The next wave of Orioles prospects finished strong at Norfolk. What makes Buck Britton say it's an 'incredible' group?
The Orioles' most advanced hitting prospects at Triple-A finished impressive seasons at the minors' highest level, and are driving plenty of excitement about the club's future.
As Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Kyle Stowers were doing all they could to help keep the Orioles’ dim playoff hopes alive Thursday in Boston, the next wave of Orioles prospects who finished at Norfolk were heading home after their season ended a night earlier.
It’s a big wave, too.
Last year’s top pick Colton Cowser, as well as infielders Jordan Westburg, Connor Norby, and Joey Ortiz all ended the year at Norfolk and did so in impressive fashion, capping unquestionably productive seasons that raised their prospect status and put them in position to possibly help the Orioles come next summer.
I caught up with Norfolk manager Buck Britton on his drive home to Florida for his perspective on how each of those prospects finished up in Triple-A. The totality of what he saw over the last month-plus made him believe this is the healthiest the Orioles have been as an organization since he joined as a player 15 years ago.
“The talent up and down, it’s incredible,” he told me. “The job that [executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias] and his team have done getting these players into the organization — knock on wood, they aren’t really missing with picks, you know? If you look at what Gunnar, Westburg, Norby — those are all second picks in the draft, right? It’s just incredible how they’re getting these guys. They’ve done a really nice job, and not only are guys getting to the top, but they’ve gotten there so fast. They’re getting these polished athletes, and it also says something about our overall development. I think we have a good thing in place, I think the hitting department has done a really, really nice job. It’s just nice to see these guys coming as a group, to know there’s reinforcements. And they’re all really close.”
Each player had a different path to Norfolk and experience there, and Britton’s view speaks to how each improved both over the course of the season and in their time there.