It was a rough month for the O’s minor leagues. The offense seemed to struggle for the most part. The minor leagues also lost Henry Urrutia (MLB), L.J. Hoes (MLB/Traded), Josh Hader (Traded) and Nick Delmonico (Traded).

The pitching was much better this week, and I struggled choosing players for the awards this month.

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Position Player of the Month: Mike Yastrzemski – OF

.344/.438/.544 (31/90) with 8 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 12 BB, 17 K, 4 SB (A-)
The Grandson of the great Hall of Famer has been tearing the cover off the ball in the NYPL. Yaz is your typical grinder type who is a good athlete with a great arm in the outfield. He’s certainly an above average fielder as a whole. At the plate, I have seen Yaz display decent bat speed, with a college-prepped swing. It’s fairly easy to point out the more advanced players in the NYPL, and Yaz is certainly one of them. On that note, it is important to remember that he should and could probably move up to the next level to play on a more level playing field. Either way, he’s been one of the best hitters in the Ironbirds’ lineup and probably the NYPL as a whole.

Starting Pitcher of the Month: Matt Taylor – LHP

6 G, 39.0 IP, 1.85 ERA, 31 H, 13 R, 8 ER, 14 BB, 26 K (A)
Taylor is a tough pitcher to read in terms of ability. He absolutely has skill, but the Orioles have clearly taken it slow with him the past two years. He had delivery and mechanical problems that they have been working on, and he seems to finally be taking the correct steps towards success. He has a lively fastball that is just as deceptive. It reminds me of Wei-Yin Chen, as it sneaks up on the hitter and looks much more explosive than it may actually be. His secondary arsenal has improved a tick or two from a scout I talked to. Overall, Taylor has quietly been having some success this year. I still think his long-term role is going to end up as a reliever, but the Orioles are going to stretch him out as long as they possibly can. He should start in Frederick next season. He was actually the last cut on my Midseason Top 30 Prospect List.

Relief Pitcher of the Month: Jimmy Yacabonis – RHP

6 G, 11.1 IP, 0.79 ERA, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 12 K (A-)
The 2013 13th round selection has given up ONE run the entire season for the Ironbirds. Yacabonis is a big, sturdy player at 6’03″ 205. He has a violent yet compact delivery that really gets the most out of his pitches. He looks to be your typical power reliever, leaving it all out on the mound for an inning or two. The fastball sits 90-93 with some great life and explosiveness. It’s a good pitch. The change needs some refinement and will need to improve for him to have success at higher levels. Overall, you have to be impressed with his first season in pro ball. Next year, I would not be surprised to see him end the year at the back end of the Frederick bullpen.

Other Notables:

Trey Mancini – 1B – (A-) .340/.378/.480 (34/100) with 9 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 6 BB, 17 K
Austin Wynns – C – (A-) .303/.352/.333 (20/66) with 2 2B, 7 RBI, 4 BB, 14 K
Adrian Marin – SS – (A) .321/.353/.395 (26/81) with 3 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 4 BB, 18 K, 2 SB
Michael Ohlman – C – (A+) .270/.360/.490 (27/100) with 4 2B, 6 HR, 19 RBI, 12 BB, 24 K, 1 SB
Jason Esposito – 3B/1B – (A+) .286/.344/.369 (24/84) with 4 2B, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 6 BB, 19 K, 4 SB

Austin Urban – RHP – (A-) 4 G, 1 GS, 17.1 IP, 1.04 ERA, 14 H, 2 R, 7 BB, 13 K
Mitch Horacek – LHP – (A-) 5 G, 4 GS, 26.0 IP, 1.73 ERA, 18 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 18 K
Steven Brault – LHP – (A-) 7 GS, 26.2 IP, 1.01 ERA, 19 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 15 K
Alex Santana – RHP – (A-) 7 G, 13.1 IP, 2.70 ERA, 11 H, 4 R, 6 BB, 17 K
Donnie Hart – LHP – (A-) 6 G, 9.0 IP, 1.00 ERA, 8 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K
Dennis Torres – RHP – (A) 6 G, 13.0 IP, 1.38 ERA, 8 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 9 K
Bennett Parry – LHP – (A) 5 G, 3 GS, 18.2 IP, 2.89 ERA, 14 H, 6 R, 6 BB, 18 K
Mychal Givens – RHP – (A) 7 G, 12.0 IP, 2.25 ERA, 8 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 9 K
Tim Berry – LHP – (A+) 5 GS, 31.0 IP, 3.77 ERA, 27 H, 13 R, 5 BB, 26 K
Trent Howard – LHP – (A+) 4 G, 3 GS, 16.0 IP, 2.25 ERA, 14 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 13 K
Miguel Chalas – RHP – (A+) 9 G, 21.1 IP, 3.38 ERA, 18 H, 8 R, 5 BB, 10 K
Lex Rutledge – LHP – (A+) 6 G, 15.2 IP, 1.18 ERA, 13 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 12 K
Ashur Tolliver – LHP – (A+) 5 G, 13.0 IP, 1.38 ERA, 12 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 8 K
Mike Wright – RHP – (AA) 5 GS, 29.2 IP, 2.12 ERA, 31 H, 8 H, 7 ER, 6 BB, 26 K
Tyler Wilson – RHP – (AA) 6 GS, 35.2 IP, 2.27 ERA, 28 H, 9 ER, 4 BB, 27 K
Oliver Drake – RHP – (AA) 7 G, 12.0 IP, 2.25 ERA, 7 H, 3 R, 5 BB, 14 K
Michael Belfiore – LHP – (AAA) 7 G, 13.2 IP, 3.29 ERA, 12 H, 5 R, 5 BB, 16 K
Chris Jones – LHP – (AAA) 7 G, 12.2 IP, 1.42 ERA, 7 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 10 K

Tucker Blair
Tucker Blair

Tucker Blair was born and raised in the Baltimore area and currently lives in Elkridge, Maryland. He graduated from York College of Pennsylvania with a B.S in Entrepreneurial Studies and is currently a Project Analyst for a Management Consulting Firm in Federal Hill, Baltimore. Tucker was previously the Managing Editor at Orioles Nation, where he worked on prospect lists, reports, and analysis on the Orioles minor league system. He also previously wrote his personal blog, The EntreprenOriole.

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