Has this been the year of the hitter on the O's farm?

When Baseball America came out with its list of the Orioles top 30 prospects last December, pitchers took up the first four spots, and six of the top eight on the list. Based on what we've seen happen this year, and with the departures from that list of Kevin Gausman and Eduardo Rodriguez, several hitters should start making their way higher up on the Orioles' top prospects list next winter. In some respects this has become the year of the hitter on the O's farm. Several players have had good years, but here are six that have had very solid years or taken big steps forward with their hitting this season. The statistics are through Wednesday's games: * First baseman Christian Walker, 23, is batting .300 with 24 homers and 91 RBIs between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. He has a .507 slugging percentage and .879 OPS. Walker hit 11 homers with 56 RBIs last season and his slugging percentage has increased in the three seasons he's been in the system. * Outfielder Dariel Alvarez, 25, is batting .300 with 14 homers and 77 RBIs between Bowie and Norfolk. The native of Cuba was signed in July of 2013 and has a slugging of .460 and a .777 OPS. * Outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, 23, began this year with Single-A Delmarva and has since moved to Single-A Frederick and then to Bowie. In 111 games he is batting .300 with 30 doubles, 15 triples, 13 homers and 69 RBIs. His slugging of .516 and OPS of .875 are well ahead of his numbers last year of .420 and .781 at short-season Single-A Aberdeen. * Outfielder Glynn Davis, 22, is batting .305 with 27 doubles, two homers, 41 RBIs and a .765 OPS between Frederick and Bowie. Davis' numbers are much improved over 2012 and 2013 when his OPS stats were .645 and .629. One of the fastest players on the O's farm, he also has 23 stolen bases. * Catcher Chance Sisco, 19, has had a very strong year for Delmarva. In 99 games he is batting .340 with 22 doubles, four homers, 53 RBIs, a .437 slugging and .846 OPS. Sisco hit .363 last year in short-season ball. * Third baseman Drew Dosch, 22, has played all year with Sisco at Delmarva. In 116 games he is batting .327 with 20 doubles, four homers, 48 RBIs, a .410 slugging and .803 OPS. I asked Orioles director of player development Brian Graham for his take on why some hitters have taken big steps forward on the farm this year. "I think it's a combination of the hitting program that is in place and the process that is executed every day by our managers and hitting coaches," Graham said. "The major factor is that we have good hitters. "Every single hitter in the organization has a daily routine that they follow. Most of the routines have similarities but every one is also different. There is a set of drills that (minor league hitting coordinator) Jeff Manto has implemented that the hitting coaches execute. "The drills include everything from tee work, to soft toss to balance drills. Every hitter puts together with the coaches and Jeff Manto what they feel best meets their needs. And every day they execute the program. You could ask any hitter in the organization what their daily routine is and they could recite it to you. "Mike Yastrzemski does something different than Trey Mancini, who does something different than Christian Walker or Dariel Alvarez." Manto should get some credit as he oversees all the minor league hitters and the individual coaches at each level push players to get the most from their game. Graham pointed out that the players themselves have a big say in their hitting programs. "Jeff is responsible for our hitting program and the coaches execute the program he puts in place," he said. "But ultimately the very best coach any hitter can have is himself. He needs to understand himself and have the self motivation to execute the drills. "We give suggestions and direct the players in the direction we believe certain drills will help them, but at the end of the day each player is accountable and responsible for his own program. "And this is exactly like the big league club. Every hitter on the big league club has their own routine and a different routine." Graham believes the improvement of some position players at the plate is a nice trend for a farm system where some pitching prospects have emerged the last year or two. "It's a really good trend," he said. "And if you look at our team stats, in terms of where each team ranks in their respective leagues, the rankings are really good as far as batting average, on-base percentage, walks and strikeouts." The O's Norfolk club is third in the International League in average, fourth in runs and tied for second in OBP. Norfolk leads the International League with 1,159 hits. The Tides are on pace for 1,335 hits, a mark that would surpass the franchise record of 1,331 hits set in 1987. Bowie leads the Eastern League in average and is third in runs. While Frederick is seventh in the eight-team Carolina League in average, the Keys are tied for second in homers. Delmarva ranks fourth in the South Atlantic League in average and seventh in OBP. So there are indeed some solid team stats as well on the farm in 2014. Fans often ask about plate discipline on the farm and how young players develop those skills to better work the count and take walks and so forth. Graham believes that comes with time. "Plate discipline is about pitch recognition. That is what it is and understanding what pitch you can handle. It comes with experience. There are a lot of variables that go into getting a good pitch to hit," he said. Coming up during this Orioles road trip I'll provide a closer look at some of the players mentioned in this story and have more on the offense on the farm this year.