As the 2021 season is about to get going, the MiLB.com staff is looking back at the best teams, farm system, games and individual performances from a memorable 2019 Minor League season.
For the first installment of the series, they combed through every domestic level of the Minors to select the top 10 teams based on on-field performance and the prospect talent that each brought to the table.
So, without further ado, we present the 10 best teams from 2019:
Number One was Adam Hall and his Class A Delmarva Shorebirds teammates.
On its face, Hall's Shorebirds were a force to be reckoned with from beginning to end in the South Atlantic League. Stellar pitching led the way for Delmarva, which won 90 games and finished with the Minors' highest full-season winning percentage at .652. No, the Shorebirds did not capture a championship, but they consistently won games and held down the opposition en route to earning the top spot on this list.
It was an all-around team effort, but what fueled the Shorebirds all year long as an elite pitching staff that led the circuit in a host of categories, including ERA (3.00) and shutouts (20). In his first full season as a pro, second-ranked Orioles prospect Grayson Rodriguez not only earned Sally League All-Star honors but a spot in the Futures Game in Cleveland. For the season, he maintained a 2.68 ERA and struck out 129 hitters over 94 innings. He shared Pitcher of the Year honors in the organization with Michael Baumann.
Drew Rom (2.93 ERA, 122 strikeouts) and Gray Fenter (career-best 1.81 ERA, 123 strikeouts) helped round out a staff that tormented hitters all season long.
Offensively, Seamus Curran finished sixth in the league with 17 homers, while O's No. 14 prospect Hall compiled a .298/.385/.395 slash line and was a constant presence on base. He played only 12 games with Delmarva, but the Orioles' new top prospect, catcher Adley Rutschman, joined the team late in the year and chipped in two homers and eight RBIs.
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