Checking on Joey Rickard, Cedric Mullins & Other Recent O’s in Norfolk

Checking in to see how Joey Rickard, Cedric Mullins, and a handful of other former Orioles players are doing at Triple-A Norfolk.

When you care about a team like the 2019 Baltimore Orioles, the goings on in the minor leagues are nearly as important as what happens on MASN each night. Some of them will be part of the team when things start to turn in the right direction, or at least that’s the hope, so keeping tabs on progress can be enjoyable.

To be honest, there are several minor leaguers in the O’s system who I’ve never heard of. Others are extremely familiar, either through spring training, top prospect lists, cups of coffee in the bigs and so on.

Norfolk’s roster (Triple-A) is loaded with these guys, the familiar kind of Orioles’ minor leaguer. Their current batting order features a plethora of players with recent MLB experience, and a handful of them have spent time in Birdland already this year. That group is who I want to catch up with today, the guys who obviously have big-league tools but failed to stick with the 2019 Baltimore Orioles.

Checking in on 2019 Baltimore Orioles players who were sent down to Triple-A Norfolk

Joey Rickard, OF

42 games with 2019 Baltimore Orioles
118 AB, .203 BA, .651 OPS

Rickard is the most notable of the bunch, having played 317 games with the O’s since 2016. This year, he made the Opening Day roster, started, and was a regular in Brandon Hyde‘s lineup. At the team store, he’s one of the few current players featured on shirts and jerseys. Then, in one fell swoop, Keon Broxton was in and Rickard was out, optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.

The move wasn’t a total surprise — Rickard hit .203 in 118 ABs — though it seemed Rickard had built up enough equity to stick around all year. After all, not only was he one of the longest-tenured Orioles, he was one of the most experienced players overall.

17 games with 2019 Norfolk Tides
60 AB, .217 BA, .856 OPS

In Norfolk, Rickard started out on fire, hitting .289 with seven extra-base hits in his first 10 games. Since, he’s gone just 2-for-22 to bring his batting average to .217, though he did homer in his final AB in Norfolk’s most recent game. Maybe that will get him back on track. That said, he’s walking a ton and collecting extra-base hits at a rapid pace, so while .217 is ugly, his .356 OBP and .856 OPS are as solid as can be. He’ll be back up with the O’s at some point this year.

Cedric Mullins, OF

22 games with 2019 Baltimore Orioles
64 AB, .094 BA, .337 OPS

Mullins was Brandon Hyde’s Opening Day center fielder but his opportunity was squandered in about a month. He was the worst hitter in baseball when Baltimore decided to give his job to an infielder (Stevie Wilkerson) and let him get back to work at Triple-A Norfolk.

44 games with 2019 Norfolk Tides
182 AB, .220 BA, .633 OPS, 10 SB

Since going down, Mullins has continued slumping. It’s like 2018, where he hit a respectable .235 at the MLB level and .269 in Triple-A, never happened. His speed, however, is a real weapon that the O’s could use in the future. We haven’t heard the last of Mullins. Slumps happen, even for a full season, just look at what Hunter Pence is doing in Texas.

Jesus Sucre, C

20 games with 2019 Baltimore Orioles
62 AB, .210 BA, .511 OPS

Sucre was the starting catcher on Opening Day but he was just keeping the seat warm until Austin Wynns returned from injury. Sucre is better defensively but Wynns has a little more pop and is much younger. Plus, the club actually drafted Wynns (10th round) in 2013. Sucre was promptly removed from the 40-man roster and accepted a spot with Norfolk, where he’ll likely finish the season.

23 games with 2019 Norfolk Tides
84 AB, .274 BA, .696 OPS

Simply put, Sucre is, at best, a career backup. He gets his fair share of base hits, avoids striking out, and plays above-average defense, but he’s an aging catcher with minimal power; the ceiling isn’t very high.

The O’s are deep at the catcher position right now; Pedro Severino and Chance Sisco are the best tandem they’ve had all year and it would take a lot for Sucre to make it back to the Charm City. Wynns would get the call if something happened to either Severino or Sisco, then Sucre after Wynns if it got that far. He’s the emergency, emergency catcher in the organization.

Austin Wynns, C

15 games with 2019 Baltimore Orioles
43 AB, .233 BA, .624 OPS

Wynns got pushed to the side when Sisco was ready in early June and even Wynns knows that’s the right call moving forward. He’s a decent player that won’t hurt you but it’s clear from watching him that he’s limited.

13 games with 2019 Norfolk Tides
39 AB, .205 BA, .636 OPS

Just Austin Wynns being Austin Wynns. We may see him up in Baltimore again but you probably won’t notice.

Branden Kline, RP

15 games with 2019 Baltimore Orioles
18.1 IP, 1-3 W-L, 5.89 ERA

Kline started the year with Norfolk and after an up-and-down stint in the bigs, he’s back. Since rejoining the Tides, he’s pitched two scoreless innings in relief, striking out four and allowing one hit. Kline is a Top 30 Prospect for Baltimore, per MLB.com.

Tanner Scott, RP

8 games with 2019 Baltimore Orioles
6.2 IP, 0-0 W-L, 6.75 ERA

Like Kline, Scott started the year in Norfolk before a severely disappointing stint with the O’s. He came back down in early May and has pitched like a guy that’s ready to face big leaguers again. In 17.1 innings since the O’s banished him from their pen, the sixth-rounder has a 2.60 ERA and 23 K’s. Recently, he’s been even more unhittable, allowing just two hits in his last four outings (7.1 innings).

Scott appeared in 53 games for Baltimore in 2018.

Evan Phillips is another guy on Norfolk’s roster that’s played with the O’s this year. Phillips, unlike the others, has been called up several times by the big club (four, to be exact). He hasn’t pitched for Norfolk since his most recent demotion.

Some other Norfolk Tides with recent MLB experience, and a few who played for the O’s just last year, are currently putting up solid numbers in Triple-A but haven’t been called up to the big club yet.

• Sean Gilmartin (78 MLB games) has a 2.48 ERA in 17 outings. He pitched in 12 games for the 2018 Baltimore Orioles.
• Jace Peterson (479 MLB games) has played in a team-high 62 games for Norfolk, hitting .287 with a .843 OPS. He played 93 games for the 2018 Baltimore Orioles.
• Christopher Bostick (35 MLB games) has eight home runs and a .777 OPS in 51 games for Norfolk this year. Last year, he played 15 MLB games between Pittsburgh and Miami.
• Mason Williams (76 MLB games) also has eight homers for the Tides this season, but the former fourth-round selection by the New York Yankees also has a .271 batting average. Last year, Williams hit very well at the MLB level, going 36-for-123 (.293 BA) in 51 games with Cincinnati.