Orioles minor league report: Christian Walker powering Tides toward postseason

Triple-A Norfolk

First baseman Christian Walker entered the final weekend of the regular season with an International League-leading 13 home runs since the All-Star break, with three in six games before Friday. He homered twice Thursday in a 6-2 loss to Gwinnett, raising his average to .260 on the season with 18 home runs and 74 RBIs.

Double-A Bowie

Outfielder Quincy Latimore homered twice in his three games before Friday, bringing his team-leading total to 18 on the season with 59 RBIs. He had four homers in his 10 games before the weekend, and batted .270/.332/.499 going into Friday, good for the third-highest OPS among Baysox regulars. The Eastern League postseason All-Star is in his fifth season in the Eastern League, with four different organizations.

High-A Frederick

Outfielder Josh Hart and shortstop Adrian Marin will likely finish the season in the top 10 in the Carolina League in stolen bases. Hart, the team's supplemental first-round draft pick in 2013, entered Friday ranked fourth in the league with 29 steals in 42 attempts. Marin, a 2012 third-round pick, was 23-for-30 this year, placing him seventh in the league.

Low-A Delmarva

Left-hander Tanner Scott, who was a strikeout machine with 31 in 21 1/3 innings with Aberdeen before being promoted to the Shorebirds, has continued that in Delmarva. The 2014 sixth-round pick struck out 26 in his first 18 1/3 innings with the Shorebirds, though he's being hit a bit more. His ERA was 4.42 entering Friday.

Short-A Aberdeen

Cuban right-hander Lazaro Leyva has been in the starting rotation for Aberdeen since early August, with the longer outings testing him a bit. He struck out over a batter per inning with a 1.96 ERA in 18 1/3 innings as a reliever, but sunk to a 4.00 ERA in his first six starts (18 innings). His WHIP has remained static, at 1.20 as a reliever and 1.28 as a starter.