Good morning Birdland,

As we wait for the World Series to begin on Friday, there may be a baseball-sized hole in your evening entertainment. That reminded me that the Arizona Fall League does, in fact, exist, and there are a handful of intereting Orioles prospects in action. So, I wanted to check in on them.

All of the players that the Orioles send to the AFL are on the Peoria Javelinas, alongside youngsters from the Cardinals, Mariners, Padres, and Reds. Through 14 games, the Javelinas are 7-7, though they lead the league with a +25 run differential.

Vance Honeycutt is tied for second in the league in home runs (three) and is sixth in slugging percentage (.652). That has been accompanied by 11 strikeouts and 10 walks against 23 at-bats, so any hope of him shaking the “three true outcomes” label has fallen short. But at least he is getting more of the positive outcomes than he was early on in the regular season.

Ike Irish has been one of the top overall hitters in the league so far. Across 34 at-bats the former first-round pick has a .353/.421/.559 slash line with two homers, three walks, and five strikeouts. It’s been an encouraging recovery from the torn meniscus that ended his regular season in late July.

Brandon Butterworth is hitting .233/.410/.433 with three doubles, nine walks and 10 strikeouts. The 24-year-old spent about a month at Triple-A this year, but saw his bat fall off after the promotion. He could be in the mix for a utility role at the big league level in the near future.

The pitching stats are a bit less interesting to look at, because the volume of innings is pretty low across the board. But here are some highlights: Braxton Bragg has thrown six shutout innings. Patrick Reilly has a 1.29 ERA across seven innings and was named Pitcher of the Week just a couple of days ago. Kiefer Lord has allowed four runs in three innings of work. Teddy Sharkey has two strikeouts and three walks across 2.2 frames. And Kailen Hamson has four walks and four strikeouts in three innings.

The AFL is an interesting rung on the developmental ladder that usually serves to give extra in-game looks to players that missed time with injury. The workloads are truncated because the rosters are packed with players from all 30 organizations trying to accomplish the same thing. So, you don’t want to overreact any which way. But it is interesting baseball nonetheless.

If you want to check in on the Javelinas and their Orioles prospects, you can live stream just about every game on their schedule. The next one is today at 4:30 p.m. The season runs through November 14.

Links

Orioles Sign Jayvien Sandridge To Minor League Deal | MLB Trade Rumors
Sanbridge, born in Hagerstown, is a a 27-year-old lefty that spent most of the year injured, but did pitch in six games with Norfolk. The Yankees called him up to the big leagues in 2025 for a cup of coffee, so this would seem to be another depth signing aimed at reinforcing the bullpen.

This, that and the other | Roch Kubatko
Not much to talk about here. Kubatko mentions that Cade Povich had a left elbow debridement procedure, in case you missed it. The southpaw is an interesting figure heading into 2027. He’s had some intriguing moments as a starter, but not with the consistency that the Orioles would need start to start. For me, he fits well as a “swingman” type, making shorter spot starts or providing length out of the bullpen a couple of times a week.

Oriole fans have Rays’ rooting interest in World Series | Baltimore Baseball
Every team in the AL East has at least made it to the World Series in the last decade, except for the Orioles. The Rays this year, the Blue Jays in 2025, the Yankees in 2024, and the Red Sox in 2018. So far, only the Red Sox have won the thing. Am I going to root for a division rival, even one with a bunch of familiar faces on it, to do the same? I’m torn.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

This day in O’s history

Nothing of note has happened in Orioles history, according to Baseball Reference. So, here are a few things that have occurred outside of Birdland:

1940 - The first edition of Ernest Hemingway’s novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is published.

1959 - The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opens to the public in New York City.

1973 - Fred Dryer of the Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safties in the same game.

1983 - The meter is defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.