BALTIMORE, MD - JULY 08: Manager Brandon Hyde #18 of the Baltimore Orioles looks on during the third inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 8, 2022 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
These Orioles prospects aren’t where they want to be. But they have each other to rely on.
The first 5 hitters in the Triple-A Norfolk lineup on opening night were all highly regarded prospects
NORFOLK, Va. — The first night they were all back in town, they knew where to go. They’ve been in the area long enough now to have favorites, and the hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant near Virginia Beach is atop that list.
There were Kyle Stowers, Heston Kjerstad and Coby Mayo, all pulling into the parking lot, ready for another year (would it be that long?) with the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate.
“We all see each other, we have a smile on our face: ‘We’re back,’” Mayo said.
This is Stowers’ fourth season playing for the Tides. Kjerstad and Mayo
reached this level only last year. Connor Norby and Jackson Holliday round out the quintet of Orioles prospects waiting in the wings, eyes drifting toward Baltimore even as their feet are in Norfolk. Three of them are ranked within Baseball America’s Top 100 list, with Holliday the No. 1 prospect.
They are all here because the pipeline is momentarily blocked with talent up ahead. And, even as they all post eye-popping numbers in the minor leagues and during major league spring training, these prospects knew to meet up at the Mexican restaurant.
For the time being, they’ll lean on each other — because there is a mixture of frustration and disappointment. They’ll dream together of a future in the majors. But to get there they know their ultimate focus must remain in Norfolk, on their performances in the minors, before those dreams can be realized.
