Bird Seed: Orioles Prospect Pulse, May 27

Is it too soon to make the case for Nolan Reimold for Rookie of the Year? You think I'm joking. I'm not joking. Check out the notable rookies so far this year. Cardinals outfielder Colby Rasmus leads all rookie hitters with five home runs.

Guess who has four? Not only will Reimold surpass the five tool stud, but he should also get more regular playing time with Lou Montanez out until July and with the Cards five man outfield rotation.

The rookie pitching crop is nothing to sneeze at either. The only two pitchers who qualify are Oakland's Trevor Cahill and our very own Koji Uehara. Both have losing records and ERA's over four. Not exactly rookie of the year stuff. 

Reimold's one roadblock to the ROY, go figure, will be the promotion of Matt Wieters. Wieters will certainly get the publicity, boom or bust, and Reimold will be relegated to the back pages, but dare I say it: Reimold may actually be more Major League ready than the backstop already ticketed to the Hall of Fame. 

I guess we'll see how it all turns out, but one thing is for sure. The O's are reloading with tons of young talent. With David Hernandez coming up to make his debut on Thursday, the rotation is now stocked with three guys (Brad Bergesen, Jason Berken, and Hernandez) who debuted this season in the minors.

Guess no one can get on Andy MacPhail's case for not promoting to improve the team's chances.

Fio Leads The Way, But Tides Lose 8-6

Jeff Fiorentino hit a two-run, ninth inning home run, and drove in another, but it still wasn't enough to bring the Tides back. Fio returned to the Orioles organization this season after a wayward one in Cincinnati, and after a little hiccup down at Bowie, he has resurfaced in AAA and has helped create a potent offense.

He wasn't the only one having all the fun in the losing effort, though. 2B Justin Turner continued to rake, knocking four hits, driving in one run, and scoring twice. He raised his average above .300 for the first time this season.

Catcher Steve Torrealba, taking up the spot vacated by Wieters, also starred, going 2-5. Infielder Brandon Pinckney also had a good game, going 2-4 with a run scored and a RBI. He's now hitting .385 since his call-up.

On the mound, Radhames Liz was given the spot start due to David Hernandez's call-up. He didn't disappoint in 3.2 innings, striking out six.

Kam Mickolio saw some action relieving Liz, and was tabbed with the loss after giving up a run in 1.1 innings. Lefty Alberto Castillo really struggled, perhaps due to pitching in just about every game this week, giving up four earned runs in only two-thirds of an inning.

The Other Figueroa Leads The Baysox To Victory

It seems like the Baysox can only keep one Figueroa healthy at a time. First it was Danny, and then Paco, and now Danny again, with Paco taking up a seat on the DL.

The elder Figueroa played out of his mind, stroking four hits in five ABs, leading the Sox to a 7-3 win. He knocked two doubles, drove in a run and scored another. Joe Nowicki also added some offense, with a three-run home run that put the icing on the cake in the ninth.

Mike Costanzo also played well, maybe for the first time since 2007, going 3-5 with two RBI and two runs. As for that Brandon Snyder kid, yeah, he went 1-2 with a run scored and two walks. That's right. Getting the Barry Bonds treatment. I wouldn't pitch to the guy either.

John Mariotti was the guy on the mound who benefited from the 13 hit barrage from the Sox offense. He still pitched amazingly well despite the seven runs of support. He pitched six strong innings, surrendering only four hits and no earned runs.

He did, however, issue four free passes. Ryan Rodriguez came on in relief and stole the win away from Mariotti, pitching three perfect innings for his first win of the season.

On the other side of the mound, Brad Lincoln continued his mastery of the Baysox, pitching another six scoreless innings. In his last two starts against Bowie, he has pitched 15 scoreless innings.

Top Of The Lineup Gets It Done, Leads Keys To 4-2 Victory

Matt Angle and Pedro Florimon combined to go 4-10 with three triples, a RBI and a run, and set the pace for the Frederick Keys, who stole another victory away from Wilmington. Slugger Brandon Waring, catcher Billy Killian, and Caleb Joseph all notched RBI and Billy Rowell had two hits.

Joseph came on as a pinch hitter in the seventh and ended up getting two hits, a double and a single, raising his team leading average to .320. Rowell, hitting in the five spot, went 2-4 with a run scored, and his average now stands at a respectable .262. He also stole a base, his second of the year. Nice to see some hustle from the bonus baby.

Unfortunately, Tyler Henson's move up the lineup, from eighth to third didn't do much for him as he went hitless, striking out a team leading 58th time and making his 14th error of the year.

On the mound, Pedro Beato had no problem mowing down a lineup featuring first rounder Mike Moustakas, sending him back to the dugout three times. Beato pitched six great innings, scattering six hits, allowing one run, issuing one walk and striking out two. His ERA now stands at a very decent 4.13. He picked up his third win on the year.

After 1.2 panic inducing innings by Brian Parker, the Keys turned the ball over to shutdown closer Luis Lebron, who pitching a perfect ninth, striking out the side for his ninth save.

Thirteen Hits Not Enough For Delmarva, Lose to Hickory

Whereas 13 hits were more than enough for Bowie, it wasn't nearly enough to get a win for the Shorebirds, who gave up 15 of their own to Hickory, losing 9-6. Starter Cole McCurry was undone by a 3rd inning in which he gave up two home runs, one a grand slam to catcher Doug Hogan.

Shortstop Greg Miclat and first baseman Joe Mahoney led the way for the Birds, notching three hits apiece. Miclat drove in two runs, while Mahoney tallied one, his 18th of the season.

Left fielder Kyle Hudson also did some damage, driving in two runs of his own. Xavier Avery also played well, going 2-5 with an triple, a RBI and a run scored.

More importantly, he's now looking like the confident lead-off guy the O's were expecting when they sent him to Delmarva, a move many felt was premature for a kid coming out of high school.

Like I said, McCurry didn't pitch anywhere near the strike zone, issuing two free passes on his way to six earned runs in two innings. He picked up his third loss. The bullpen pitched a little better, but not much. Colin Allen gutted through five seven hit innings, while Brent Allar made it through two, giving up only one.

Hitter of the Night: 2B Justin Turner- 4-5 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI

Pitcher of the Night: RHP Pedro Beato- W (3-3) 6.1 IP 6 H, 1 ER, 2 K, 1 BB

Goat of the Night: RHP Cole McCurry- L (3-3) 2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 0 K