Austin Hays Tore Through The Orioles System

Best Player: OF Austin Hays

Hays spent 2016 at short-season Aberdeen after the Orioles selected him in the third round out of Jacksonville. But the 22-year-old tore through the system this year and landed in Baltimore following a September callup. He is the first player from the 2016 draft to reach the majors.

Hays emerged as one of the top prospects in baseball while batting a combined .329/.365/.593 with 32 home runs, 32 doubles, five triples and 95 RBIs in 128 games at high Class A Frederick and Double-A Bowie. He was among five finalists for the BA Minor league Player of the Year.

“Austin Hays has had a great year and he’s got all the tools,” executive vice president Dan Duquette said. “He distinguished himself in the Carolina League and made the all-star team, and then we moved him to Double-A and it seemed to be a seamless adjustment for him. He runs good, throws good, he can hit, he can field and he’s got power to all fields, so he has all the tools.”

Best Pitcher: LHP Alex Wells

Wells proved to be the ultimate control artist this season at low Class A Delmarva. He didn’t walk a batter in his final 68 innings and issued just 10 free passes over 140 innings. He walked 0.64 per nine innings to rank second in the minors among pitchers with 100 innings.

The 20-year-old Australian went 11-5, 2.38 and led the South Atlantic League with a 0.91 WHIP, earning the Orioles’ minor league pitcher of the year award.

“With that kind of control, throwing that many strikes and with his intelligence and his excellent curveball, he’s got a chance to have a good future very quickly,” Duquette said. “He has elite control and he has an elite curveball.”

Keep An Eye On: OF D.J. Stewart

Stewart is starting to resemble a first-round draft pick—and a real good one. He hit just .218 at Aberdeen in 2015, but he ranked among the Double-A Eastern League leaders in numerous categories this summer.

Stewart, the 25th overall pick in 2015 out of Florida State, is one of 10 players in the minors to hit at least 20 homers with at least 20 steals this season, and he’s the first in Bowie history. Often overshadowed by Hays and Cedric Mullins, Stewart batted .278/.378/.481 with 21 homers, 26 doubles, two triples, 20 steals and 79 RBIs  in 126 games.

“He brings a lot of ingredients to be a good hitter,” Bowie manager Gary Kendall said. “He’s very physical and strong and puts the ball in play with authority a lot. He can get on base a lot of different ways.”