While Adam Hall and his Baltimore Orioles teammates continue their Spring Season Training Camp, many Orioles fans were unhappy with Keith Law last week after he ranked the Orioles’ farm system 18th in Baseball.
Ryan Blake had him on his podcast to take him through his thought process.
Law and Blake discussed Adam Hall vs Gunnar Henderson.
Saturday, February 20, 2021
Hall’s Delmarva Shorebirds Announce 2021 Schedule
IslandStats.com
With Adam Hall preparing for Baltimore Orioles' big league camp, his Delmarva Shorebird’s announced the 2021 schedule featuring 60 home games at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium with Opening Night slated for Tuesday, May 4th. Recently, the Shorebirds accepted the Baltimore Orioles invitation to remain their Low-A affiliate and will play in the North Division of the newly constructed Low-A East League.
Formerly a member of the South Atlantic League, the Shorebirds will now play in the Low-A East League consisting of twelve teams evenly divided into three divisions with seven teams serving as first-time opponents with no previous head-to-head meetings with the Shorebirds. 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 all previously played in the Advanced-A Carolina League.
“We have enjoyed a terrific partnership with the Orioles for the past 25 years and we are excited to continue to help develop the O’s stars of tomorrow on their journey to Camden Yards,” explained Shorebirds General Manager Chris Bitters. “Every year, the Orioles provide the 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.”
In preparation for the 2021 season, investments have been made in new protective measures to ensure fan, staff, and player safety when visiting Perdue Stadium. As of today, the Shorebirds are creating a COVID-19 readiness plan, implementing the new protective measures around Perdue Stadium, and continually working with local and state health officials to ensure a safe, fun 2021 Shorebirds gameday experience.
“While we currently are still under a limited capacity in adherence with state health guidelines, we are committed to implementing all our new protective measures immediately to ensure we are prepared to keep fans safe right now and as our capacity grows,” said Bitters. “Our community and fan base has always been a top priority and we are looking forward to welcoming fans back for Shorebirds baseball in 2021.”
In following all guidelines provided by state and local government, the Shorebirds will continue to monitor and adhere to all regulations while keeping fans updated with the latest information as soon as it becomes available. In the coming weeks, the Shorebirds will be reaching out through separate communication to all our partners, season ticket holders, groups, silver sluggers, individual ticket holders, staff, and fans in regards to the next steps as we approach the beginning of the season.
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Hall Heads to Baltimore Orioles Big League Camp
IslandStats.com
Adam Hall Received the Call of his Life this Week.
The 21-year-old baseball prospect from London, Ont. was invited to join 71 others in Sarasota, Fla. at the Baltimore Orioles big league camp.
"I wasn't expecting it, but I'm pretty fired up about it," he told CTV News while getting in some final swings in the batting cage.
Drafted out of A.B. Lucas Secondary School in the second round of the MLB draft in 2017, Adam spent his first three seasons in the low-level minor leagues.
Last year the pandemic wiped out the entire minor league season.
He was given a chance to attend the Orioles instructional league in October where the organization could develop and evaluate their young prospects.
He was surprised to be invited to spring training but the organization wanted its top young players to attend.
"These are formative years, and formative at-bats for these position players," Mike Elias, Orioles general manager told the media this week.
"We’re a little bit more worried about that dynamic. We just want to get some of these guys here to see live pitching or track pitches, be around our coaches, and all that stuff."
Hall went for a COVID-19 test Monday, and the results have already come back negative, so he was ready to fly south Wednesday.
"It will nice to get down to the warmth, especially after the past few days here," says Hall.
"There is a five-day quarantine period along with a COVID-19 test intake, and as far I know we'll get into workouts right away."
Elias said during his media briefing that there will be days where some of their big league players will just do workouts, which will allow guys like Hall to play in spring training games at Ed Smith Stadium.
Adam says, "Any game I get into will be special," and has been working out hard over the past few months at Centrefield Sports in London.
"I've looked up to those guys my whole life and to play with them is my end goal. The Orioles just signed Felix Hernandez, it'll be great to be around a guy like that who has a lot of success in the game."
However, when he does play, there will be one thing missing.
His father and biggest supporter Tyler Hall passed away in the spring of 2020 from multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood plasma, which he had battled since 2013. He was 53.
In three minor league seasons Adam is hitting .301, with 6 HR, and an OPS of .779.
He is hoping to reach the 'AA' level this season, where his home games would be played in Bowie, Md.
Sunday, February 14, 2021
MLB Announces New Minors Teams & Leagues
IslandStats.com
The names of the leagues have changed, as have many of the affiliates, but Minor League baseball is still coming to hundreds of communities across North America in 2021.
Major League Baseball announced a new plan for affiliated baseball, with 120 Minor League clubs officially agreeing to join the new Professional Development League (PDL). A full list of Major League teams including Adam Hall’s Delmarva Shorebirds and their new affiliates, one for each level of full-season ball, along with a complex league (Gulf Coast and Arizona) team.
There will be a new set of standards instituted throughout the entire PDL and the affiliates at the Triple-A, Double-A, High-A, and Low-A levels. It starts with a salary increase for players throughout all four levels, ranging from 38 percent to 72 percent for the 2021 season. Facilities and player working conditions will also be upgraded and modernized to meet the needs of professional athletes and staff. There will be less in-season travel for players and coaches as well.
Hall and his Delmarva teammates will feature in the Low-A East Division.
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Hall 16th on Baltimore Orioles Prospect Rankings
IslandStats.com
Following the cancelation of the Minor League Baseball 2020 Season, Adam Hall is 16th on the Baltimore Orioles Prospect Rankings.
Hall who is listed as a Short Stop/Second Baseman for the Delmarva Shorebirds team is projected to reach the Majors in a utility role.
Hall has improved steadily since the Orioles, enamored with his play for the Canadian junior national team, landed him with an above-slot $1.3 million bonus in the second round of the 2017 Draft. An oblique injury limited Hall to just two games that summer, and he struggled initially in the New York-Penn League before breaking out in the second half, hitting .358 with a 19-game hit streak down the stretch in 2018. Healthy again, Hall jumped a level and was one of the more productive infielders in the Class A South Atlantic League in 2019, hitting .298/.385/.395 with five homers and 33 stolen bases.
Hall benefits from a quick bat and hand strength beyond his physical dimensions, relying more on an all-fields, gap-to-gap approach rather than plus power. There are questions about whether he’ll grow into more, but Hall assuaged some of those doubts by more than doubling his extra-base-hit output and improving his walk rate last season. His best tool is his plus speed, which he couples with good instincts on the bases, and is a scrappy hitter with a tendency to grind out at-bats.
He’s also used his quickness to grow into a playable defender at short, where Hall has the chance to stick at the highest level. Whether that’s on an everyday basis probably depends on how his bat develops as he matures and adds muscle to what is now a wiry frame. Hall possesses enough arm strength to play all over the diamond if not, in which case he would project to reach the Majors in a utility role.
