For much of this season, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg and Joey Ortiz have garnered the majority of the attention given to Orioles infield prospects.

Henderson, the former No. 1 prospect in baseball who has now graduated from such status, is playing almost every day for the Orioles. Holliday has been lighting the lower levels of the minor leagues on fire. Westburg is pushing for a spot in the big leagues with his stellar play in Triple-A, and Ortiz, another Norfolk Tides infielder, spent two short stints with Baltimore and performed well each time.

But the organization’s stockpile of infield prospects doesn’t end with those four, of course. Connor Norby and Coby Mayo, Baltimore’s other two young infielders who received top 100 prospect status by at least one major publication in the offseason, both excelled on the farm last week.

Norby, the Orioles’ sixth-ranked prospect and No. 78 on Baseball America’s list, had one of the best weeks of his season in Triple-A with four multi-hit games. The 22-year-old second baseman went 11-for-29 with three doubles, a home run and six RBIs to improve his OPS to .774.

A season after leading all Orioles minor leaguers in home runs with 29, Norby hit just three home runs in his first 193 plate appearances this year. But he’s hit two long balls in his past seven games, with his most recent deep shot coming Friday when Norby went 4-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBIs.

Mayo, meanwhile, continued his strong season by totaling five extra-base hits last week. The 21-year-old third baseman went 7-for-25 with three doubles, two home runs and six RBIs with Double-A Bowie.

Mayo is Baltimore’s ninth-ranked prospect and was ranked No. 69 by Baseball Prospectus in the offseason. After posting a .782 OPS between High-A and Double-A last year, Mayo is slashing .272/.390/.517 for a .907 OPS this season.

However, Norby and Mayo aren’t the only prospects to stand out on the farm last week. That’s why each week, The Baltimore Sun will break down five of the top performers in the Orioles’ prospect ranks and hand out some superlatives for those who didn’t make that cut.

After striking out 12.7 batters per nine innings with a 4.40 ERA for Aberdeen last season, Tavera opened his 2023 campaign with a 6.75 ERA and 21 strikeouts in his first 21 1/3 frames. But the 24-year-old posted the best start of his season Friday by tossing five no-hit innings with five strikeouts and two walks to earn Eastern League Pitcher of the Week honors. He needed 74 pitches to retire eight batters in his outing two weeks ago, but he sat down 15 last week on just 67 pitches Friday. Tavera, the Orioles’ No. 25-ranked prospect, now has a 5.47 ERA and a 1.519 WHIP in 26 1/3 innings this season.

In Fabian’s first 33 games, he posted a .397 slugging percentage with just two doubles. But the 22-year-old roped five two-baggers for High-A Aberdeen last week, going 7-for-20 with five RBIs and four walks. In the IronBirds’ doubleheader Wednesday, Fabian, the Orioles’ No. 13 prospect, combined to go 4-for-5 with four doubles, four RBIs and two walks. The former University of Florida standout is slashing .265/.370/.427 in his first full season of professional baseball after he was drafted No. 67 overall by the Orioles last summer.

Stallings had a 7.23 ERA and 13 strikeouts through his first 18 2/3 innings this year, but he’s surrendered just four runs and struck out 20 batters in his past 15 innings. On Wednesday, the 6-foot-2 right-hander tossed five scoreless innings, scattering five hits and one walk while striking out seven. The 25-year-old has a career 5.46 ERA in his third season as a minor leaguer with the Orioles after Baltimore acquired him from the Los Angeles Angels as part of the José Iglesias trade.

Stallings wasn’t the only minor league arm involved in the Iglesias trade to excel on the mound last week. Pinto pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out eight. The 22-year-old Venezuela native has been one of the organization’s best swing-and-miss pitchers on the farm this season, as his 13.9 strikeouts-per-nine innings is best of an Orioles minor leaguer with at least 28 innings pitched. For reference, top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez struck out 12.8 batters per nine innings in his minor league career. In 91 2/3 innings with Aberdeen last year, Pinto posted a 3.83 ERA and a 2.24 strikeout-to-walk ratio; in 38 1/3 innings this season, Pinto has a 2.58 ERA and a 4.21 ratio.

Before last week, most of Williams’ highlights came with his glove, not his bat. He was hitting .126 with a .444 OPS and zero home runs. But the 2021 fourth-round pick had his best week of the season at the plate, going 4-for-12 with two home runs, five RBIs, four walks and two stolen bases. Williams, 23, posted a .706 OPS between High-A and Double-A last season and now has a .552 OPS in 132 plate appearances this year.

Holliday had one of the worst weeks of his season last week. He still had a .756 OPS. Holliday, the Orioles’ top position player prospect, went 6-for-21 with a double and five walks with Aberdeen. He reached base in his first five games of the week to extend his on-base streak to 39 completed contests, but it came to an end Sunday when he went 0-for-4. After posting a 1.190 OPS with Low-A Delmarva, Holliday has a 1.127 OPS in 27 games with Aberdeen.

Two international players with Delmarva stood out last week. Outfielder Elio Prado, a 21-year-old Venezuela native, went 6-for-15 with a double, triple, home run and five RBIs. Infielder Angel Tejada, a 19-year-old Dominican Republic native, went 5-for-15 with three doubles, a home run and five RBIs. The Orioles acquired Prado from the Boston Red Sox as part of the Andrew Cashner trade in 2019 and Tejada as an international free agent in January 2021. Prado posted a .587 OPS in Low-A last year, but he’s got a .785 OPS and is almost walking as much as he’s striking out. Tejada, meanwhile, has a .671 OPS in his first year of full-season ball.

Two Triple-A infielders. No, not Norby, Ortiz or Westburg. Instead, it was Josh Lester and Joseph Rosa who led the Norfolk Tides last week. Lester, a 28-year-old corner infielder, went 12-for-29 with two home runs, a double and five RBIs. In 48 games, Lester has 14 home runs and a .910 OPS. Rosa, a 26-year-old middle infielder, joined the organization Wednesday after spending the 2022 season in the Atlantic League, one of the best independent leagues. Rosa last played affiliated ball in 2021 with the Mariners’ organization and had only nine games of Triple-A experience before last week, but he went 8-for-21 with five doubles in his first five games with the Tides.

Guardians at Orioles

Tuesday, 7:05 p.m.

TV: MASN

Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM

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