Jordan Westburg settles in at Aberdeen (series sweep notes)

ABERDEEN - Orioles infield prospect Jordan Westburg said he has made a "seamless" transition to professional baseball, but it happened under anything but normal circumstances.

After the club selected him No. 30 overall out of Mississippi State in the draft last June, there were no minor league games to play and no place to report to and begin his career.

Westburg did eventually get to meet some of his new coaches and teammates during fall instructional league in Sarasota, Fla. This came after his introductions to many in the organization and his knowledge of the club and its methods came all via Zoom for a few months. But then he finally got on the field for his new organization.

"They were very transparent with us and they did a great job of getting us to instructs in October," he told me during a recent interview at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen. "So, I didn't go a whole year without baseball. I thought getting a chance to go to Sarasota in October and get my first taste of professional baseball was awesome. It was a lot of fun and I had some success there. It allowed me to be confident going into spring training. The transition from college baseball to the draft, then to instructs and professional baseball was pretty seamless given all that was going on in the world.

"It was just good to begin building relationships with some of the players I'm now playing with, and some of the coaches and staff members. The relationships are one of the biggest parts of what we do here, especially in the minors. The better the relationships you have, the easier it is to show up and play hard every day and to have fun and get better. If those are not built and there is no trust factor and chemistry with coaches it's hard to build that player plan and build yourself into a better player. Instructs allowed me to get my feet wet and start those relationships."

When the minor league season began in May, the Orioles assigned the 22-year-old Westburg to low Single-A Delmarva, where he could continue his friendship with Gunnar Henderson on the left side of the infield, sometimes playing shortstop and sometimes at third base.

Westburg's bat was sizzling for a time with Delmarva as he had a stretch of eight straight two-hit games and went 16-for-29. He posted a 1.075 OPS with the Shorebirds in 20 games before he was moved up to high Single-A Aberdeen.

In 44 games between two levels, the player who played on two College World Series clubs is batting .309/.417/.497/.914 with 12 doubles, two triples, five homers, 30 runs and 43 RBIs.

"I just try to be myself in the box," Westburg said. "I never try to be someone I am not. I'm not this guy to hit 50 homers or yank the ball 24-7. I like to stay in the middle of the field. I like to take what the pitcher is giving me and try to go to the plate with a plan and stick to it. You know if the pitcher is going to make three great pitches in a row, there are times you have to tip your cap. Knowing who you are and staying to true to that is probably the best way to be successful as a hitter."

Westburg is the leading hitter for batting average among O's minor league everyday players. He also ranks first in RBIs, is second in OBP, fourth in OPS and fifth in slugging.

He started a bit slow at Aberdeen and was hitting .209 after his first nine games. But he is warming up now. He hit a grand slam over the weekend, had three hits Tuesday night and two in the second game of a doubleheader last night.

In 24 games with the IronBirds, he's hitting .266/.361/.426/.787 with seven doubles, a triple, two homers and 19 RBIs.

"I think guys are just around the zone more," he said about the difference in pitching as he moved up. "Around the zone with their secondary stuff and the velocity is going to uptick every level you go up. I don't think that should be an excuse. Guys are definitely around the zone more and can land their breaking balls and secondary stuff a lot better. It's our job as hitters to adjust and come up with a plan. Learning through every at-bat and every game, so been pleased with that."

Westburg is a couple years older than the young top 100 prospect Henderson. But he has tried to mentor Henderson in both Delmarva and Aberdeen.

"There is an age difference between us, but you know, he's a special player with unlimited ability," Westburg said of his teammate. "Being the older guy, I feel like it can be my responsibility, in a way, to help him learn in ways that maybe he hasn't gotten the chance to learn. Just because I have a little more experience as a college player. I'm looking forward to continuing to play with Gunnar for, hopefully, a very long baseball career. He's a great kid, a special player. We make each other better and we compete every day."

Is Westburg surprised he has formed such a close relationship?

"No. The first time I met Gunnar at instructs, I thought the world of him. I thought he was one of the more mature and humble high school kids that I had ever met. To be able to carry yourself the way he does is special. He's an easy guy to get along with."

And Westburg said there is a lot of positivity right now on the Baltimore farm.

"Everybody sees what is going on in the majors, and it stinks," he said. "But it's only a matter of time. Because you look down on the farm and there is a lot of success at all levels, and there are a lot of special players that in a few years could be on the big league team and change the tide of how things are going for the Orioles.

"All of us, that is our end goal. To bring a championship back to Baltimore. Here on the farm we want to get ourselves to the bigs but, hopefully, bring others with us."

They got out the brooms in Houston: The Orioles now have a pair of three-game series sweeps this year, one at Boston and one at Houston - both clubs that are in first place.

The Orioles got swept at home last week by Houston and were outscored 26-3. Houston had the best record in the American League and had won 16 of 20 when the O's arrived Monday night. The Orioles were 1-22 in their past 23 road games and 1-11 in their past 12 games in Houston as the series began.

But last night's 5-2 win wrapped up a three-game sweep. The Orioles outscored Houston 27-12. The O's held Houston to five runs on 12 hits the past two nights and the Astros had just two extra-base hits (both doubles) in the series. The O's bullpen allowed two runs in 12 innings the last two games.

At midseason - with 81 games played and 81 still to go - the Orioles are 27-54.