Austin Hays has been back for eight games and has yet to be promoted to AAA Norfolk, where he was supposed to begin the 2019 season, but it’s time to jump the gun, overreact, and start looking ahead to the near future. It’s one of the few joys of being a fan of the Baltimore Orioles this season.
Hays is settling in with the Advanced-A Frederick Keys and has home runs in back-to-back games. Every night seems to bring more positive reports from the minor leagues, a rare occurrence in Birdland over the years.