Orioles infield prospect Wehiwa Aloy hit three home runs for High-A Frederick on May 10, bringing his season slash line to .306/.355/.630 in 121 plate appearances in his first full season of pro ball.
Aloy, 22, has teamed up with Ike Irish to power the Keys’ offense in the early going. Aloy was taken with the 31st overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, while Irish went 19th overall. Both are SEC products, with Aloy coming from Arkansas and Irish from Auburn. Irish is hitting .306/.414/.561 in 116 plate appearances.
The pair has already combined for 27 extra-base hits. Aloy has mostly played shortstop, while Irish has played mostly corner outfield and first base.
“We show up to the field, bounce ideas off each other at the field and doing whatever it takes to get better each and every day,” Aloy said on Glenn Clark Radio May 7. “Playing with him on a team has helped a lot [with] getting better.”
A native of Hawaii, Aloy hit .332/.406/.609 with 49 home runs across three seasons of college ball — the first with Sacramento State and the last two with Arkansas. He won the Golden Spikes Award as the top amateur ballplayer in the country in 2025, hitting .350/.434/.673 with 21 home runs during his junior season with the Razorbacks.
Aloy slipped some in the draft due to swing-and-miss concerns; he has struck out 47 times in 197 pro plate appearances thus far. His ability to hit the ball hard, though, was never in question. Now, it’s about refining his approach.
“I feel like just knowing when to be aggressive and when not to in certain counts,” Aloy said. “The situation I’m in when I’m in the box kind of determines how I go about that at-bat.”
“I would say just looking in my zone and where I do the most damage in,” he continued, “… and swinging at that pitch that’s in that zone because there’s a high percentage that it’ll get hit hard.”
This marks the first year Frederick has had the Orioles’ High-A affiliation since 2019. There was no minor league season in 2020. MLB cut 40 cities, including Frederick, from its minor league structure ahead of the 2021 season. That left Frederick with an MLB Draft League team from 2021-2025.
But Attain Sports, which owns the Keys, bought the Aberdeen IronBirds in 2024. The IronBirds had been the Orioles’ High-A affiliate from 2021-2025. Last August, Attain Sports announced it was making a big switch, bringing the affiliation back to Frederick and moving its MLB Draft League entry to Aberdeen.
Aloy has enjoyed playing at a renovated Harry Grove Stadium in Frederick.
“It’s been unbelievable, especially the fans coming out and supporting,” Aloy said. “There are a lot of people in the stands for just a regular game during the week. It’s very special to be back in Frederick. Facilities-wise, it’s unbelievable what they’ve done here.”
For more from Aloy, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Robert Kimble/Frederick Keys