Baltimore Orioles Top Prospects, Who's Hot and Who's Not, May 18

The first month of the season saw tons of action for the Orioles minor league system.

Hitters Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop tore up the Sally League, while Dan Klein and Wynn Pelzer pitched incredibly well for their respective clubs.

Trent Mummey and Xavier Avery were beasts on the base-paths and Ronnie Welty was slugging home runs at a career-high rate.

One month later, two of the above-mentioned names (Machado and Mummey) are on the DL with no time-table for their return.

Avery has struggled greatly in his second month in Double-A, both at the plate and on the base-paths and Welty has returned to his hit-or-miss ways.

There haven't been too many bright spots, aside from a lot of relief pitching, and some occasional great performances from some of the system's least-regarded, and least-feared hitters.

So without further ado, let's delve into it and discover who have been the hottest and the coolest players for the Orioles for the month of May.

Hitter of the Month

Tyler Kelly, 3B, Delmarva Shorebirds (Low-A)

The Orioles took a lot of very projectable high-school and college players in the 2009 draft, including Matt Hobgood, Mychal Givens, Aaron Wirsch, Randy Henry, Ashur Toliver and Jacob Cowan.

In between those high-risk, high-reward picks, the Orioles selected Tyler Kelly, a seasoned hitter and defender from UC-Davis in the 13th-round.

He had a decent debut at Aberdeen, hitting .265 with one home run and 18 RBI in 61 games, posting a 33:29 BB:K ratio. He showed good speed and solid defensive ability at both third base and second.

His full-season debut last year with Delmarva had it's moments, but he still finished with a mediocre .259/.352/.370 line. His OBP was boosted by 68 walks (against only 81 strikeouts) and he rapped 30 doubles and six triples.

This year, once again playing for Delmarva, he's been on fire, especially during the month of May, hitting an organizational best .456.

He's been especially great over his past ten contests, hitting an even .500 with six multi-hit games, including a 5-for-5 effort on Tuesday that saw him hit his first home run of the season. His two RBI gave him 16 for the year.

Once again, Kelly has showed tremendous plate discipline, striking out only 13 times in 102 at-bats, picking up eight walks. And he's been perfect on the base-paths, swiping three bases in as many attempts. 

Kelly has made his mark in 2011 crushing right-handed pitching. Against righties, he's hitting .417 for the year, compared to .167 against lefties. 

For the season Kelly is hitting .373 with 19 runs, three doubles, one home run, 16 RBI, eight walks, 13 strikeouts and three steals. His average ranks second in the South Atlantic League to teammate Kipp Schutz.

He's also showed solid fielding, committing only three errors in 25 games. 

Pitcher of the Month

Clayton Schrader, RHP, Delmarva Shorebirds (Low-A)

The only mention Schrader received in Baseball America's 2011 Prospect Handbook was for his fastball, which sits 91-96, and his slider, which rated as the best of it's kind that the O's picked up in the 2010 draft.

After a decent debut late last season, in which he struck out 16 in 12.2 innings and picked up one save and one win, Schrader began the 2011 season where he ended 2010, at Low-A Delmarva, and so far he's been arguably the team's best reliever.

For the season, he's 1-1 with two saves and a 2.25 ERA in 11 outings. He has a ridiculous 35 strikeouts in just 20 innings and has allowed only 11 base-hits, good for a .157 average against. 

During May he's been especially hot.

In three appearances, all of which have lasted at least two-innings, Schrader has given up only one hit, compared to 15 strikeouts in 7.1 innings. In his last two outings, he's struck out nine batters in only four innings, and allowed zero hits.

Schrader just turned 21 back in April, so it might be time for a promotion to see how he can hold his own against High-A hitters who are closer in age to him.

Triple-A Norfolk Tides

Hot

Ryan Adams, 2B/3B, 24 years old

It took a month for Adams to adjust to Triple-A pitching, and now that he has, he's picked right back up where he left off in 2010, racking up the doubles, and showing solid offensive promise.

During May, Adams has already cranked out seven doubles, increasing his season total to a team-leading 10. He's hitting .298 during the month and has already eclipsed all of the offensive numbers he posted during April.

Adams figures to be the long-term in-house candidate to succeed Brian Roberts.

Not

Tyler Henson, OF, 23 years old

Henson impressed by reaching Triple-A by his 23rd birthday, and while he got off to a solid start in April, he's been sliding down ever since the first few weeks of the season.

In May, he's only hitting .217 with two extra-base hits and 15 strikeouts in 12 games. His two hits on Tuesday snapped an 0-for-16 skid and boosted his season average to .233.

Matt Angle, OF, 25 years old

Angle came into the season as a potential fourth-outfielder for the Orioles if the need arose at the big-league level. He had proven himself in four minor-league seasons to be a capable lead-off hitter with great speed, excellent defensive ability and a hard-nosed attitude.

This season, he's struggled greatly, and the month of May has only made things worse for him. During 13 May contests, Angle is hitting .186 with one extra-base hit (his only one of the season!) and 11 strikeouts in 43 at-bats. His speed hasn't shone through either, as he only has three SB in 27 games. 

Double-A Bowie Baysox

Hot

Zach Clark, LHP, 27 years old

Despite having no prospect appeal, Clark has quietly been the ace of the Baysox staff, filling the holes that Steve Johnson and Chorye Spoone have created at separate times during the season. During three May starts, there have been few in the system better than Clark.

Twice he's gone at least eight-innings, picking up wins in both of those outings. In his last, he missed out on a complete-game by one out, allowing only three hits and one earned run. During the month, batters are hitting a mere .192 off of him and he has 14 strikeouts in 21.2 innings.

Daniel Klein, RHP, 22 years old

As good as Klein was for High-A Frederick, he's been even better since getting a promotion to Double-A. In five outings, he has yet to surrender a run and has struck out seven batters and allowed only one walk in 9.1 innings.

True to their word, the Orioles have tried to get Klein as much multi-inning experience as they can, and he's pitched at least two-innings in all but one of his appearances for Bowie. For the season, Klein has a 0.72 ERA and a 28:4 K:BB ratio in 25 innings.

You have to wonder if he'll be in Norfolk by the All-Star break with an eye on a bullpen spot in Baltimore come September.

Cole McCurry, LHP, 25 years old

For some reason, the majority of the Orioles best pitchers during the first two months of the season are all relievers. Part of it stems from the fact that the Orioles have very shallow starting pitching depth.

The other part is that they have some pretty good relievers, including the converted starter McCurry, pitching strictly in relief for the first time. In his first exposure to Double-A he has been awesome, notching a 0.38 ERA for the season.

He's only allowed one earned run all season and during May he's been perfect, allowing only four hits in eight innings and zero runs, earned or unearned.

McCurry was always a strikeout pitcher as a starter, and he's continued that dominance into relieving, striking out 29 batters in only 23.2 innings. Over the past month, he has a 10:1 K:BB ratio. 

Not

Xavier Avery, OF, 21 years old

Avery looked solid during his first month in Double-A, holding his own to the tune of a .241 average. Since the calendar turned to May, however, Avery has tanked hitting only .188 for the month with two doubles and four runs.

And since he's had trouble getting on base, he hasn't had as many opportunities to use his amazing speed. After swiping 15 bases in April, he's stolen only three in May in six attempts. The strikeouts are starting to mount, as well. He now has 46 for the season.

Brandon Waring, 3B, 25 years old

Double-A caused Waring no trouble last season, as the former Reds farm-hand hit 22 home runs and drove in 70 runs. This season he's looked like a completely different hitter.

He still has offered some solid power (four HR in 30 games), but his average has dropped off, to a paltry .178, thanks to a 7-for-53 showing during May. He's already struck out 17 times in May, giving him 35 for the season, and putting him on a similar pace to reach a number close to the career-high 179 Ks he racked up last year.

High-A Frederick Keys

Hot

Buck Britton, 3B, 25 years old

Britton celebrated his 25th birthday on Monday by continuing his week-long assault on Carolina League pitching. He feasted on his b-day with a two-hit, two-RBI game, bringing his line for the week to .333 with five doubles, one homer and 13 RBI.

He had one stretch where he drove in at least two runs in four consecutive games, and at least one RBI in six straight contests. For the month, Britton is hitting .317 with five doubles and 14 RBI. He's shown a great approach at the plate (4:4 BB:K) and has proven himself to be Frederick's most consistent hitter.

Ryan O'Shea, RHP, 24 years old

A few weeks shy of his 25th birthday, O'Shea is making a case for a promotion to the more age appropriate Double-A. Over his two May starts, the right-hander is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA and five Ks in 10 innings.

For the season, he's 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 32.2 innings. He's only surrendered one home run all season and has been clutch with runners on base, notching a 2.89 ERA.

Not

Trent Mummey, OF, 21 years old

Mummey was in the midst of a break-out season when he suffered a concussion that has kept him from making an appearance since May 4th. Even before then he was ticking downwards, hitting only .167 in four May contests, a far cry from the .291 he hit for Delmarva with 12 steals in April.

He still has one of the more impressive lines for the season, hitting .280 with three doubles, four triples, two home runs, 18 RBI, 17 runs, 16 walks, 18 strikeouts and 16 steals in 18 attempts.

Jacob Julius, OF, 25 years old

Julius had a career-year in 2010 for Frederick, hitting .285 with 12 home runs and 50 RBI in 221 at-bats. That's the kind of numbers you expect from a 24-year old in High-A ball. T

his year, Julius is back in line with his career numbers, hitting a paltry .170 on the season, after a tough May that has seen him hit .154 with one home run and 15 strikeouts in 13 games. It doesn't seem a promotion to Double-A is coming anytime soon.

Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds

Ohlman has finally started to produce.

Hot

Kipp Schutz, OF, 23 years old

Why the Orioles haven't promoted Schutz is beyond me. He's 23 and has done nothing but rake for Delmarva in 34 contests. He's hitting .381 with 10 doubles, two triples, four homers and 34 RBI.

He leads the Sally League in batting average, is second in RBI, and ranks in the top-10 in hits, doubles, runs, OBP and slugging percentage. During May, Schutz is hitting .404, second only to his teammate Tyler Kelly in the entire organization.

Jonathan Schoop, 3B, 19 years old

As good as Schoop was in April (.311, 14 RBI, 16 runs), he's been even better in May, hitting .348 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and eight RBI. He's scored 19 runs, giving him 35 for the season. That number ranks second in the Sally League.

For the season, he's now hitting .327 with eight doubles, three triples, five homers, and 22 RBI. He also has a very healthy 14:19 BB:K ratio. He's also in the midst of a 16-game hitting streak.

Michael Ohlman, C, 20 years old

Ohlman was touted as being one of the top offensive catchers from the 2009 high-school crop, but in 88 games between 2009 and 2010, he showed little offensive prowess, hitting .182 for the O's GCL squad, and then .208 for Bluefield and Delmarva last year.

After a mediocre April, Ohlman has finally gotten on track in May, hitting .306 with three doubles, one homer and ten RBI. His performance has been good enough to raise his season average to .287. He has 16 RBI as well.

NOT

Tim Adleman, RHP, 23 years old

After a strong start to the season the wheels have fallen off for the Georgetown native. He's given up at least four earned runs in each of his three May starts, giving up 11 runs over his past 8.2 innings. For May, his ERA stands at 10.13.

He's given up twice as many hits as the number of innings he's pitched. He's also suffered control problems, issuing more walks in half as many innings as he did in April. For the season, Adleman has a 6.64 ERA.