With the 2011 minor league season complete we check in on the progress of each of the Baltimore Orioles preseason Top 15 prospects as ranked by our prospect ranker J.P. Schwartz The post season grading report was done by the publisher of Top Prospect Alert, not Mr. Schwartz, and reflects only the 2011 season and not future upside or downside of the individual prospect. Our 2012 preseason rankings will be published in the coming months.
#1 Manny Machado GRADE: B
Machado batted a combined .257 with 20 Doubles, 5 Triples, 11 Home Runs, 50 RBI’s between the Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds and High-A Ferderick Keys. He also stole 11 bases on the season. Machado struck out just 73 times in 101 games.
#2 Zach Britton GRADE: B
Britton has spent most of 2011 with the Orioles going 9-9 with a 4.22ERA through September 6th. He walked 48 and struck out 83 in 128 big league innings. Britton’s stats are skewed slightly by two starts in July in which he allowed 13 earned runs in what totaled one inning of work. In the minors this year Britton went a combined 0-3 with a 4.32ERA in four starts between the Double-A Bowie Baysox and Triple-A Norfolk Tides.
#3 Mychal Givens GRADE C-
Givens hit a combined .243 with 16 Doubles, 2 Triples, 1 Home Run, and 45 RBI’s between the Short-A Aberdeen IronBirds and Low-A Delmarva. He tallied 20 stolen bases on the season. Givens struggled greatly batting just .195 in 57 games for the Shorebirds before being demoted to Short-A once the NY Penn League started up.
#4 Dan Klein GRADE B-
Up until a shoulder injury sidelined him for the remainder of the 2011 season, Klein went a combined 3-1 with a 1.11ERA in 32.1 innings between High-A Frederick and Double-A Bowie. He walked 6 and struck out 37 batters. Opposing hitters batted just .197 against Klein.
#5 Xavier Avery GRADE C
Avery batted .259 with 31 Doubles, 2 Triples, 4 Home Runs, and 26 RBI’s for Double-A Bowie. He also stole 36 bases on the year. The biggest knock on Avery’s season was his plate discipline. He struck out 156 times in 138 games.
#6 Matt Hobgood GRADE D
Hobgood was a combined 0-6 with a 8.76ERA for the GCL Orioles and Short-A Aberdeen. He walked 26 and struck out 22 in 37 innings of work. Opposing batters hit .331 combined off of Hobgood. Short-A hitters batted .360 off of him.
#7 Wynn Pelzer GRADE C
Pelzer went 5-8 with a 4.00ERA in 87.2 innings between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. He walked 54 and struck out 72 batters. Opposing hitters batted .259 off Pelzer on the year.
#8 Ryan Berry GRADE C
Berry lost most of his 2011 season to shoulder tendinitis before coming back in the second half. He went a combined 1-1 with a 3.47ERA in 36.1 innings across the GCL Orioles, Short-A Aberdeen, and High-A Frederick. He walked 15 and struck out 32. Opposing hitters batted .248 off Berry.
#9 Jake Cowan GRADE C+
Cowan was a tough luck combined 0-7 with a 3.92ERA between Short-A Aberdeen and Low-A Delmarva. He walked 39 and struck out 78 in 82.2 innings of work. Opposing batters hit just .234 off of Cowan.
#10 Clay Schrader GRADE A
Schrader went a combined 2-2 with 5 saves and a 1.57ERA between Low-A Delmarva and High-A Frederick. He walked 32 and struck out 73 in 46 innings of work. Opposing batters hit an absurdly low .123 against Schrader this season.
#11 L.J. Hoes GRADE B+
Hoes batted a combined .285 with 24 Doubles, 1 Triple, 9 Home Runs, and 71 RBI’s between High-A Frederick and Double-A Bowie. He also stole 20 bases. He drew 53 walks and struck out just 81 times in 136 games. In 95 games at Bowie, Hoes batted .305.
#12 Brandon Snyder GRADE C-
Snyder hit .261 with 21 Doubles, 1 Triple, 14 Home Runs, and 71 RBI’s for Triple-A Norfolk. It was his third season in Triple-A and his On Base Percentage and Slugging Percentage were both lower than in 2010 at the same level. In six big league games with the Orioles, Snyder batted .231 with a Double and a RBI.
#13 Trent Mummey GRADE C
Mummey hit a combined .292 with 4 Doubles, 4 Triples, 3 Home Runs, and 22 RBI’s between Low-A Delmarva and High-A Frederick in 29 games before a season ending hamstring injury. He had also stolen 19 bases before getting hurt.
#14 Jonathan Schoop GRADE B+
Schoop batted .290 with 24 Doubles, 5 Triples, 13 Home Runs and 72 RBI’s combined between Low-A Delmarva and High-A Frederick. He also stole 12 bases on the season.
#15 Parker Bridwell GRADE C-
Bridwell went a combined 2-8 with a 5.26ERA in 75.1 innings between Short-A Aberdeen and Low-A Delmarva. He walked 35 batters and struck out 70. Opposing hitters batted .271 against Bridwell. He had a 7.06 ERA in five Low-A starts to close out the season following his promotion.