Minor League Spotlight: Cameron Bishop
The Baltimore Orioles scored a gem in the 26th round of the 2017 draft when they selected left-handed pitcher Cameron Bishop out of the University of California, Irvine. Bishop, who is now the Orioles’ 14th best prospect according to MLB Pipeline, almost never joined the team due to an error committed by the O’s.
On July fifth, Bishop agreed to sign with the Orioles, and on the sixth he passed the notorious Orioles’ physical. However, when July seventh came around, the deadline for signing players drafted in the 2017 draft, the O’s did not submit the deal to Major League Baseball until five minutes after the 5 p.m. deadline had occurred. Luckily for the Orioles, MLB approved the trade after investigating what exactly had happened. In their explanation, MLB stated that it would be unfair to Bishop to punish him for the Orioles’ miscue.
Bishop’s first appearance in the Orioles minor league system came with the Gulf Coast League Orioles which is where most rookies make their professional debuts. Bishop made his debut on July 21st against the Gulf Coast League Rays. In the game, Bishop went three innings and allowed no runs on one hit while walking no Rays’ batters. That start allowed earned Bishop a promotion to the Short-Season A ball affiliate of the Orioles: the Aberdeen IronBirds.
After Bishop’s promotion, he continued to impress. Over the eight starts that Bishop had with Aberdeen this season, he accumulated a 0.78 ERA with a 1.04 WHIP and 38 strikeouts. Bishop’s best start of the season came on August 31st against the Tri-City ValleyCats. In that game Bishop’s start went 6 shut-out innings in which he allowed just one hit while he struck out five.
Overall, Bishop looks as if he could be promoted to the next level next season. However, Bishop probably will not be up with the Orioles for another two or three years. According to MLB Pipeline, it is still unclear as to whether Bishop will remain a starter or if he will be made into a reliever. Either way, pitching, especially left-handed pitching, is valuable.
