Single-A Delmarva center fielder Matthew Angle is not one to sit still, particularly when he finds himself standing on first base.
The Shorebirds' leadoff hitter, taken in the seventh round of the 2007 draft out of Ohio State, has 23 stolen bases this season to lead the team. That total is also tops among all players in the Orioles system and comes on the heels of his breaking the Aberdeen single-season stolen-base record set last year with 34.
"As a leadoff guy, you try to get on base, try to steal bases and try to do as much as you can to cause havoc on the base paths," said Angle, who has been thrown out attempting to steal eight times this season. "I'm not much of a power guy, so I try to make up for it in other ways."
A natural right-hander, Angle, who also leads the team with 40 walks, bats from the left side to give him that extra half-step down the line. That approach is becoming increasingly popular among leadoff hitters, and it continues to pay dividends for the speedy outfielder.
After a slow start to the season, Angle began to see positive results from taking a more disciplined approach at the plate, and his numbers improved in the process.
July has been especially kind to the former Buckeye, who is batting .341 this month with five multi-hit games in that span. His average stands at .277, a number he knows has room to improve. Bunting is another aspect he is working on as he looks to take full advantage of his quickness. Overall, he said he was pleased with his progress as a professional.
"I feel like I'm going in the right direction," Angle said. I feel like I've improved on some of the things they want to me improve on, and hopefully I can continue building on those over the next six weeks."
Triple-A Norfolk
Since being optioned back to the Tides in late June after a 2 1/2 -week stay with the Orioles, infielder Oscar Salazar has continued to make a case for a spot with the major league club. He had two more hits Saturday night to give him 95 on the season, most on the team. Salazar also leads the club in average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and doubles, and is second in home runs (10) and RBIs (59).
Reliever Alberto Castillo was called up by the Orioles on Tuesday to replace Adam Loewen, who went on the 15-day disabled list.
Fellow reliever Kam Mickolio, acquired as part of the Erik Bedard trade, has pitched five innings of no-hit ball since being promoted from Bowie. He has six strikeouts in that span.
