Minor league notes on Snyder, Adams and Avery

After a slow start, Brandon Snyder's bat is suddenly stirring at Triple-A Norfolk. Snyder is now batting .324 with a homer and eight RBIs after an impressive three-game batting surge. He had just three hits over his first six games, but has had eight in the past three contests. After batting just .150 in those first six games, Snyder had two homers among his three hits in last night's 10-5 Norfolk win over Charlotte. He is 8-for-13 over three games with a double, three homers and six RBIs, raising his average to .324 and OPS to .996. He is 4-for-9 when batting with runners in scoring position. It's a big year for Snyder to prove he can finally hit Triple-A pitching and show he can still factor in the Orioles' future plans. His teammate, Ryan Adams, also had three hits Monday night and may be starting to get his bat going. In 11 games, Adams is batting .243 with just one RBI, but he is 7-for-15 during a four-game batting streak. Adams is hitting .600 at 3-for-5 versus left-handed pitching, but only .188 against righties to date. Xavier Avery, the 21-year-old center field prospect at Double-A Bowie, leads the Eastern League with seven stolen bases already. No one else in the league has more than four. Avery, who has five hits over his last three games, is 7-for-8 in stolen base attempts. He has four steals the past three games First baseman Tyler Townsend is off to a good start at Single-A Frederick, batting .333 with five doubles, one homer and 6 RBI in eight games. He has a slugging percentage of .600 with a .975 OPS. His five doubles leads the Carolina League. His teammate, Kyle Hudson, has six stolen bases, one off the league lead. The four O's minor league clubs have a combined record of 17-26 through Monday's games. Norfolk is 3-8 Bowie is 5-6 Frederick is 4-5 Delmarva is 5-7 By the way, today's scheduled afternoon game in Frederick has been rained out. So now the Keys will host Potomac for a doubleheader tomorrow at 12 noon with the gates opening at 11 a.m. at Harry Grove Stadium. Frederick has already been rained out four times. Nate Moreau and D.J. Ferguson are Wednesday's scheduled starting pitchers for the Keys.