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Minor League Podcast: Lots of storylines in the season’s first week down on the farm

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The minor league season is in full force from Delmarva to Frederick and everywhere (sort of) in between.

And there have been a whole lot of interesting storylines so far for the Orioles’ farmhands.

What’s up with Norfolk’s struggling Triple-A rotation? (Rough start, but there’s future help there.)

Did right-hander Alec Asher do enough in his first outing with the Tides to land Saturday’s start for the Orioles in Toronto? (It’s down to him and Jayson Aquino, and Asher is on turn. That’s where I have my money.)

How good is Double-A Bowie outfielder Cedric Mullins? (Really good. Not this awesome, but really good.)

What’s the latest on Pedro Alvarez and his outfield transition? (He’s a work in progress, but he’s, well, progressing.)

What’s the latest on Chris Tillman? (Orioles manager Buck Showalter told reporters that Tillman will begin a rehab assignment Monday with three innings at Bowie as he continues to battle back from a right shoulder injury.)

It’s early. We all know it’s early. But it’s never too early to talk about things brewing in the minors.

And no one does that better than Adam Pohl, the voice of the Bowie Baysox.

In this segment of “Minor League Podcast,” Pohl talks with BaltimoreBaseball.com minor league reporter Dean Jones Jr., about what’s been going on in the Orioles’ system.

And then Pohl speaks with Ian Locke, the media relations director of the Tides, about all things Norfolk. One of the more intriguing parts of the interview is Locke’s memories of Dave Rosenfield, the club’s longtime GM who died earlier this year at age 87.

Locke also discusses the Tides rotation, their slow start, Alvarez’s progress and the unlucky Chris Johnson, who is lost for roughly two months after breaking a bone in his forearm when hit by a pitch Saturday.

Lots of stuff to check out here if you love chatter about the minors.

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.