ORGANIZATION REPORTS
Westburg Continues Shining At Triple-A
The first four-hit game of Jordan Westburg’s professional career on June 24 became his first five-hit game with a double in his final at-bat.
Success is coming quickly for Westburg, the 30th overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Mississippi State.
The Orioles promoted Westburg from Double-A Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk on June 6. He made the jump with friend and fellow shortstop Gunnar Henderson.
In 79 games at the two levels, Westburg hit .272/.342/.513 with 16 home runs.
“Westburg’s been really good,” Norfolk manager Buck Britton said. “Mr. Consistency is what Westburg is. Smart baseball player.”
Westburg played shortstop in college, but he’s also been used at third base and second base in the Orioles’ system. Britton is tasked with providing ample starts at shortstop for both Westburg and Henderson under a plan devised by the Orioles.
“They kind of give us a player matrix every week, as to where they’d like guys to line up,” Britton said. “… So Jordan will get three (starts) and Gunnar will get three, and how I go about manipulating that throughout the week is up to me.
I’m somebody who likes to at least give them back-to-back days, especially at shortstop. It’s the hardest one.”
Baltimore will inherit the challenge down the road, no later than 2023. The organization’s draft picks and international signings under head of baseball operations Mike Elias have strengthened their infield depth, particularly up the middle.
“It’s a good problem to have, right?” Britton said. “A couple guys who are young, who can really play shortstop. We’ll see what that looks like in a year or two.”
—ROCH KUBATKO
Power Surge Pushes Kavadas To High-A
When the Red Sox drafted Notre Dame first baseman Niko Kavadas in the 11th round in 2021, there were few questions about his lefthanded power potential.
Kavadas blasted 22 homers in 47 games as a senior, but even that production hardly prepared anyone for the 23-year-old’s incredible performance early in 2022.
Assigned to Low-A Salem, Kavadas’ showed a discerning eye in May that helped him to a .419 on-base percentage.
In June he erupted to hit .400/.538/1.013 with 14 home runs in 25 games. That hot streak began in Salem and continued after a June 24 promotion to High-A Greenville.
The lefthanded hitter had totaled 22 homers through 77 games while hitting .287/.468/.655.
“As locked in as one could be,” Salem manager Luke Montz said of Kavadas.
Kavadas developed his approach at Notre Dame, where he practiced by dividing the plate into thirds and focusing on two-thirds of the zone—middle-in or middle-away—while refusing to expand.
By narrowing his hitting
