Hall, Rodriguez Sweep O's April Honors

SALISBURY, MD - The Delmarva Shorebirds, in conjunction with the Baltimore Orioles, are pleased to announce that infielder Adam Hall and right-handed pitcher Grayson Rodriguez have been named the oranization's Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Month, respectively, for April.
Hall, a 19-year-old from London, Ontario, batted .354/.453/.456 over 21 games in April, pounding out five doubles, one home run, and 12 RBIs, while scoring 17 runs and stealing 11 bases. By the end of the month he was the league leader in on-base percentage and stolen bases while ranking top-10 in batting average, runs scored, and total hits (28); as of this writing he ranks top-six in all five categories.
A model of consistency at the plate, Hall notched nine multi-hit games last month. Most impressively, he recorded five hits in an April 24 game against Asheville, going 5-for-6 with a double, two RBIs, four runs scored, and a stolen base. Hall also is tied for the active team lead with 11 walks; he drew three walks in an April 6 game at Lexington and again on April 13 against Lakewood.
Hall saved his best stuff for his last April at-bat. In the top of the ninth at Columbia on April 30, Hall belted a solo home run all the way to the elevated concourse at Segra Park, the second round-tripper of his career and first since August 15, 2018, as a member of the Aberdeen IronBirds. That home run came in the middle of Hall's 19-game hitting streak, which earned him New York-Penn League Player of the Month honors.
The Orioles drafted Hall out of A.B. Lucas Secondary School (London, Ontario) in the second round of the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft. His signing scout was Chris Reitsma.
Rodriguez, a 19-year-old from Nacogdoches, Texas, baffled mostly much older SAL hitters in April, going 3-0 with a 0.54 ERA over three starts. In 16.2 innings, he struck out an eye-popping 28 batters (15.12 K/9), giving up just seven hits and six walks. His BAA last month stood at .123, and his WHIP at a miniscule 0.78.
In his first full-season start on April 5 in Lexington, Rodriguez truly announced his presence with authority, shutting down the legends over five scoreless two-hit innings while walking two and striking out 10. The Shorebirds bullpen finished off the 3-0 shutout, handing Rodriguez his first professional win.
Somehow Rodriguez was even better in his Perdue Stadium debut on April 12 against Lakewood, tossing six scoreless one-hit innings with three walks and 10 more strikeouts for his second win. The one hit he gave up was a bloop single to no-man's land in left center. With two dominant starts under his belt, Rodriguez was the runaway SAL Pitcher of the Week for the extended first week of April 4-14.
By the time Rodriguez finally gave up a run - a solo home run in Greensboro on April 18 - he had begun the season on a 14.2-inning scoreless streak. The solo shot was the only blemish against him in his third start; he went 5.2 innings of one-run, four-hit ball in his third consecutive win, walking one and fanning eight to nail down the Shorebirds' 10th straight win.
The Orioles drafted Rodriguez out of Central Heights High School (Nacogdoches, Texas) in the first round (11th overall) of the 2018 MLB First-Year Player Draft. His signing scout was Thom Dreier.
Hall and Rodriguez were instrumental in the Shorebirds' spectacular April. Delmarva went 18-4 last month, at one point winning 10 games in a row from April 9 through 18. The team's .818 winning percentage was second-best in all of Minor League Baseball by the end of April, trailing only the Double-A Harrisburg Senators of the Eastern League.
This is the second straight year the Shorebirds have swept the Orioles' monthly minor league honors for April. Last year outfielder Zach Jarrett and southpaw Zac Lowther won Player and Pitcher of the Month, respectively; both are currently playing for Double-A Bowie.