in the last of the eighth this afternoon and pulled out their must-win game today. Bowie entered the final day of the regular season needing a win to advance to the playoffs. A loss and the season would be over. The Baysox entered the last of the eighth down 5-4 but scored three times to beat Altoona 7-5. The Baysox end the regular season 73-47 (.608), winning 12 of their final 14 games, to...

Orioles rally for lead and relinquish it in ninth in 4-3 loss (updated)

Orioles rally for lead and relinquish it in ninth in 4-3 loss (updated)
Gary Sánchez drove a fastball to deep center field tonight in the second inning, flipping his bat on the backswing, and began his trip around the bases. Where else was he going after making that kind of contact? Cedric Mullins sprinted to the ball, timed his leap at the fence and reached high above it, came down, hopped twice to his left - sticking the landing wasn't important in this event - and flipped it to Austin Hays. Hays would flip the lead later and watch it spin back. John Means...

Amid big roster attrition, Aberdeen pushes for winning year

Amid big roster attrition, Aberdeen pushes for winning year
ABERDEEN - On the surface, one could see the high Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds' record at 54-51 and feel like they've had a decent year, posting a winning record on the farm. But it you look deeper at all the players the club has moved up to Double-A Bowie this year - players that have the Baysox in a playoff hunt where Aberdeen is not - it tells you the IronBirds players and staff have done a real nice job during the 2021 season. Their season-opening rotation of Grayson Rodriguez, Garrett...

A look at Adley Rutschman's strong start with Norfolk

A look at Adley Rutschman's strong start with Norfolk
The No. 1 prospect in baseball, Triple-A Norfolk catcher Adley Rutschman, has been at the minors' highest level for just over two weeks now. After starting with eight hits in his first 17 Norfolk at-bats, his hitting has leveled off a bit, but it's still been a strong start for Rutschman with the Tides. Earlier, over 80 games with Double-A Bowie, Rutschman hit .271/.392/.508/.901 with 16 doubles, 18 homers and 55 RBIs. Through 15 games with Norfolk at Triple-A, he's batting...

Quality start for Means can't prevent 4-3 loss (updated)

Quality start for Means can't prevent 4-3 loss (updated)
The Orioles keep a shorter bench to provide manager Brandon Hyde with an extra reliever, a survival tactic with his starters routinely unable to provide much length. More position players are coming with rosters expanding on Wednesday. Meanwhile, with the timing odd, Hyde's rotation is attempting to produce the kind of streak that the Orioles won't regret. Keegan Akin closed out the Angels series by going a career-high seven innings. Matt Harvey logged six last night before succumbing to the...

Scott returns from injured list (plus other notes)

Scott returns from injured list (plus other notes)
The Orioles reinstated left-hander Tanner Scott from the injured list this afternoon and optioned southpaw Alexander Wells to Triple-A Norfolk. Scott has recovered from a sprained left knee and convinced the club that he was ready yesterday after a bullpen session. Rule 5 pick Tyler Wells is expected to be reinstated within a day or two after yesterday's simulated inning. Alexander Wells hops back on the shuttle after allowing a run and three hits last night in the ninth inning. He can return...

Harvey with six scoreless, first win in two months (updated)

Harvey with six scoreless, first win in two months (updated)
Six pitches thrown in the first inning. Only 18 through the second and 28 through the third. Eleven of 12 first-pitch strikes. No runs against him. Matt Harvey was having himself a day. Manager Brandon Hyde was having visions of a starter plowing through the early and middle innings, removing one of the hardest decisions he routinely makes during the season, which inevitably fuels second-guessing as a first reaction to it. A hit batter, walk and infield single in the fourth, with Domingo...

Watkins gets first major league win in Orioles' 7-5 victory (updated)

Watkins gets first major league win in Orioles' 7-5 victory (updated)
Retiring all three batters faced in his major league debut left Orioles right-hander Spenser Watkins ripe for a bunch of firsts tonight beyond how he was making his initial start. Get the walk out of the way with a free pass to Blue Jays leadoff hitter Marcus Semien. Get ahead of Bo Bichette 0-2 and surrender the first hit, a groundball single into right field. Followed by the first run on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s line drive to deep left that went into the box score as a sacrifice fly. Manager...

A look at how Bowie moved to the top of its league in offense

A look at how Bowie moved to the top of its league in offense
Players for the Double-A Bowie Baysox this year can go hitless, yet still get praise from the coaching staff for their hitting. And not just because they may have made a productive out. It's all about the swing decisions they make. They are graded both on the pitches they do swing at and those they do not. The goal is to get a very hittable pitch and drive it. Let almost everything else go. Even borderline strikes are sometimes spit on while a hitter waits for a better pitch. Sometimes, even...

Lineup produces top to bottom, O's sweep on the farm

Lineup produces top to bottom, O's sweep on the farm
It's fun to win and so it was fun around Birdland last night, as the Orioles and their four minor league teams combined for another perfect 5-0 night. The Orioles beat the Mets 10-3 and again got contributions throughout the lineup, which was great to see. As the O's have gotten their core hitters in the middle of the order back healthy and hitting in Trey Mancini, Ryan Mountcastle and Anthony Santander, with a big push at the top, of course, from center fielder Cedric Mullins, it takes some...

O's losing streak ends as farm teams sweep the night

O's losing streak ends as farm teams sweep the night
A win, finally a win for the Orioles to provide a sense of both excitement and relief around Birdland. The clutch hits finally came and lefty starter Bruce Zimmermann used them to pick up the win. Back on May 16, when the Orioles last won before last night, Zimmermann was also the winning pitcher. That victory came out of the bullpen. This one he got as a starter as he allowed two runs and six hits over 5 1/3 innings with two walks and a career-high seven strikeouts. He is now 3-3 with a 4.96...

More players movin' on up on the farm

More players movin' on up on the farm
We are not even a month into the minor league season and the Orioles moved four more players Sunday with promotions. More could be coming sooner rather than later. Moving up from low Single-A Delmarva to high Single-A Aberdeen are shortstop/third baseman Jordan Westburg and first baseman J.D. Mundy. Westburg, 22, went 4-for-6 with six RBIs in his final two games with the Shorebirds. He batted .366/.484/.592 in 20 games with five doubles, a triple, three homers, 24 RBIs and an OPS of 1.075. He...

Bradish gets set for Triple-A debut, O's offense perks up

Bradish gets set for Triple-A debut, O's offense perks up
The Dylan Bundy trade has been looking pretty good recently for the Orioles. It was a trade from Dec. 4, 2019 with the Los Angeles Angels and the Orioles got four right-handers in return. They added Kyle Bradish, Kyle Brnovich, Zach Peek and Isaac Mattson. Mattson has already made it to Baltimore and Bradish got one step closer Saturday with his promotion from Double-A Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk. That was a quick promotion but the 24-year-old Bradish had thrown 13 2/3 scoreless innings on seven...

The RISP issues and a look at opening night on the farm

The RISP issues and a look at opening night on the farm
For the Orioles, it has been a recurring problem with their offense: a lack of clutch hits. This issue showed up again big time in the second game of the Seattle series Tuesday night. The Orioles had the bases loaded and one out in the second inning. They had bases loaded and two outs in the sixth and the same situation in the eighth. The last two times, catcher Chance Sisco grounded out in each instance to end the threat. He went hitless and is now batting .162 with a .414 OPS. He had company...

Unassuming shortstop Joey Ortiz fits right in with fellow 2019 draftees

Unassuming shortstop Joey Ortiz fits right in with fellow 2019 draftees
A sizable contingent of Baltimore sports media descended upon Ripken Stadium on July 29, 2019 for Adley Rutschman's debut with the Aberdeen IronBirds. A crowd of 4,403, some already donning Rutschman jerseys, packed in to see the No. 1 overall pick play pro ball in the state of Maryland for the first time. Rutschman, who had recently recovered from a bout of mononucleosis, struggled. The 21-year-old went hitless in five plate appearances. Seven spots lower in the batting order, shortstop Joey...

More on three players attending Orioles fall instructional league

More on three players attending Orioles fall instructional league
Given an opportunity to re-examine the list of players assigned to the fall instructional league, I was bound to come across a few names that prompted me to say something like, "Oh, yeah, that guy." The judges also would have accepted, "I totally forgot about that guy." Pitcher Dan Hammer struck me first. The Orioles selected Hammer in the 13th round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Pittsburgh. The name alone made him a good pick. It's the first thing we...

O's group of four stacked up with Dodgers' group on MLB Network

O's group of four stacked up with Dodgers' group on MLB Network
The Orioles offense, particularly four of their key hitters, got some national recognition during a segment on MLB Network today. Not only that, but in a video segment anchored by former Orioles infielder Bill Ripken, when compared to a more heralded and accomplished Los Angeles Dodgers quartet, the Orioles four stacked up very well. Ripken showed a stat comparison of how Anthony Santander, Pedro Severino, Hanser Alberto and Renato Núñez stacked up with the Dodgers foursome of Mookie...