Norfolk's break-camp roster includes three top-100 and eight top-30 prospects

After a 2023 season when they won a franchise-record 90 games, in addition to the International League championship and the Triple-A championship game, the O’s Norfolk Tides affiliate will begin defense of those titles Friday night at home versus the Durham Bulls.

Norfolk’s break-camp roster – which is subject to change before first pitch Friday – was released this afternoon and features three top-100 prospects and eight players currently ranked among the O’s top 22 prospects via the Baseball America top 30.

The Tides will begin this season playing for a few games without manager Buck Britton, who will be out on paternity leave to begin the year. O’s Florida Complex League manager Christian Frias will serve as acting manager in Britton’s absence. Britton is expected back at some point next week.

Jackson Holliday heads the 2024 Tides roster. Baseball America and MLBPipeline.com both rank Holliday - who played 22 games to end last year with the Tides, counting the playoffs - as the No. 1 prospect. Joining him on the Tides is Coby Mayo (No. 25, according to Baseball America, and No. 30 by MLBPipeline.com's reckoning) and Heston Kjerstad (No. 41 per Baseball America and No. 32 according to MLBPipeline.com).

Among Orioles prospects, Baseball America puts Mayo at No. 3 and Kjerstad at No. 5. The Tides' break-camp roster also includes from the Baseball America top 30 this group: Connor Norby (No. 6), Chayce McDermott (No. 8), Cade Povich (No. 9), Kyle Stowers (No. 16) and Justin Armbruester (No. 22).

Seven of these players are in the MLBPipeline.com O’s top 30, which does not include Stowers.

Here is the Norfolk break-camp roster:

Pitchers: Justin Armbruester, Bryan Baker, Wandisson Charles, Tucker Davidson, Luis González, Jonathan Heasley, Nolan Hoffman, Matt Krook, Chayce McDermott, Kaleb Ort, Cade Povich, Garrett Stallings, Albert Suárez, Andrew Suárez, Nick Vespi and Bruce Zimmermann.

Catchers: David Bañuelos, Maverick Handley.

Infielders: Diego Castillo, Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo, Connor Norby, Errol Robinson.

Outfielders: Peyton Burdick, Heston Kjerstad, Daniel Johnson, Kyle Stowers.

When Holliday plays for Norfolk, it will mark the fourth straight year the Tides have had the top prospect in baseball, following Adley Rutschman in 2021, Gunnar Henderson in 2022 and Holliday last year. 

The Tides went 90-59 in the 2023 regular season, the best record among the 20 teams in the IL. They lost the first game of the IL championship series to Durham before winning the next two. Then they beat a Dodgers affiliate, Oklahoma City, 7-6, to win the Triple-A championship game in Las Vegas. The IL title was the first for Norfolk since the 1985 season.

In December, Baseball America named the Tides as their 2023 Minor League Team of the Year. The Tides had one of the best offensive seasons in franchise history, breaking 11 records last season. The club set records in on-base percentage (.360), slugging percentage (.462) and OPS (.822) in addition to runs (876), homers (201), RBIs (828) and hits (1,384).

This Tides roster features nine players that are on the O’s 40-man roster currently: Baker, Heasley, Krook, Ort, Vespi, Zimmermann, Burdick, Kjerstad and Stowers.

While Norfolk’s opener is Friday, the other three O’s full-season minor league clubs - Double-A Bowie, High-A Aberdeen and Single-A Delmarva - do not open until April 5, so those rosters will be set in several days.