Delmarva Shorebirds break camp, open at home Friday

By Sam Jellinek Delmarva Shorebirds
Posted 4/5/22

The Delmarva Shorebirds, in coordination with the Baltimore Orioles, have announced their 2022 break-camp roster.

The team will play 66 home games at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium with Opening Night …

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Delmarva Shorebirds break camp, open at home Friday

Posted

The Delmarva Shorebirds, in coordination with the Baltimore Orioles, have announced their 2022 break-camp roster.

The team will play 66 home games at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium with Opening Night slated for Friday against the Fredericksburg Nationals.

Highlighting the Shorebirds home slate is the return of the Shorebirds July Fourth game and two new teams that the Shorebirds have never played in their illustrious 26-year history.

The Shorebirds play in the Low-A East League consisting of 12 teams evenly divided into three divisions with the ‘Birds playing 10 of the 11 opponents in the Low-A East League at least once this season.

Joining the Shorebirds in the North Division are the Fredericksburg Nationals (Washington Nationals), Lynchburg Hillcats (Cleveland Indians), and Salem Red Sox (Boston Red Sox) who were the 2021 North Division Champions.

“The Orioles have been a terrific partner over the years and we are excited to continue to welcome the future Orioles on their way to Baltimore,” said Shorebirds General Manager Chris Bitters. “Every year, the Orioles provide first-class talent on and off the field and we look forward to continuing to create fun, affordable, family entertainment, while helping grow our Delmarva community.”

Nine 2021 Shorebirds return to the Eastern Shore: RHP Shane Davis, OF Mishael Deson, RHP Daniel Federman, RHP Thomas Girard, RHP Conor Grady, SS Darell Hernaiz, RHP Daniel Lloyd, RHP Preston Price, and OF Davis Tavarez.

Of the returners, Davis, Hernaiz (Orioles No. 19 prospect per Fangraphs) and Girard spent the entire 2021 season with Delmarva while Federman, Grady, Lloyd, and Price joined in August while Deson was added to the roster in September.

Tavarez spent the last week of July with Delmarva before returning to the FCL.

Hernaiz was a mainstay up the middle for Delmarva last season, slashing .277/.333/.358 with six homers as one of the youngest players in the league (took just eight at-bats against pitchers younger than him).

The returning pitchers represent about 15 percent of all innings the Shorebirds pitched last season (169.2 IP) and each arm had a K/9 of at least 9.0.

Deson played in just six games with the Shorebirds, going 4-for-23. Deson did most of his damage in 2021 down in the Florida Complex League, slashing .369/.416/.515 with three homers and 11 stolen bases. He was named the FCL player of the month for August after hitting .426/.446/.656 with three homers and 11 RBIs. Deson was acquired in September 2020 as part of the return from Colorado in exchange for Mychal Givens.

Tavarez put up great numbers across the FCL and his week-long stint with Delmavra with a slash line of .326/.400/.462.

Of the new faces, there is a major international flair with 16 of the 20 players hailing from outside of the United States (4 Venezuelans, 9 Dominicans, 1 Puerto Rican, 1 Cuban, 1 U.S. Virgin Islander).

New arms on the pitching staff include: RHP Carson Carter, RHP Moises Chace, RHP Juan De Los Santos, RHP Dan Hammer, RHP Kelvin LaRoche, RHP Yeankarlos Lleras, RHP Ryan Long, RHP Hector Lopez, RHP Alejandro Mendez, LHP Eduard Monroy, and RHP Raul Rangel. Carter was signed as an UDFA in 2021 out of Oklahoma, Chace had a strikeout rate 12.89, which led O’s FCL pitchers throwing 20 innings or more, Hammer was a 13th round pick in 2019 out of Pittsburgh and Lleras was a 6th rounder in 2018 out of high school. Long was a recent 17th rounder in 2021 out of Pomona-Pitzer, Lopez dominated the FCL last season with a 2.39 ERA and Rangel was likewise as good in the FCL with a 3.25 ERA.

Behind the plate, two new players don the catcher’s mask for the Shorebirds: Brayan Hernandez, signed as an International FA in 2020, and Michael Mantecon who signed as an International FA in 2019.

Around the infield, five new players join returner Hernaiz. Josue Cruz, Isaac De Leon (acquired from Miami in August 2020 in exchange for Richard Bleier), Ryan Higgans (2021 9th Rounder out of Fresno State), Moises Ramirez (.879 OPS in the FCL in 2021), and Noelberth Romero (traded from Boston in 2019 as part of Andrew Cashner deal).

Joining Deson and Tavarez in the outfield at Perdue Stadium will be Isaac Bellony and Luis Valdez. Bellony posted an .804 OPS in the FCL last season while Valdez makes the jump straight from the Dominican Summer League where he hit .333 with 21 stolen bases last season.

The Delmarva Shorebirds are the Class-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. The Shorebirds are owned by 7th Inning Stretch, LP, which also owns the Stockton Ports of the California League and the Everett AquaSox of the Northwest League.

For more information on the Shorebirds, call 410-219-3112 or visit theshorebirds.com.

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