Baltimore Orioles Top Prospect Connor Norby Leaves Triple-A Game With Wrist Injury

Connor Norby, the No. 6 prospect in the Baltimore Orioles' farm system, left the Norfolk Tide's game against the Memphis Redbirds with a left wrist injury.

Feb 26, 2023; Lakeland, Florida, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Connor Norby (94) hits a single during the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports / Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

Left fielder Connor Norby exited Friday afternoon's game between the Triple-A Norfolk Tide and Memphis Redbirds with a left wrist injury, the Baltimore Orioles have announced.

Norby was 1-for-2 with an RBI before heading to the bench. It remains to be seen how serious the injury is, or if Norby will miss extended time because of it.

The 23-year-old utility man is currently ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the Orioles' farm system, per MLB Pipeline. Baseball America and Baseball Prospective had Norby pegged as a top 100 prospect entering 2023, although he did not earn that distinction at the start of 2024.

Connor Norby came out of today's game with AAA Norfolk as a precaution with a left wrist injury, #orioles say

— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) May 10, 2024

The Orioles selected Norby in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft. He worked his way up from High-A to Triple-A in 2022, then spent all of 2023 with Triple-A Norfolk.

Last season, Norby hit .290 with 21 home runs, 40 doubles, 92 RBI, 10 stolen bases and an .842 OPS. He spent three-quarters of his time at second base, logging the rest of his defensive innings in the corner outfield spots.

Norby has been splitting his time more evenly between second base and left field in 2024. At the plate, he is batting .278 with eight home runs, nine doubles, 27 RBI, four stolen bases and an .859 OPS through 36 games.

In 14 Spring Training appearances, Norby hit .276 with one home run, three doubles, three RBI, one stolen base and an .827 OPS.

Baltimore has a treasure trove of young talent waiting in the wings in Norfolk, not even taking into account the promising players who have recently reached the big leagues. Jackson Holliday – the top prospect in all of baseball – started at second base on Friday, while Colby Mayo – who ranks No. 26 league-wide – got the nod at third.

Outfielder Heston Kjerstad was part of the Tide's lineup as recently as April, and MLB Pipeline has him ranked No. 28.

Much has been made of the Orioles' star-studded farm system, and the hype around Norby is a testament to that. Norby's path to the big leagues was already a tough one, though, considering how many productive, controllable players stand in his way at multiple positions, and a serious injury may further complicate things.

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