More with 2024 Bowie manager Roberto Mercado on Baysox players

Today in this space a few more comments from 2024 Double-A Bowie manager Roberto Mercado on a few of his players with the Baysox this year.

I interviewed Mercado after the Arizona Fall League season when he led Surprise to the AFL title game. During that interview we talked about his Fall League experience but also about several of his 2024 Baysox players.

One pitcher that impressed him was right-hander Cameron Weston, the club’s round eight pick in 2022 out of the University of Michigan.

He had solid stats pitching in four games at the start of last season for High-A Aberdeen before he moved to Bowie and pitched in 23 more games with 14 starts.

Despite his good 2024 and career numbers, Weston is not ranked in the current MLBPipeline.com O’s top 30 prospects list.

On the year between the IronBirds and Baysox, Weston went 7-10 with a 2.97 ERA. Over 109 innings he allowed 78 hits with a .197 batting average and .614 OPS against. He walked 2.64 per nine with 10.49 strikeouts.

Among O’s farm pitchers with 80 or more innings this season, Weston’s 2.97 ERA ranked first.

Mercado on Weston: “He came up from High-A, had performed really well there. Came to Double-A and from his first outing performed at a high level. You know, deceptive, little bit of an arm angle and has four or five pitches that he can command really well. Coming from a different arm slot, little bit different than you are used to.

“He competes and works hard every day. (Austin) Meine (Baysox pitching coach) did a great job with him as well during the season. Think he is a guy to keep an eye on.”

Mercado said his arm slot was basically three-quarters: “It’s just a little bit lower, it’s a little funky. He’s pretty quick to the plate and it’s just not that over-the-top kind of standard release point. And the movement on his pitches is pretty ridiculous.

“Just the command of his pitches was big. Being able to locate with two strikes and get some swing and miss. Pitched efficiently and created a lot of weak contact this season.”

In 45 career pro games, Weston has a 3.09 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, has averaged 2.6 walks per nine and 10.4 strikeouts.

It would be hard for a player with a pair of 80-grade tools to not get noticed and outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. got noticed in 2024 when his 74 stolen bases ranked second in all of the minor leagues. He also won a Gold Glove for his play in center field from Minor League Baseball.

Taken No. 17 overall in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt, Bradfield is ranked as the O’s No. 4 prospect via MLBPipeline.com and No. 6 by Baseball America.

He played 81 games this past season at High-A Aberdeen and 27 late in the year for Double-A Bowie. He hit a combined .272/.358/.371/.729 with 18 doubles, five triples, four homers, 88 runs and 35 RBIs. Per Baseball America, he swung and missed just 5.3 percent in 2024, when he hit .287 with a .791 OPS along with 15 steals in 19 tries at the end of the year with the Baysox.

Mercado on Bradfield: “Obviously the speed and defense is the first thing everybody talks about, but I think offensively he found a way to get on base and hit hard line drives. Wasn’t trying to elevate. A single for him is a double or triple. You know, he hit the ball with good angles and was making really hard contact.

“Having him the last month or so, he was a great teammate who really competes with an infectious personality. Happy when his teammates do well too. Extremely coachable.”

With Bowie he walked 15 times and struck out 14. Is the plate discipline legit: “Yes, it is. He makes excellent swing decisions. Just controls the zone really well and knows the zone really well.

“On defense, he takes great angles to balls. The speed and the burst are elite. He gets to balls not many guys can get to. He makes the hard plays look routine getting to balls in the gap. Hustles on groundballs, keeps the double play in order and is an excellent communicator. Prepares himself before the pitch and can read swings. Elite IQ and knows what he needs to do out there.”

Bradfield gets a 55 hit tool grade via Baseball America, with 30 for power, 80 for running and fielding and 45 for arm.

Another player for Bowie with intriguing tools but big strikeout numbers was outfielder Jud Fabian, a top-notch defender who hit 20 homers this year to rank third among all O’s minor league players.

Fabian played 98 games at Double-A and 30 for Triple-A Norfolk and hit a combined .215/.305/.390/.695 with 21 doubles, 64 runs, 65 RBIs and a whopping 177 strikeouts.

He had a 29.9 percent strikeout rate with the Baysox and 40.8 with Norfolk. He hit just .159 with the Tides and fanned 51 times in 113 at-bats there.

Mercado on Fabian, who he said played great defense, even if it was a tick below what Bradfield can bring: “A combination of power and defense. You talk about another elite defender. He may not have the burst that Enrique Bradfield has, but he gets to every single ball. He made some outstanding plays with an excellent arm and had a bunch of outfield assists. Stops runners with his feet too, getting to baseballs. He moved to Triple-A and we were super pumped for him for that opportunity.

“He is another real competitor who always plays the game hard and fast. Easy guy to root for.”

Fabian, age 24, has the tool grades to intrigue even with the huge K rates. MLBPipeline.com, which rated him the No. 11 O’s prospect, provides 55 grades for his fielding and arm and 60 for power and running.

He is that rare pro player that bats righty but throws left-handed.