Two Orioles Prospects Earn Honors Before Key Offseason

The Baltimore Orioles have not had much to smile about since the season ended, but their farm system just gave them two reasons to feel better about the future.

MLB Pipeline named catcher Ethan Anderson and left-handed pitcher Joseph Dzierwa as the club's Prospects of the Year this week, picking the top hitter and pitcher in every farm system.

To qualify, a player had to rank on his club's Top 30 prospects list at some point during the season, and both players made it.

Anderson, who sits at No. 16 on the Orioles' list, missed close to two months with a left ankle injury but still hit 24 home runs, which ranked fifth among all Minor League catchers, and his .919 OPS led all Baltimore hitters in the minors.

He batted .288 in 93 games, with most of his damage coming at Double-A Chesapeake, where he hit 21 of those homers in 82 games, and he also got a short look at Triple-A Norfolk.

Dzierwa, the No. 3 prospect in the system and No. 69 in all of baseball, was even better on the mound.

The 6-foot-8 lefty put up a 2.27 ERA with a 0.90 WHIP and a .186 opponent batting average over 131 innings.

He began the year at High-A Frederick before moving up to Chesapeake, where he had a 2.29 ERA in 16 starts, and MLB Pipeline also put him on its Prospect Team of the Year second team.

Baltimore finished 79-82 and fourth in the American League East, and the last game against the Yankees was canceled by weather and never made up.

That puts pressure on Mike Elias, the club's president of baseball operations, who has talked about getting the club back on track.

Two strong seasons in the minors will not fix a big league roster, but they do show the farm system is still working.

I think Dzierwa is the bigger deal, because good young pitching is the hardest thing to find.

A lefty with his size and numbers could push for a rotation spot sooner than most expect, and he was one of six Baltimore prospects on the latest Top 100 list.

Anderson is a different case, since not many catchers hit for power and he showed he can hit for both average and pop even after losing time to the ankle.

MLB Pipeline lists him at both catcher and first base, which gives the club more than one way to get his bat into the lineup.

Elias has to decide which young players to keep and which ones to use in trades, and both names would draw interest from other teams.

First baseman Pete Alonso just made the final group for a major hitting award in his first year in Baltimore, so the lineup already has a big bat to build around.

I would keep both players and let them push for jobs in spring training.

Outfielder Dylan Beavers still has plenty of room to grow, and Baltimore needs more homegrown talent ready behind him.

Anderson and Dzierwa could be the next two up, and the Orioles should plan around that.