NORFOLK — When the Norfolk Tides come back from the International League’s four-day All-Star break to open a three-game home series against Nashville on Friday, they’ll do so about as rested and refreshed as baseball players can be in July.
They’ll also return with a subpar 44-48 overall record and an 8-9 mark in the second half.
But minor league seasons, especially at the Triple-A level, aren’t best measured in wins and losses.
The defending IL and Triple-A champion Tides exist, essentially, to develop and funnel players to the parent Baltimore Orioles. And by that measure, it’s been another productive season.
The pipeline
Twenty players have played for both Norfolk and Baltimore this season, including four who have made their big league debuts.
The list includes three players who have spent time with Norfolk while on major league rehabilitation stints, another important function of the Triple-A level.
Who’s been good
Corner infielder Coby Mayo (.301), outfielder Heston Kjerstad (.300) and second baseman/outfielder Connor Norby (.296) are among the league’s top 10 in batting average.
The slugging Mayo, 22, is tied for third in the IL with 19 home runs and is third with a .983 OPS, though he’s yet to make his highly anticipated big league debut.
How hard does Mayo swing? Out of Norfolk’s fastest exit velocities this season, the top six all belong to him. Mayo’s 115-mph double on April 10 is the team’s hardest-hit ball this season.
Kjerstad, 25, was among the IL leaders in several offensive categories before he was recalled last month. He’s currently on Baltimore’s injured list with a concussion.
Norby, a 24-year-old former East Carolina star, hit .214 with a homer in a four-game June stint with the Orioles, the first of his career.
A frequently rumored trade piece as the loaded Orioles compete for another American League East title, Norby leads the IL with 163 total bases and 70 runs.
The kid
Top prospect Jackson Holliday, a career shortstop who continues to learn second base, had a disastrous major league debut. In 10 April games, the 20-year-old former top overall draft pick went 2 for 34 (.059) and was quickly optioned back down.
He’ll be back. Holliday is hitting .273 through 64 games with Norfolk, but his real success lies in his secondary numbers. Holliday, the son of former All-Star Matt Holliday, leads the IL with 72 walks (against 67 strikeouts), is second with a .442 OBP and is 10th with a .913 OPS.
The plate discipline that propelled Holliday through four levels of the minors last season is alive and well.
High times
Drawing 6,227 fans per home game, the Tides are ninth in the 20-team IL in average attendance. Their average attendance last season was just shy of 5,800.
With a variety of novel rebranding merchandise items available for sale, the team store is doing tremendous business as well.
Last month, merchandise sales were up 52% through the same number of games last season.
Take a bow
Tides manager Buck Britton got something this week that Triple-A managers rarely get: national TV exposure.
Britton, a former Norfolk utilityman, pitched to the Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson in MLB’s Home Run Derby. Henderson, who played for the Tides in 2022, was eliminated in the first round.
Winding down
The Nashville series is part of a nine-game, 10-day homestand. Next, Jacksonville comes in for six.
After that, remarkably, only four homestands remain this season.
David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com.
