Five Tides Named League All-Stars as Mayo Earns Top MLB Prospect

Minor League Baseball today announced the league awards and All-Star teams for the two leagues that make up the Triple-A classification. Votes were cast by league managers, and final decisions were determined by the Commissioner’s Office. Coby Mayo was named International League Top MLB Prospect and was named an All-Star along with teammates Connor Norby, Heston Kjerstad, Brandon Young, and Cade Povich.

The five postseason All-Star selections set the single season franchise record, topping the four selected in 1975: 1B Brock Pemberton, 3B Roy Staiger, OF Mike Vail, and P Craig Swan. Mayo’s Top MLB Prospect Award was the sixth won in franchise history, joining Vail (1975), Mookie Wilson (1979), Randy Milligan (1987), Jason Isringhausen (1995) and Gunnar Henderson (2022).

COBY MAYO, 22, played in 89 games for Norfolk in 2024, slashing .287/.364/.562 with 61 runs, 99 hits, 23 doubles, three triples, 22 home runs, 67 RBI and 40 walks. His .562 slugging percentage set the single season Orioles affiliate franchise record (topping Kyle Stowers’ .527) and was the third-highest all-time in franchise history. Mayo missed month of the season after hurting his rib on May 16 vs. Lehigh Valley and didn’t return to Norfolk until June 18. Mayo would serve two stints with Baltimore: August 2 – 18 and August 31 – September 20. He maintains his rookie eligibility into 2025, playing just 17 games and making 46 plate appearances with the Orioles. Mayo also earned the following awards for his 2024 season: MiLB Awards All-MiLB Prospect 1st Team, Baseball America Minor League All-Star, the Orioles’ Brooks Robinson Award.

CONNOR NORBY, 24, played 80 games with Norfolk and nine games with Baltimore prior to getting traded to Miami along with Kyle Stowers in exchange for Trevor Rogers at the Trade Deadline. Norby would play 14 games with Triple-A Jacksonville and 14 with Miami to complete his season. In the International League, he played 94 games slashing .293/.382/.496 with 78 runs, 111 hits, 24 doubles, a triple, 17 home runs, 60 RBI and 53 walks. Norby ranked among International League leaders in OPS (5^th, .878), average (8^th), on-base percentage (8^th), slugging percentage (8^th), and runs (T-9^th).

HESTON KJERSTAD, 25, Heston Kjerstad played just two months-worth of baseball for the Tides, where in 56 games he slashed .300/.397/.601 with 49 runs, 64 hits, 14 doubles, a triple, 16 home runs, 58 RBI and 32 walks. He started off hot, winning International League Player of the Week during the first week of the season, then won the league Player of the Month Award. He played 39 games with Baltimore, hitting .253 (25-for-99) with eight runs, two doubles, four home runs and 14 RBI.

BRANDON YOUNG, 26, and CADE POVICH, 24, took two of the five starting pitching All-Star spots. Young, who also won the Orioles Jim Palmer Award, went 5-3 with a 3.44 ERA (34 ER, 89.0 IP) with 93 strikeouts to 30 walks in 19 games (17 starts) for the Tides. From his Triple-A debut on May 29 through the end of the season, Young ranked among International League leaders in ERA (5^th), WHIP (6^th, 1.28), opponent’s average (T-4^th, .241) and strikeouts (4^th). Povich spent half of his season with Norfolk, where in 15 games (14 starts) he went 6-1 with a 3.48 ERA (30 ER, 77.2 IP). The other half of his season was spent in Baltimore, where Povich went 3-9 with a 5.20 ERA (46 ER, 79.2 IP) in 16 starts.

Ticketing Information

Fans can purchase 2025 season tickets now by reaching 757-622-2222. Individual game tickets will go on sale at a later date. Follow the Tides on social media and at norfolktides.com throughout the off-season for the most up-to-date information.