Minor league notes on Brandon Snyder, Parker Bridwell, Delmarva pitching and more

The Orioles signed Brandon Snyder to a minor league contract this week and he made his return to the Orioles organization yesterday after an extended absence when he joined the Double-A Bowie Baysox.

The O's drafted Snyder in the first round of the 2005 draft, and he's in today's Baysox lineup for the 4:05 p.m. game at Erie, batting fifth and playing first base.

Snyder played his last game in the O's organization in 2011 and last played for the Baysox in 2009. He spent the last two seasons in the Red Sox organization before joining the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in the Atlantic League to open this season.

Snyder made his big league debut with the Orioles in 2010 and also played with the Rangers and Red Sox between 2010 and 2013. He played in 58 games with the Baysox in 2009, hitting .343 with 19 doubles, 10 home runs and 45 RBIs.

Bowie is 9-9 after Monday's 4-0 win at Erie when Parker Bridwell and Terry Doyle combined for a four-hitter and their first shutout of the season. Bridwell allowed three hits with seven strikeouts over six innings. He is second in the Eastern League with 29 strikeouts over 20 innings and is 1-0 with a 3.15 ERA.

T.J. McFarland pitched five scoreless innings on three hits last night as Triple-A Norfolk (10-8) beat Buffalo 3-0. Nolan Reimold went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and is batting .266.

Tonight, right-hander Zach Davies (1-0, 1.80 ERA) pitches for Norfolk. Davies has six walks and 16 strikeouts over 15 innings. He ranks eighth in the International League in ERA.

Norfolk has had very strong pitching to begin the season and ranks second in the league in ERA at 2.88 and first with 156 strikeouts.

The Single-A Frederick Keys are in first place with the best record on the O's farm at 11-7. The Keys own the best record in the Carolina League.

Frederick third baseman Drew Dosch was named Carolina League Player of the Week on Monday, his first-ever such honor. Over seven games, Dosch hit .400 (10-for-25) with a home run, double, two triples, eight RBIs and five runs. Dosch leads the Carolina League with 18 RBIs, which is four more than the next closest player. He is tied for fourth in extra-base hits (seven) and total bases (31).

His teammate, first baseman Trey Mancini, is tied for second in extra-base hits (eight) and tied for fourth in total bases (31).

The Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds rank second in the South Atlantic League with a 2.94 team ERA. Delmarva pitcher Bennett Parry ranks fourth in the league in ERA at 1.76 and John Means is 10th at 2.25. Donnie Hart has four saves to rank fourth.

Delmarva's Brian Gonzalez, the O's top draft pick last year, ranks second among league starters with a batting average against of .156. The Shorebirds Zeke McGranahan ranks fourth among relievers with an average against of .091.

Delmarva's pitching staff is tied for first in the league in WHIP at 1.13. The Shorebirds have issued the fourth-fewest walks (40) and they have the fewest hits allowed (122).

Delmarva catcher Alex Murphy, the Orioles' sixth-round pick in 2013 out of Calvert Hall in Baltimore, leads the league with 19 RBIs. That's tied for sixth-most in the minor leagues. Murphy is batting .370 when batting with runners in scoring position and is hitting .455 with RISP and two outs.