A Bird's Eye View of the Shorebirds 2025 Season

The 2025 season featured several memorable moments, standout performances, and individual growth for the Delmarva Shorebirds. After a slow start in April, the Shorebirds bounced back with a 15-11 record in May. This marked the beginning of RHP Yeiber Cartaya's rise, as he became the ace of Delmarva’s rotation, leading the team with 96 strikeouts—also the league leader at the time of his promotion to Aberdeen on August 5. His season was highlighted by winning the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week Award twice, including one of his best outings on June 6 in Fredericksburg, where he threw a career-high 6.1 innings, allowing no runs on two hits and one walk while striking out eight in a 2-1 win.

An unexpected breakout star emerged for the Shorebirds early in the season as catcher Yasmil Bucce became the heartbeat of Delmarva’s batting order. In 81 games with the Shorebirds, Bucce hit .255 with an OPS of .801, leading the team with eight home runs and driving in 50 runs. He ranked among the top ten in several offensive categories in the league and established himself as a notable prospect within the Orioles’ system, making Baltimore’s top-30 list for Baseball America at the season's halfway point.

On June 10, Delmarva’s offense deepened as they added three standout players from the Florida Complex League: Nate George, Luis Almeyda, and Joshua Liranzo. The trio brought energy to the Shorebirds lineup, particularly George, who became one of the league’s most electrifying players. During his 43-game stretch with Delmarva, George led the league with 55 hits, including 16 extra-base hits. He also stole 25 bases while posting an OPS of .901.

The climax of Delmarva’s season took place on July 10 in Fayetteville as they recorded one of their best wins in franchise history. The Shorebirds got six, no-hit innings from starting pitcher Jack Crowder, followed by Adrián Delgado and Joe Glassey, who also kept the Woodpeckers hitless through the seventh and eighth innings. However, with Delmarva trailing 1-0 in the ninth, Edwin Amparo delivered his best swing of the season with a go-ahead two-run homer to put the Shorebirds ahead. Deivy Cruz then took the mound and recorded the final three outs to secure the first nine-inning no-hitter in Delmarva Shorebirds history in a thrilling 2-1 victory over the Woodpeckers.

The Shorebirds’ no-hitter was built on tremendous development from the pitching staff. After early growing pains, Delmarva’s staff went on to lead the league in strikeouts with 1299, averaging 11.1 per game across 64 games in the second half. Chase Allsup was the only Shorebirds player to strike out double-digit batters in a game, and he did it twice, with two ten-strikeout performances against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers on April 10 and August 9.

To finish the season, the Shorebirds added seven players from the Orioles’ 2025 draft class, including: C/OF Ike Irish (1st Round), C Caden Bodine (Round 1C), INF Wehiwa Aloy (Round 1C), OF RJ Austin (3rd Round), INF Colin Yeaman (4th Round), INF Brayden Smith (13th Round), and RHP Denton Biller (16th Round). The group helped the Shorebirds secure two exciting wins down the stretch, including their best comeback of the season on August 19 against Kannapolis, when they rallied from an 8-2 deficit in the fifth inning to win 12-9, with Brayden Smith’s first career home run breaking a 9-9 tie in the eighth. Smith delivered another big moment on September 3, as the team came back from a 4-0 deficit in the ninth to upset the Lynchburg Hillcats, thanks to a two-out, base-clearing double by Smith that gave the Shorebirds an improbable 5-4 walk-off victory.

The Shorebirds hope to carry the momentum from the end of the 2025 season into 2026, as the Orioles’ minor league system is rich in talent after a successful draft and acquiring several prospects at the trade deadline.