Delmarva Shorebirds will feature an international roster in '22

As the Orioles continue to work to improve their international program, some players signed and/or acquired by the club since Mike Elias took over as executive vice president and general manager, will make their way to full-season ball on the farm in 2022.

The Orioles' two teams in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League had a strong international flavor last season and some of the top players are expected to compete for spots on the low Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds roster for the '22 season.

And it is no surprise that Felipe Rojas Alou Jr. is expected to manage that Shorebirds team, as my colleague Roch Kubatko earlier reported here. Alou has been in the Baltimore organization 14 seasons and was the director of the club's Dominican Academy, where he worked with and developed a close relationship with some of these international players. Alou is the son of Felipe Alou Sr., the former major league player and manager.

That Delmarva team could feature Isaac De León, who just turned 20, at shortstop. In 45 FCL games in 2021, De Leon batted .276/.367/.372/.740 with nine doubles, a triple, a homer, five steals and 23 RBIs. He was acquired by the club from Miami on Aug. 1, 2020 as a player to be named later in the trade for lefty reliever Richard Bleier. Miami signed him in July 2018 for $275,000.

De León has added some weight to his 6-foot-3 frame since entering pro ball and O's officials are excited about his chance to stay at short on defense with some future power potential. De León's idol is Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets.

The Shorebirds center fielder on opening day could very well be 19-year-old right-handed batter Mishael Deson. From La Romana, Dominican Republic, Deson was an Elias acquisition as part of the trade of reliever Mychal Givens to Colorado on Sept, 18, 2020. In that deal, the Orioles got Terrin Vavra, Tyler Nevin and a player to be named that became Deson.

In 38 games last season, including six when he moved up at the end of the year to Delmarva, Deson batted .333/.370/.452/.822 with two doubles, two triples, three homers, 12 steals and 18 RBIs. He went 4-for-23 (.174) with Delmarva.

Orioles director of player development Matt Blood said it is very meaningful for the club that Delmarva will feature such an international roster.

"It's just a great sign for the organization that these players are making their way out of the Complex League into our full-season affiliates," Blood said this week. "It's just another step closer to them making major league impact and providing value to the major league team. It's going to take time, but this is a sign that progress is being made and year after year we are starting to see more and more (international) players that are potentially impact guys for the major league roster.

"It just provides a real thoroughness to our group of prospects. Most teams have a good combination of domestic and international players, and we are making our way toward that, too."

Here are other players that could be with Delmarva in 2022:

* Outfielder Josue Cruz is a 20-year-old lefty batter from Bani, Dominican Republic. In 37 games in the FCL, he batted .198/.280/.405/.686.

* Third baseman Moises Ramirez, 19, has shown some nice power and batted .314/.341/.537/.878 in 34 games in the FCL. He was signed for $225,000 in August of 2018.

* Catcher Brayan Hernández is a 20-year-old lefty batter from La Vega, Dominican Republic. Over 32 games, he batted .226/.301/.376/.677.

* First baseman/outfielder Isaac Bellony is 19 and from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Over 39 games, he batted .259/.360/.444/.804. He was signed in August of 2018 for $220,000. And yes, one or two of this group was added before Elias joined the Orioles.

* Outfielder Stiven Acevedo, 19, from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, played in 39 FCL games, batting .254/.319/.346/.666 He was signed for $275,000 in April 2019.

Four pitchers that will likely begin the 2022 season in Salisbury, and all were part of the first international signing class for Elias and Orioles senior director of international scouting Koby Perez, that was announced on July 2, 2019.

* Right-hander Moisés Chace, 18 signed for $225,000 as part of Elias' first class. Chace, who throws his fastball in the low to mid- 90s, went 1-3 with a 5.64 ERA over nine games in the FCL. In 22 1/3 innings, he walked 12 and fanned 32. He is from LaGuaira, Venezuela.

* Right-hander Raúl Rangel was also signed in July 2019 out of Caracas, Venezuela. Rangel, 19, went 0-2 with a 3.25 ERA over 12 games in the FCL. In 36 innings, he walked nine, fanned 45 and recorded a 1.17 WHIP. His fastball also ranges in the low to mid- 90s.

* Lefty Luis Ortiz signed for $400,000 in 2019, getting the third-highest bonus of that class. Ortiz, from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, pitched in seven games in the FCL, going 1-2 with a 5.52 ERA. In 14 2/3 innings, he walked six and fanned 17.

* Lefty Adrion Lacle, 19, is from Aruba and went 2-1 with a 5.31 in the FCL. Over 14 games, he threw 20 1/3 innings with nine walks to 19 strikeouts.

All of the above players played mostly in the FCL in 2021. Players that were with the O's teams in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League last season will likely either continue to play in the DSL or move to the United States for FCL ball in the year ahead. That group of players should include the two that the club signed for seven-figure bonuses as international amateurs in January 2021. They are catcher Samuel Basallo, who signed for $1.3 million and shortstop Maikol Hernandez, who signed for $1.2 million. Both are expected to play next year in the FCL. They were the first international amateurs ever signed by the Orioles for $1 million or more.

MLBPipeline.com ranks Hernandez No. 19 on the current O's top 30 list and Basallo is at No. 24.

One player that could move right from the DSL to Delmarva is outfielder Luis Valdez, who will turn 22 in January. In 35 DSL games, he batted .333/.420/.440/.860.

"Missing a season (in 2020) didn't help in terms of these players getting time and playing in games," said Blood. "A year lost was harmful for their development and we were playing catch up this year with our Dominican players. Our staff put in a lot of work with them and made a lot of progress. Every year from here on we're just going to make more and more. I'm just excited where we are with this group."

Meanwhile, it has not been announced yet, but the club has hired Samuel Vega as their Latin America field coordinator. His Twitter page reflects his hire by the team. He basically takes over for Alou and joins the Orioles after serving as head coach at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa. A native of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, Vega came to Ellsworth after one year as an assistant coach/intern at Kishwaukee Community College in Illinois. He played collegiately at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa, where he was a two-year starting infielder for the Spartans, and at Northern Illinois University in 2017 and 2018.