Q&A with Shorebirds Broadcaster Brett Lasky

Delmarva Shorebirds Director of Broadcasting Bret Lasky was kind enough to answer a few questions about some of the Baby Birds. Obviously, nobody saw more of the Shorebirds last season than Lasky so I was curious to hear his perspective on some of the players coming through the Oriole farm system.


Dempsey's Army: Who was the most impressive position player you watched last year?

Brett Lasky: Amongst the guys that we’re in Delmarva for the whole season, I’d have to say Ty Kelly. He’s a switch hitter with deceptive power. His splits weren’t great last year but I think they will improve with experience. He was also the best defensive infielder that the Shorebirds had. I was impressed with Trent Mummey when he came to Delmarva late in the year. His statistics weren’t gaudy but you could tell when you watched him take batting practice that the ball just flies off his bat. Obviously, he also has good speed.

DA: The most impressive Shorebirds pitcher from 2010?

BL: Tough one here, but I’ll say Bobby Bundy. He’s competitive, young and really determined. He was outstanding in the second half of the season. He tossed a nine-inning complete game against the Hickory Crawdads – it was the first nine-inning complete game by a Shorebirds pitcher in a couple years. Bundy has a really good head on his shoulders and he is a tireless worker. One of the hardest working pitchers I’ve seen.

DA: Jonathan Schoop, Manny Machado and Mychal Givens: where are all these middle infielders going to play?

BL: I don’t think anyone but Ryan Minor and the Orioles brass know the answer to this one. What I will say is that Ryan does a great job of making sure everyone gets his repetitions. I was here when they began to convert L.J. Hoes to a second baseman. The roving instructors and the staff really do a nice job of teaching – especially when guys are unfamiliar with certain positions.

DA: Assuming his health is fine, is Matt Hobgood expected to come back to Delmarva to start the year?

BL: I know the off season injury set him back a little, so I’m not sure. Matt showed some good stuff at times last season. I vividly remember a nasty breaking ball he throw against the Lakewood BlueClaws at First Energy Park. It had some serious movement. I’m definitely interested to see how the Orioles decide to progress Matt.

DA: Outside of Manny Machado, who is the player you are looking forward to seeing play in Delmarva this season?

BL: Mychal Givens – I only had the chance to watch Mychal play a handful of games before the injury last season in Greensboro so I’m eager to see him play on a consistent basis. I talked to him a couple times around the cages and he was very mature for his age. Obviously he has a cannon for an arm and I’m looking forward to seeing what his bat will produce.

DA: Inexplicably, I am a big Justin Dalles fan. What's the word on his health this offseason?

BL: I’m a huge Dalles fan as well. I haven’t had a chance to talk to Dalles this off season. Last year was a tough year for Dalles because of all the setbacks. Hopefully, he stays healthy and has an outstanding year. One thing that I will say about Dalles is that he is a really good clubhouse guy – he got along with all of his teammates.

DA: 3B Tyler Kolodny. Great control of the zone, great power. Any word on a possible position change for him? Will he come back to Delmarva after finishing the season in NY-Penn League?

BL: No word yet on Tyler Kolodny. Raw power, hard working kid. Two things that come to my mind when I hear his name. He was always first to the clubhouse and last to leave two years ago here in Delmarva. If he were to be assigned here, I would be very interested to see what Kolodny is like as a 23-year old. Think about this – he led the Shorebirds in home runs last year with 10 and he only played 41 games.

DA: C Michael Ohlman came into the system with a fair amount of hype. At 19, was he just overmatched facing Sally league competition last season?

BL: He had his growing pains, no doubt. However, you could definitely see the potential. I remember a game last year against Lakewood when Ohlman smacked a couple doubles into the gaps and deep up against the wall. Another guy that would be an interesting watch because he has been here before.

DA: Most impressive non-Shorebird player you saw in the Sally last season?

BL: I’ll give you a couple. Everybody ranted and raved about Phillies prospect Jonathan Singleton. He’s got all the god given talents and he’s smooth at the plate and in the field. He’s definitely up there. Two guys that hurt the Shorebirds last year that not as many people talked about were Justin Bloxom and Destin Hood of the Hagerstown Suns. In 16 games against the Shorebirds, Bloxom batted .412 with 12 RBIs. Hood hit .337 with 10 RBIs against the Shorebirds.

DA: Delmarva is going to be hosting the Sally League All-Star Game this year. Are you going to get to call the game?

BL: Yeah, I’ll be on the call on our flagship radio station 960 The Sports Animal. I’m really looking forward to it. I was in Myrtle Beach back in 2008 when they hosted the California v. Carolina All-Star Game and I remember all the excitement that surrounded that game. Pablo Sandoval, now of the San Francisco Giants, won the home run derby. I’m wondering who will be the first to the majors from the 2011 SAL All-Star Game.


The Shorebirds kick off their season on April 7th at Perdue Stadium in Salisbury. Hey, you can meet Chris Hoiles too! Lots of interesting talent at Delmarva this season, get out there and check them out.

Delmarva Shorebirds @ Greensboro Grasshoppers – 4/12/2010, Part 2

More impressions of the Shorebirds form the game in Greensboro on 4/12...

LHP Tony Butler - Acquired in trade, 2007

Butler was the 5th guy acquired from Seattle for Erik Bedard. while George Sherrill, Adam Jones, Chris Tillman and Kam Mickolio have all contributed to major league club, Butler has become the forgotten man. He had surgery on his labrum and missed most of the 2009 season. He is still just 22 but is back in low-A trying to work his way back to prospect status.

Butler had a rough first inning, struggling with his control but his defense did him no favors. All four runs he gave up were unearned but make no mistake, he did not pitch well that first inning. His fastball was up, he had trouble throwing his breaking ball for strikes and labored through 36 pitches to get out of the inning. However, he retired the last 10 batters he faced and only had to throw 33 pitches to get through the next three innings. (He was lifted after the 4th, I think the starters are on a pitch count early in the season.)

His fastball topped out at 86 but I don't buy that. the radar gun setup was a little cheesy on only one pitcher all night broke 90 mph. My guess is that their gun was reading 2 mph slow on average. Back when he was considered a top prospect in the Seattle system, his fastball was hitting 88-91 mph and 88 mph seemd to be what he topped out at in Greenboro (by my estimation). Supposedly, he throws a fastball, a change and a curve but his breaking ball looked more like a slider to me and he slipped over a more traditional looking curveball a couple of times. Of course, his "slider" was in there at 76 mph which seems to slow to be a slider...but what do I know? I'm not a scout.

Regardless of what you call it, his breaking ball was effective and he seemed to be pitching "backwards" at times, working of his breaking pitches and throwing the fastball to keep the hitters honest.

It would be hard to see Butler as much more than a relief prospect at this point but you never know. If he builds on this performance, his stuff, combined with the polish that he shows on the mound, could allow him to remain a starter through the high minors. And if he ever regains that low-90's fastball to go with the breaking stuff, he might just establish himself as a potential starter again.

C Justin Dalles -Drafted 2009, 6th Round

I was disappointed when I saw that C Michael Ohlman (2009 Draft, 11th round) would not play in either game I was going to attend this weekend. Not anymore. I got to see Justin Dalles play and now I am a fan.

I already told you about the home run he hit on Saturday in Greenville, the longest homer I've ever seen hit in the minors (maybe ever). On Monday, he went 2-3 with a double and a walk. On top of that, he picked a runner off at first, looked good behind the plate and acted as a vocal leader on the field. He has a good approach at the plate and is showing good power, even when he misses (like the long fly ball he hit early in Monday's game that was just a couple feet foul of being a homer).

Catcher was a desolate position in the Oriole system for years. No longer. Add Justin Dalles to the talent pool.

2B Tyler Kelly - 2009, 13th Round

Kelly made a couple of nice plays at second on Monday night, including running down a pop fly way out by the right field foul line. He's 21 and doesn't show a lot of power but looks like he's a good fielder, a good baserunner and works the count well. If he develops the ability to take a walk, he already looks to be a good candidate for a utility infielder down the line.

SS Garabez Rosa - 2006, International Free Agent

20-year-old Rosa, who is fairly slow of foot on the basepaths but is quick footed in the field, showed soft hands and an above average arm for low-A. Rosa went 3-4 with a couple doubles on Monday but thus far has been overmatched at the plate during his proessional career. More nights like this, flashing gap power, and he may evolve into a utility guy himself and maybe more. His youth leaves more room for improvement and he is the #27 prospect in the Orioles system so the scouts like the raw talent.

3B Levi Carolus - 2004, International Free Agent

Carolus caught my eye in the stat sheets for Aberdeen last year when he hit .320. He has shown some modest power and, outside of his lack of walks, looked like he could be an interesting guy to watch at third base for Delmarva. However, in addition to his hack-happy ways at the plate, he did not look good in the field either. His reactions seemd slow compared to his peers, often not even coming close to making the play on balls down the line.

I have my doubts that he'll be able to stick at third at higher levels, which takes away a bunch of his potential value. He needs to improve his glove or plate discipline dramatically this season if he hopes to be more than minor league filler.

OF Brian Conley - 2008, 17th Round

Conley is already 24 and thus far, has shown little at the plate except the abilty to draw walks. However, he already has 3 extra base hits in 14 ABs after having 9 extra base hits all of last season. If he keeps flashing some power in Delmarva and Frederick in 2010, (that's a big if) he might have something.

Delmarva Shorebirds @ Greensboro Grasshoppers – 4/12/2010

2B Tyler Kelly had 3 hits, drove in 4 and scored the tying run in the 9th as the Shorebirds stormed by the Greensboro Grasshoppers with a 6-run rally in the final frame for an 11-6 win.

In a back and forth contest, fielding miscues provided both teams with runs at critical times. SP Tony Butler gave up 4 runs in the 1st but none were earned as 3B Levi Carolus' fielding error opened the door to a 2-out Greensboro rally. Grasshopper SS Jose Torres made two errors that led to 3 unearned Shorebird runs in the first 6 innings.

But heading into the 9th, the Shorebirds still trailed 6-5. Kelly led off with a single, advanced to second on a passed ball, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on 1B Tyler Kolodny's sacrifice fly to tie the game.

At that point Greensboro RP Alejandro Pena started walking the park. He walked the next two batters and CF Steve Bumbry hit a double to left to give the Shorebirds the lead for good.

Pena and RP Arquimedes Caminero combined to walk 5 Shorebirds in the 9th and surrendered 6 earned runs.

Shorebirds SS Gabarez Rosa also went 3-4 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI. C Justin Dalles went 2-3 and scored 3 runs.

SP Tony Butler had some control issues in the 1st inning but settled down to retire the last 10 batters he faced.

Lefty reliever Jacob Smith pitched a scoreless 8th to get the win.

More about this game to follow...