Minors

Minor League Podcast: Spotlight on Frederick Keys

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCASTS ON ITUNES

Things haven’t been easy for the High-A Frederick Keys recently. They finished 68-72 overall in 2016, their fifth straight losing campaign.

They haven’t been a real force since winning the Carolina League in 2011 with a pair of infielders named Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop.

There wasn’t a similar duo for the Keys this year, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t several players worth following that have a chance at helping the Orioles in the future.

The two that jump out immediately are 19-year-old third baseman Jomar Reyes (pictured above), who took his lumps playing against much older competition this year, and 22-year-old outfielder DJ Stewart, the former first-rounder who showed promise after a promotion from Low-A Delmarva.

Adam Pohl, the voice of the Double-A Bowie Baysox, talks about Reyes, Stewart and a host of other Keys with BaltimoreBaseball.com’s minor league expert Dean Jones Jr., in this week’s podcast.

The two break down the seasons of several Key players, including another rough campaign for outfielder Josh Hart and the potential ceiling of pitchers such as John Means and Matthew Grimes.

Some of the under-the-radar players they discuss include catcher Austin Wynns, outfielder Jay Gonzalez and shortstop Erick Salcedo.

Jones also talks about which 2016 Keys made his Dean’s Dozen list of the Orioles’ Top 12 prospects – and why lefty fireballer Tanner Scott didn’t make Dean’s cut.

This offseason, Pohl and Jones have been periodically looking at each Orioles’ affiliate, and, this time, it’s an opportunity to “Shake Your Keys.”

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCASTS ON ITUNES
AddThis Website Tools
Dan Connolly

Dan Connolly has spent more than two decades as a print journalist in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The Baltimore native and Calvert Hall graduate first covered the Orioles as a beat writer for the York (Pennsylvania) Daily Record in 2001 before becoming The Baltimore Sun’s national baseball writer/Orioles reporter in 2005. He has won multiple state and national writing awards, including several from the Associated Press Sports Editors. In 2013 he was named Maryland Co-Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. And in 2015, he authored his first book, "100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die." He lives in York, with his wife, Karen, and three children, Alex, Annie, and Grace.

Share
Published by
Dan Connolly

Recent Posts

Orioles’ Bautista, Eflin done for season; Updates on Bradish, Rodriguez, Suárez, Wells
  • Rich Dubroff

Orioles’ Bautista, Eflin done for season; Updates on Bradish, Rodriguez, Suárez, Wells

BALTIMORE—Orioles closer Félix Bautista and starting pitcher Zach Eflin won't pitch again during the 2025…

August 12, 2025
How is Jackson Holliday doing for the Orioles? | MAILBAG
  • Mailbag

How is Jackson Holliday doing for the Orioles? | MAILBAG

Question: What is Jackson Holliday’s status with the Orioles right now?  People (including you) talk…

August 12, 2025
Struggling Orioles face daunting schedule; Closer options might be expanding
  • Rich Dubroff

Struggling Orioles face daunting schedule; Closer options might be expanding

BALTIMORE—Over the next four weeks, the Orioles play 25 games—all against teams with records over…

August 12, 2025
  • Minors

Beavers enters Baseball America Top 100 prospect list; Orioles claim outfielder Daniel Johnson

Dylan Beavers, the Orioles' outfield prospect who is awaiting a callup to Baltimore, is now…

August 11, 2025
  • Rich Dubroff

Orioles’ Grayson Rodriguez has bone spur removed from right elbow

Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez had surgery on Monday to remove a bone spur from his…

August 11, 2025
  • Rich Dubroff

Fans voice their displeasure at Orioles’ new ticket policies

After the Orioles sent messages to season ticket holders on Thursday informing them of planned…

August 11, 2025