Minor league notes on Ryan Mountcastle, Corban Joseph, Chance Sisco and more

Single-A Delmarva's Ryan Mountcastle has started to hit for the Shorebirds after a slow start. The 19-year-old shortstop has six hits in his last two games and an eight-game hitting streak.

Drafted 36th overall by the Orioles last June, Mountcastle went 4-for-4 on Saturday and added two hits yesterday for a 6-for-9 stretch those two games. He is batting .429 (12-for-28) during his hitting streak to raise his average from .154 to .237.

Ranked as the Orioles No. 7 prospect by Baseball America, Mountcastle hit .162 in April and now is batting .440 in seven games this month.

His teammate, 20-year-old left-hander Brian Gonzalez, gave up one run and five hits in six innings Sunday against Asheville. He needed just 74 pitches to get 18 outs. He got a no-decision but Gonzalez is 3-0 with a 2.48 ERA over six starts.

The Orioles' top draft pick (in the third round) from 2014 is certainly showing progress after going 4-9 with a 5.71 ERA last season for the Shorebirds. He has allowed two runs or less four straight starts with an ERA of 1.64 in that time.

During a spring training interview, Gonzalez told me he was determined to learn from and improve on his 2015 season.

"Last year was a huge learning experience," Gonzalez said in March at Twin Lakes Park. "You get out of spring training on a full-season squad and you're all excited. As a young guy, you just want to go out and compete.

"Obviously, my struggles was a huge learning experience. That is how I take it. I have to learn from that and move forward. You have to have a short memory and believe in and trust your stuff."

The Shorebirds surrendered 16 runs on 22 hits to the Asheville Tourists in Saturday's 16-7 loss. The 16 runs allowed is the most that Delmarva has given up in a game since May 21, 2011 against the Kannapolis Intimidators.

Infielder Corban Joseph now has a 21-game hitting streak spread over two minor league levels. He left Double-A Bowie to move to Triple-A Norfolk with an 18-game hitting streak and has hit safely, going 5-for-13, in his first three games with the Tides. He had three hits yesterday.

During the streak, the brother of O's catcher Caleb Joseph, has hit .388 (33-for-85) with seven doubles, one homer, 12 runs and 13 RBIs. For the season, the 27-year-old Joseph is batting .354, second-best among O's farmhands to Delmarva catcher Yermin Mercedes at .356.

Tides shortstop Sharlon Schoop (Jonathan's brother) has hit safely in six of his seven games batting .393/.414/.750 (11-for-28) after going 2-for-6 with a double, run scored, and RBI on Sunday.

Norfolk has had some solid starting pitching in recent games with a rotation ERA of 2.15 the past nine games. The Tides have four quality starts in that stretch. Despite the recent success, Norfolk's starting pitchers are still stuck on two victories for the season, as Nick Additon earned a win on April 19 at Charlotte and Ariel Miranda earned a win May 3 at Louisville.

Bowie's Chance Sisco ranks third on that O's minor league batting average list, batting .347. The 21-year-old lefty hitting Sisco is hitting .424 (14-for-33) over his last 10 games. While he has not homered yet, Sisco does have an impressive 17 walks to just nine strikeouts through 22 games. He ranks second in the Eastern League in batting and first with an impressive .472 OBP.

Delmarva is the only full season Orioles affiliate with a winning record at 17-12. Norfolk is 11-19, Bowie is 14-15 and Frederick is 12-18.

Single-A Frederick has gotten some solid starting pitching from two of its starters. Right-hander Matthew Grimes is 3-2 with a 2.03 ERA in six starts. Left-hander John Means is 3-0 with a 2.32 ERA over six starts. Both pitchers have allowed two earned runs or less in every start. Grimes ranks third in the Carolina League in ERA and Means is fifth.

Grimes was drafted by the Orioles in round 18 in the 2014 draft out of Georgia Tech. He missed the last half of the 2012 season and all of the 2013 season while in college after Tommy John surgery. Means was selected in round 11 of that same draft out of West Virginia. He pitched a seven-inning no-hitter for Delmarva against Charleston last July 31.

Frederick outfielder Jay Gonzalez already has 17 stolen bases and that is over just 21 games. He is 17-for-19. The next most by an O's minor leaguer is seven steals. Among all Carolina League players, only Salem's Yoan Moncada with 19 has more.

Gonzalez has been solid batting leadoff for the Keys. The 24-year-old left-handed hitter is batting .296. He has also taken 17 walks for a .414 OBP to rank just out of the top five in the league.