At 19 games under .500, Triple-A Norfolk is a playoff contender

One year after the Orioles' farm system produced division winners at the Triple-A and Double-A levels and saw Bowie win the Double-A Eastern League championship, the O's could end this season without one playoff team on the farm.

As we sometimes say, "if the season ended today" no O's farm teams would qualify but a few still have a shot while others are well out of it with about a month to go in the minor league regular season.

First let's look at the strange case of the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. They are 48-67, 19 games under .500, yet are just 4 1/2 games out of first place. This is not a misprint. Here are the current standings in the International League South division:

Durham, 53-63
Gwinnett, 52-63, 1/2 game behind
Charlotte, 50-66, 3 games behind
Norfolk, 48-67, 4.5 games behind

Yep, this is strange and unusual, and the Tides could make the playoffs and finish well under the .500 mark. They still have three teams to try and pass, however, in the final weeks. Norfolk is playing better lately, winning seven of its last nine games. Since June 13, the Tides are 27-24. So we're saying there's a chance for Norfolk.

Right-hander Mike Wright (2-2, 2.47 ERA) starts for Norfolk tonight and Tyler Wilson (1-0, 5.23 ERA) pitches tomorrow. Right-hander Joe Gunkel has allowed just one run over 19 2/3 innings (ERA of 0.46) his past three starts. Norfolk starting pitchers have an ERA of just 1.62 their last 11 games.

Tides closer Jason Stoffel has earned 21 saves between Bowie and Norfolk this year, a mark that ranks eighth in all of minor league baseball. Stoffel has posted a 0.77 ERA in 21 games, as he's held IL batters to a .179 average while posting 30 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings.

Double-A Bowie is 49-65 and 12 games out of second place and a playoff berth. It's not happening this year at Bowie. Single-A Frederick is 20-22 in the second half and nine games out. Frederick is 56-56 overall and one of three O's minor league teams with a .500 or better record. Single-A Delmarva is 17-26 in the second half and eight games out. The Shorebirds finished 42-27 in the first half and missed a playoff berth by a half-game. Delmarva's overall record is 59-53 and the Shorebirds' .527 win percentage tops all O's teams.

Short-season Single-A Aberdeen is 20-28 and eight games out. The rookie-level Gulf Coast League Orioles are in the hunt at 20-18, two games out of first place. The Orioles' two teams in the Dominican Summer League are well out of first place with the DSL-1 team at 19-35 and DSL-2 at 23-31.

Overall, the O's farm teams have a combined mark of 294-353 and a winning percentage of .454 that ranks 27th among all organizations.

It should be noted that we can't determine the quantity or quality of prospects just by looking at a won-loss record. The O's have had plenty of players producing good years like Chance Sisco, Trey Mancini, Aderlin Rodriguez, Yermin Mercedes, Ryan Mountcastle, Matthew Grimes and Brian Gonzalez to name just a handful. Several of the 2016 draft picks are off to good starts.

More farm notes:

* Norfolk first baseman Mancini went 2-for-3 Sunday with a walk, double, home run and two RBIs. Mancini's .295 batting average ranks 10th in the International League.

* Bowie catcher Sisco has hit safely in five consecutive games, batting .474/.524/.684 (9-for-19) with four doubles and two runs scored in that span. He ranks third with a .322 batting average and first with a .409 on-base percentage in the Eastern League.

* Frederick outfielder DJ Stewart has gone 6-for-12 (.500) with a triple, two runs scored and one RBI over his last three games. He is batting .280 with an OPS of .821 in 31 games since joining Frederick.

* Delmarva outfielder Randolph Gassaway went 2-for-5 with a home run and career high-tying three RBIs yesterday. He has hit safely in 14 of his last 15 games, batting .421 (24-for-57) with nine doubles, two home runs, six runs scored and four RBIs, and is batting .343 in 29 games with the Shorebirds.

* Aberdeen outfielder Austin Hays went 1-for-3 with a double and run scored in Game 1 of a doubleheader. He is batting .317/.378/.488 (13-for-41) in his first pro season.

Here are the O's farm system ERA leaders among qualifying pitchers with their current team listed:

2.27 - Alexander Wells (Aberdeen)
2.32 - Matthew Grimes (Bowie)
2.50 - Brian Gonzalez (Delmarva)
3.40 - Travis Seabrooke (Aberdeen)
3.42 - Cristian Alvarado (Delmarva)

The Orioles RBI team (ages 13-15) reached the semifinals in the RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) World Series in Cincinnati. This is the first World Series appearance for the Baltimore RBI team in the tournament's 24-year history. The team won the Junior Division Mid-Atlantic Regional championship to advance to Cincinnati.