Orioles' top prospects land with the Shorebirds

Raw talent was the term Shorebirds’ manager Ryan Minor used to describe his group of infielders.

Only one member of the active roster was present in the infield for the 2016 season – Alejandro Juvier, who finished the year with a .198 batting average and 22 total hits.

But even with an inexperienced infield, Minor wasn’t concerned with how his team would perform for the duration of the season. While it will take time for chemistry to develop between the group of young players, Delmarva’s manager pointed to the pitching staff when referencing the Shorebirds’ strengths.

Specifically, starting pitchers Matthias Dietz and Alex Wells are two big reasons Minor feels the 2017 season will be one to remember.

“It’s probably one of the younger teams I’ve had coming in here, but the pitching staff is going to be solid,” Minor said. “You always want some of the better pitchers in your organization, and those two guys have some high upside.”

Dietz and Wells were each ranked in the Top 30 on the Baltimore Orioles prospect watch. Dietz was the highest Shorebird on the list at 13, with Wells coming in four spots below at 17.

“I try not to think about it too much,” Dietz said regarding his placement on the list. “I don’t want it to distract me in any way, and the more you think about it the more it gets in your head.”

The duo comes to Delmarva already with a sense of familiarity with one another. Last season, both took the mound for the Aberdeen Ironbirds and finished the season with strong numbers.

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Wells was a force to be reckoned with on the mound. The 20-year-old led the way for Aberdeen with 50 strikeouts and just a 2.15 ERA in his first season as an active player.

Despite pitching in just 18 innings and surrendering 14 runs with the Ironbirds, Dietz got off on the right foot in Delmarva, striking out six batters in three innings during the Shorebirds first win of the season against the Greenville Drive on Saturday.

Wells waited patiently in the Shorebirds' dugout until finally getting the nod to start Tuesday night when Delmarva took on Greensboro. Six strikeouts in five innings made it a strong showing for the young pitcher, but despite his fast start, Wells admits to still having nerves before heading out to the mound.

“I take it day-by-day and make sure I’m relaxed. There’s always nerves for each start, but I think I’ve prepared well and I think I’ve got a good group backing me up defensively," Wells said.

"I'm happy to be here"

Each player brings a unique story to the Shore, but for Dietz and Wells, the word “unique” doesn’t begin to describe their roads to becoming top Orioles prospects.

Dietz, a graduate of John A. Logan College in Carterville, Illinois, was drafted 69th overall in the 2016 MLB Draft. Dietz’s stats in college made the MLB Network dub him the best junior college pick in the entire draft.

Getting selected by a professional baseball team was nothing new for the Illinois native. Just one year prior, Matthias was chosen in the 29th round of the draft by the San Francisco Giants, but decided not to sign a contract.

Dietz took a gamble and returned to school rather than going to the pros. In his final season at Logan, Dietz’s decision paid off as he put up 117 strikeouts with a 1.22 ERA in 103 innings landing him on the Orioles’ radar.

With his college days behind him and a possible move to Camden Yards in his future, Dietz refuses to let all the surrounding hype faze him. The only objective the 21-year-old is focused on is putting the Shorebirds in a position to win every game ahead of them.

“I’m happy to be here. Life’s kind of boring without baseball, but we’ve got a good group, some older guys with some seasons under their belt to help you out, so I’m excited to help make this team better,” Dietz said.

More than 10,000 miles away from Salisbury, Wells was preparing to sign as an international free agent with the Orioles in 2015.

A native of Newcastle, Australia, Wells was just the sixth member in more than a decade to sign with an MiLB organization from his area.  

He and his twin brother, Lachlan Wells, who is a pitcher in the Minnesota Twins’ minor league system, both grew up playing cricket before switching attention to baseball as pre-teens.

Wells never looked back after making the switch. From Newcastle to Aberdeen to Delmarva, his passion and love for the sport followed him wherever he went.

Making the trip from the Ironbirds to the Shorebirds was nothing compared to Wells’ trip across the Pacific Ocean, but unlike when he left Australia, Wells has a familiar mentor following him down to Delmarva.

Shorebirds pitching coach Justin Lord joins Minor and hitting coach Buck Britton as the captains in the dugout. Lord coached the Ironbirds for the past two seasons before last month’s announcement that he’d be heading to the Shore.

“He taught me a lot about seasoned baseball,” Wells said. “It’s going to help a lot to have someone I can go talk to about outings, something I need to work on or give me advice if I ever need it.”

"We can stretch some things out"

As the season progresses, Delmarva’s pitching staff is slated to be the Shorebirds’ backbone with the number of weapons it has in its artillery. In addition to Dietz and Wells, pitchers Lucas Humpal and Zach Muckenhirn, both late round picks by the Orioles, look to have big roles.

Through five games, Humpal and Muckenhirn have an ERA of 0.00 while totaling a combined 10 strikeouts and allowing four runs.

In 2016, Minor’s group capped off the year with a 73-66 overall record while having four different pitchers throw more than 100 strikeouts.

Following one of the more successful seasons in recent history, Minor hopes his pitching staff can show the same groove it displayed on a day-to-day basis last year.  

“Those guys are guys who can pitch deep in the game, save your bullpen, and with some of the guys we have in the bullpen, hopefully we can stretch some things out late in the game and pull off some wins,” Minor said.

Like any minor-league player, Dietz, Wells and the rest of the Shorebirds squad have their hopes of getting called up to play in the big leagues.

The performances of the duo of pitchers will be monitored by Orioles’ officials throughout the season, but both players understand their top allegiance is to the fans of the Shorebirds.

Regardless if it’s Perdue Stadium or Camden Yards, Dietz and Wells plan on using their talents to better the players around them and ultimately win baseball games.

“I’m excited. I can’t wait to get on the mound and meet the fans,” Dietz said. “It’s going to be a fun year.”