Notes on Jayson Aquino, the WBC and the passing of Dave Rosenfield

Jayson Aquino, a 24-year-old left-hander, quietly put up some decent numbers on the Orioles farm last year and he also pitched 2 1/3 innings in three games for the Orioles, one in July and two in September. In that small sample, he held major league hitters to one hit over eight at-bats.

After he threw two scoreless innings with four strikeouts yesterday in Clearwater against Philadelphia, O's manager Buck Showalter called Aquino "the highlight of the early part of camp for me." Click here to read his full quotes.

Howie Kendrick and Maikel Franco were among Aquino's strikeout victims yesterday as he retired six of seven batters faced. He has now pitched four scoreless innings in two spring games, allowing one hit with six strikeouts.

In 20 games at Double-A Bowie last season, Aquino went 5-10 with a 3.90 ERA. In five games for Triple-A Norfolk, he went 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA.

During the 2015 calendar year, Aquino was traded three times. Then, in December of that year, he joined a fourth different team when St. Louis claimed him off waivers from Cleveland. On April 7, 2016, the Orioles acquired Aquino from St. Louis for cash considerations. So he has gotten around a lot the last two years.

He was originally signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Colorado Rockies in July 2009. Four times, he was rated among the Rockies' top 30 prospects, reaching a top mark of No. 9 after the 2012 season.

Here is an excerpt of a scouting report I provided to Baseball America last fall on Aquino after talking to several scouts:

"With Double-A Bowie, he threw a fastball, a breaking ball that was a slurve-type pitch and a solid changeup. He pitched between 88-93 mph, sitting mostly 89 and 90. Aquino has a career 2.26 walk rate. He has a loose delivery and pitchability and varied the speed often on his fastball and above-average changeup, which he relied heavily on and that got some swings and misses. He would often pitch backwards and had a solid groundball rate. He went deep into starts for Bowie and one scout said he had a knack for both reading bats and getting out of jams. His ceiling is back-end starter. With a solid 2017 he could position himself for a shot at a rotation spot in 2018 when the O's may not have Ubaldo Jiménez, Yovani Gallardo and Wade Miley."

Aquino is not listed among the top 30 Orioles prospects by MLBPipeline.com. He was being considered for the back end of the top 30 by Baseball America's editors as they finalized the Prospect Handbook. (Not sure yet if he made the final top 30 though.) He was not listed by ESPN among the organization's top 20 prospects.

Since 2015, Aquino has been with Colorado, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, St. Louis and Baltimore. But after pitching to an ERA of 3.65 between Bowie, Norfolk and Baltimore last year, maybe Aquino has found an organization to call home for a while. He has clearly made Showalter's radar.

Did you know?: There is a mercy rule in the World Baseball Classic. I didn't know that. But Baseball America's J.J. Cooper has produced some outstanding preview stories on the tourney that begins on March 6. Two are here and here.

He writes that, "If a team leads by 10 or more after the end of an inning in the seventh or later, or by 15 after the fifth inning or later, the game is ended. This rule only applies to first and second round games. The mercy rule has been invoked 15 times in the first three WBC tournaments."

Also, any WBC games that get to 11th inning will start that frame with runners on first and second bases. The batter that was already scheduled to lead off the inning, will lead off that inning. The two that proceed him in the order will take the bases before that half-inning begins. Only three WBC games made it is as far as the 11th inning in the first three WBC events.

Cooper also writes that the WBC has been a rousing success around the world, with outstanding TV ratings, even if has not been a big success in the United States. The tourney has turned a profit since the first one in 2006.

Team USA, which includes Adam Jones and Mychal Givens, begins play in Pool C in Miami on March 10 playing Colombia at 6 p.m. The next day, the U.S. plays the Dominican Republic, followed by a game the following day against Canada. The top two of four teams will advance from each of four pools. Should the U.S. advance, it would begin round two play on either March 14 or March 15 in San Diego. The semifinals and championship game will be played March 20-22 at Dodger Stadium.

Tides mourn loss of legendary team exec: The Norfolk Tides announced last night that the team's longtime general manager, Dave Rosenfield, has died. He was 87.

"Our entire organization is devastated at this news" said Tides president Ken Young. "Dave was instrumental to the success of the Tides for over 50 years, and baseball in Hampton Roads won't ever be the same without him. Our thoughts and prayers are with Dave's family as we mourn the passing of a minor league baseball icon."

"Rosey's passion for the game of baseball was unmatched, and that was obvious to anyone who was ever fortunate enough to cross paths with him" said Tides general manager Joe Gregory. "His knowledge, guidance and friendship was appreciated by so many people across the baseball industry, and he will be sorely missed."

Rosenfield first joined the Tides in 1962, and he served as the general manager of the ballclub from 1963-2011. Under his guidance, the Tides joined the Triple-A International League in 1969 before moving into Met Park in 1970, a ballpark that saw the Tides capture five league championships. Rosenfield then helped usher in a new era of Tides baseball in 1993, as the team moved into Harbor Park in downtown Norfolk - a ballpark that routinely drew over half a million fans a season. After concluding his 48-year run as GM in 2011, Rosenfield was named the executive vice president and senior advisor to the president, and he continued his work in the Tides front office until his passing.

A four-time International League Executive of the Year, Rosenfield is a member of three Halls of Fame. He was an inaugural member of the Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame in 2008, and he was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame that same season - the first Tide to ever receive the honor. He was also inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.

Rosenfield was named the "King of Baseball" at the Winter Meetings in Anaheim, Calif., in December 2004. The "King of Baseball" is a longstanding tradition in which minor league baseball salutes a veteran from the world of professional baseball for longtime dedication and service to the game.

The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reported that Rosenfield died at a Virginia Beach hospital from complications following a heart attack suffered at his home on Feb. 18. The paper published a lengthy obituary and tribute and you can read that here.

I first met Rosenfield at old Met Park while broadcasting for the Triple-A Richmond Braves in 1989. He was a real gentleman and so well-known and respected throughout the game. Condolences to the Tides family are in order today.