Some Shorebird roster surprises
A few guys I weren't expecting to be here are on the "break camp" roster.
Well, my hiatus lasted a little longer than I thought it would, long enough that the “break camp” roster came out and I didn’t get a chance to guess who would be on the Shorebirds this season. So I decided to do the next best thing and reveal who I thought were the five biggest roster surprises as we start the season.
Pitcher Jiorgeny Casimori was a big shock (like - who is that guy?) because he was a member of the Toronto organization last season, and had been since 2019 when he was a raw 17-year-old from the Netherlands. A native of The Hague, Casimori actually got his start in the Dutch Major League a year earlier as a 16-year-old, and took advantage of their rules to pitch in 2020 back home. While Jiorgeny has made it as high as the FSL Dunedin squad (Toronto’s equivalent to Delmarva), he has struggled in 3 brief turns (to the tune of an 8.21 ERA) there over the last three seasons. Maybe the Orioles can turn him around.
Pitcher Luis De Leon did relatively well here last season, pitching to a 3-1, 2.39 ERA line in 26 1/3 innings here. Even though he will turn 21 years old a week into the 2024 season, the Orioles probably decided to send more of their college-veteran pitchers up a level and De Leon was caught in the numbers game. With a nearly 2-to-1 K/BB ratio and over a strikeout per inning (resulting in a WHIP of 1.253), we’ll take Luis while we have him.
Receiving utility player Aron Estrada was a bit of a surprise, since his numbers suggested a repeat at the FCL. The 19-year-old Venezuelan killed the DSL in 2022 but fell off markedly at the plate in 2023, hitting just .206 in 23 games. But Aron picked up six extra-base hits out of his 13 total, and managed a .748 OPS despite the low average. He’ll join a fairly veteran position player crew where three of the remaining four infielders are holdovers and the other is #15 Orioles prospect Leandro Arias. Arias is the second-highest ranked prospect to start here, two steps behind outfielder Braylin Tavera, who I expected here after doing well in the FSL last season.
Pitcher Dominic Freeberger will make his pro debut the first time he steps on the mound for Delmarva. While there are a handful of other pitchers who will have that similar distinction this season as the Orioles drafted heavily in hurlers last summer, Freeberger wasn’t among them. Instead, he was killing it at the plate for the University of Connecticut in 2023, hitting .346 in 61 games there. But here he’ll try his luck on the mound, where’s he tossed 34 1/3 innings overall between college and summer ball. Maybe he’s an Ohtani in the making? Among other stops, the Baltimore native may have piqued the Orioles interest in 2022 as a member of the Frederick Keys (the new version, in the MLB Draft League.)
I thought pitcher Alejandro Mendez had run out of chances, but the decent start he got off to early last summer must have convinced the Orioles he was worth keeping around for a third bite of the Delmarva apple. Walking a batter an inning isn’t going to do it this time, though, particularly with the amount of pitching drafted. A slow start may be the end for Mendez. I could have also fit Randy Beriguete in this category, but Randy had a really good stretch toward the end of the season and is two years younger than Mendez, who is already 23.
I may continue with spotty posting here for a few more weeks until my outside workload clears, but rest assured I’ll be tracking the players as we see who will be the 2024 Pitcher and Position Player of the Year for the Shorebirds.
Until next time - whenever it is - remember you can Buy Me a Coffee since I have a page there.