FREDERICK—After an absence of six years, Oriole baseball has returned to Frederick County. The Keys, who were last an affiliate of the Orioles in 2019, are back at Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium, and their starting lineup on Wednesday night featured five Top 30 prospects: centerfielder Nate George (No. 1), leftfielder Ike Irish (4), shortstop Wehiwa Aloy (5), designated hitter Vance Honeycutt (29) and left-hander Joseph Dzierwa (12).
Left-handed pitcher Boston Bateman (9) and right-hander JT Quinn (19) are also on the roster.
The manager is Collin Woody, who played for the Keys in 2018. Woody managed the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds the previous two seasons. Aloy, George and Irish played for him last season.
“I think that helps at both ends,” Woody said. “Just the familiarity with each other. As we get into a new facility here at Frederick at a new level for them, and I haven’t been at this level since I played here in ’18, I think having the one familiar face as the one familiar thing is nice for both sides.”
On Wednesday, George, Irish and Aloy were the top three hitters in the order in Frederick’s 18-2 win over Wilmington.
George had five hits and drove in three runs. First baseman Victor Figueroa drove in five, and second baseman RJ Austin had four hits. Honeycutt hit his fourth home run of the season, matching his home run total in his first four Grapefruit League games this spring.
“It’s an exciting product you see on the field every night,” Woody said. “These guys are electric … A lot of these guys have high prospect status. At the end of the day, they’re normal dudes who want to play baseball.”
The 31-year-old Woody marvels at the improvements made to the facility. There are separate batting cages for each team. Previously, the teams had to share one.
The Keys have an indoor facility, which is 55 feet by 55 feet, and features indoor batting cages that will come in handy once the Maryland humidity hits.
“It will be nice to get a break from the heat sometimes,” Woody said. “We’ll probably hit on the field a little bit less once the hot months hit.”
There aren’t many members of the organization who experienced Oriole life before Mike Elias took over baseball operations in November 2018.
“The game of baseball, especially at the professional level, has changed as a whole,” Woody says. “Even though I’ve been within this organization, and we’ve changed a lot, the whole landscape of baseball has changed quite a bit.
“There’s a lot more analytics used day-to-day. There’s a lot more technology at our fingertips. There’s a lot more machines that we use. There’s a lot more extra things we do on top of, ‘grab a bat, a bag of balls and a glove, and go get better.’
“The whole landscape of baseball is doing that. I’d like to say that us with the Orioles are pushing the edge on that and trying to make sure that our competitive advantage is the way that we develop our players and the processes that we use to do so.”
In last month’s Spring Breakout game, Dzierwa, pronounced “Jerwa,” struck out eight Boston Red Sox prospects among his nine outs.
Dzierwa struck out nine in five innings, allowing two runs, one unearned, on four hits, walking one. He’s 3-1 with a 2.75 ERA.
Besides Dzierwa, who’s 6 feet 8 and was a second-round pick (58th overall) by the Orioles in last July’s draft, the Keys have Quinn, who’ll start on Thursday night. Dzierwa made the transition from Michigan State to the pros while Quinn did the same from Georgia.
Quinn has an 0.64 ERA in three starts. He’s allowed a run on eight hits in 14 innings and struck out 23 and walked three.
“Their stuff is electric,” Woody said. “You watch them throw the ball, and it’s ‘All right, that’s really good stuff that’s going to develop into quality major league stuff.
“I think that’s the biggest separator, and with them getting off to a good start, having that confidence that’s able to roll in and pairing it, confidence with good stuff on the bump, it’s a dangerous combination for opposing hitters.”
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