Sisco Opens Eyes For Orioles

BALTIMORE—The Orioles’ search for major league starters and presence of minor league catching depth have conspired to bring attention to Chance Sisco.

Sisco has hit at every level, and other teams are taking notice of the Orioles’ top prospect.

Plenty of scouts saw Sisco in the Futures Game, where he hit a home run to match his first-half total at Double-A Bowie. Through 83 games, he hit .327/.413/.420 with 20 doubles, two homers and 34 RBIs with the Baysox.

The batting line is especially impressive for a 21-year-old player in the Eastern League.

Sisco, a 2013 second-rounder from high school in Corona, Calif., is living up to his offensive reputation. A career .326 hitter through 325 pro games, he won the South Atlantic League batting title with a .340 average at low Class A Delmarva in 2014.

“I’m just trying to see the ball and hit the ball,” Sisco, a lefthanded batter, told MASNsports.com. “There isn’t much else to it for me, approach-wise. I’m just trying to make good contact, drive in some runs and get on base as much as possible.”
Sisco credits patience for his impressive on-base percentage.

“I’m not always going up there to hit the first pitch,” he said. “I look for my pitch and get something in my zone.”

Sisco is working hard to improve his skills behind the plate, an area that has lagged behind his offense.

“We know where everybody’s strengths and weaknesses are right now,” big league manager Buck Showalter said. “He’s come a long way. The guy’s 21 in Double-A. Look around. There are none. He’s it, so that’s why he’s so well thought of.

“He’s receiving, calling a good game, and he’s throwing better and better as the year’s gone on. He’s another one of those when-and-not-if guys. We’re got three or four of those.”

BIRD SEED

• The Orioles designated Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia for assignment to make room for outfielder Julio Borbon on the 40-man roster. Urrutia, 29, hit .280/.339/.372 with three home runs and 34 RBIs with Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk.

• The Orioles signed first baseman Preston Palmeiro, the seventh-rounder out of North Carolina State, for the slot bonus of $204,700. He’s the youngest son of former major league first baseman Rafael Palmeiro.