Triple-A Norfolk wins International League first-half championship

It has been quite a season for the Orioles’ Triple-A Norfolk Tides affiliate. They broke out of the gates this year going 7-1 and were 11-4 after 15 games. After 29 games in early May they were 22-7.

Last night they rode that strong start all the way to the first-half championship of the International League. With an 8-3 win at Nashville, Norfolk (46-23) has clinched a playoff berth for the first time since the 2015 season.

Colton Cowser got the scoring started in the first inning with a 109 mph solo homer to right for the Tides. Connor Norby tripled in two runs and later hit a sac fly. Cesar Prieto, in his Triple-A debut, went 1-for-3 with a sac fly. Maverick Handley singled in a run and Cedric Mullins' two-run homer capped the Norfolk scoring in the ninth. 

On his rehab assignment Mullins went 1-for-5 and Ryan Mountcastle went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. 

Starter Grayson Rodriguez allowed two runs (one earned) in 4 1/3 innings on 92 pitches. Darwinzon Hernandez got the win in relief while Dillon Tate allowed one run in one inning and Mychal Givens threw a scoreless inning. 

The Tides have been a prolific scoring team all year featuring several top 100 prospects. They entered their series with Nashville leading the IL in scoring at 6.35 runs per game with a +111 run differential.

“It is fun looking at the lineups each night to see how deep the lineup is and how accomplished the starting pitcher on the mound is and the bullpen. Just a very deep and talented team,” Orioles director of players development Matt Blood said of the Tides.

By winning the first half, Norfolk will host all games of a best-of-three League Championship Series starting Sept. 26. The winner of that series will win the IL title and advance to a one-game Triple-A championship game versus the Pacific Coast League champs in Las Vegas on Sept. 30.

Throughout this season, players called up to the Orioles from Norfolk have mentioned how fun it is to go from one winning environment to another. The Orioles, Blood said, also work hard at making sure players are coached up and worked with in the same manner at both Triple-A and in Baltimore.

“The continuity between the major leagues and minor leagues is extremely important and something we have taken very seriously. We have sort of orchestrated that deliberately and it’s nice to see it coming together.

“It’s important that the players have a clear and consistent message wherever they are in the organization. That they are not being pointed in one direction in the minor leagues and then changed to a different direction once they get to the major leagues. So, we have the same philosophy, the same org values, the messaging is consistent throughout the entire organization," Blood said.

And now the Tides have a playoff berth in their back pocket and a lot of games still to play.

“It is nice testament to the fact that the organization has done a great job of acquiring good players and we have great coaches and that they are all working well together. I would say our ultimate goal is to win at the major league level and to win a World Series at the major league level. But those guys, the way they are playing and coaching at Norfolk, shows things are healthy in our org,” said Blood.

Fabian moves up to Double-A: With some top 100 prospects like Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg putting up huge stats, a player like outfielder Jud Fabian can fly under the radar. But he should not.

With an OPS among the best on the O’s farm, he adds the ability to steal bases and has played what High-A Aberdeen manager Roberto Mercado called elite defense this season.

And Fabian was promoted this week from Aberdeen to Double-A Bowie. In 56 games with the IronBirds he hit .281/.392/.490/.882 with 13 doubles, nine homers, 35 runs, 19 steals and 43 RBIs. That is filling up the stat sheet.

“Jud had a little bit of a slow start to the season,” Mercado said in a recent interview. “He is a guy where it was really good he was able to come up to Aberdeen last year and be with us in the postseason. He made some adjustments with his swing and his stance, and you have seen it come out the last few weeks. He is already an elite defender and he has been stealing bases too. The guy's love being around him. He likes to have fun, but he is intense when it comes to getting his work in.”

Among those batting 100 or more times this season on the O’s farm he ranks second in stolen bases going into Tuesday’s games, tied for third in RBIs, eighth in homers and ninth in OPS.

Fabian is 2-for-10 in his first three Bowie games and hit a solo homer in Game 1 of a doubleheader last night for his first Double-A home run.

Fabian was the No. 67 overall pick in last year’s MLB Draft out of the University of Florida. Per Baseball America, he is the Orioles’ No. 13 prospect and is No. 15 via MLBPipeline.com.

A few small adjustments for him led to big results this year.

“Not to get into too much depth, it was more his posture at the plate, and I think he found a happy medium between what he was doing before and some adjustments our hitting department wanted to do with them. He really gets after it and is a hard worker working every single day to get better,” said Mercado.

He adds that his defense is outstanding. He played mostly center in Aberdeen with 29 games there but mixed in 14 games in left field and eight in right.

“He gets great jumps and first steps with strong route efficiency. He may not be the fastest guy with sprint speed, but he gets to a lot of balls and has made some fantastic catches. He is a true center fielder than can play all three spots in my opinion,” said Mercado.

O's split with the Rays: The Orioles never had a lead, were behind 4-0 early on and lost 7-2 to Tampa Bay Wednesday afternoon. They split the two-game series and are 45-28 and five games behind the division-leading Rays.

The Orioles take today off and then begin a nine-game homestand Friday at Oriole Park against Seattle, Cincinnati and Minnesota before their final road trip before the All-Star break.

Here are some highlights in tweets from Norfolk's clincher last night here, here, here and here.