An early look at the O's minors

Yes, it is a very small sample size, but to date only one O's minor league team is playing .500 ball. Thanks in part to Norfolk's 1-6 start, the four clubs' overall record is 8-16. Norfolk is 1-6 Bowie is 2-4 Frederick is 2-2 Delmarva is 3-4 Only Single-A Delmarva, led by Manny Machado and Kipp Schutz, has hit much. The Shorebirds' team average of .260 is fifth best in the South Atlantic League. Schutz, who already has a six-RBI game, is 11-for-22 with four doubles, a homer, eight RBIs and an OPS of 1.340. He is tied for second in the league in batting and tied for third in doubles and RBIs and is third slugging at .818. Machado, after going 1-for-9 the past two games, is 8-for-24 on the season with an on-base of .484 and OPS of .984. The Triple-A Norfolk Tides have scored just 15 runs in seven games and are last in the league with a team average of .179. Ryan Adams is just 2-for-22 and Brandon Snyder is 3-for-20. Josh Bell is batting .280 at 7-for-25 with a homer and four RBIs. Double-A Bowie plays its home opener tonight versus Erie with Wynn Pelzer starting instead of Steve Johnson who moved today to Triple-A. While the Baysox are third in league ERA at 2.68, they have scored just 13 runs over six contests. Single-A Frederick is batting just .212 through four games, but has an ERA of 2.56. LJ Hoes has started just 1-for-13. Tyler Townsend hit his first homer last night and is 4-for-15. Here is some bonus minor league coverage: Click here to see a story I wrote on Kipp Schutz last July when the one-time Indiana Hoosier basketball player got off to a fast start at Aberdeen. Click here to see Jonathon Mayo's video interview from spring training with Manny Machado.