One of the offseason’s biggest questions has been answered.
Who will be the first Orioles infield prospect called up to the majors in 2023? Answer: Joey Ortiz.
The Orioles on Thursday morning promoted Ortiz, the club’s No. 7 prospect according to Baseball America, and optioned utilityman Terrin Vavra to Triple-A Norfolk.
Ortiz, the Orioles’ fourth-round draft pick in 2019, began the season as one of three prominent infield prospects in Norfolk alongside Jordan Westburg and Connor Norby, ranked Nos. 5 and 6, respectively, in Baltimore’s top-ranked farm system. All three were ranked inside Baseball America’s offseason top 100 list.
Ortiz, who turns 25 in July, is the oldest among the organization’s stockpile of infield prospects, and he’s also considered the best defensively. While 189 of his 232 starts in the minors have come at shortstop, Ortiz can also play second and third base. In February, Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias called Ortiz a “defensive wizard kind of shortstop.”
In 16 games with the Tides this season, Ortiz hit .359 with five doubles, two triples and eight RBIs. Vavra was hitting .231 in his limited time and played four positions as the Orioles’ utilityman.
Ortiz’s glove is his best tool, but he improved at the plate in 2022 after a midseason adjustment to his hand placement. After hitting .241 with an anemic .267 slugging percentage in Aberdeen in 2019, Ortiz broke out offensively in 2021 with an .801 OPS between High- and Double-A. But a torn labrum ended his campaign, and the start to his 2022 season was rocky as he returned from surgery.
In Bowie, Ortiz was hitting .206 with just four home runs and 56 strikeouts in 64 games through June. Over the back half of the season, though, the prospect crushed the ball in his next 47 Double-A contests, slashing .355/.425/.634 with 11 home runs.
Shortly before Gunnar Henderson was called up to the major leagues in late August, Ortiz was promoted to Triple-A. He didn’t slow down in Norfolk, hitting .346 with four home runs, two triples and seven doubles in 26 games.
The Orioles added Ortiz to their 40-man roster this offseason. He spent the first three and a half weeks of spring training in big league camp, posting an .857 OPS in six games before a ground ball to the head during practice put him in concussion protocol.
Norby, a second baseman who led all Orioles minor leaguers with 29 homers in 2022, was sent down this spring at the same time as Ortiz. The 22-year-old opened last season in High-A and eventually reached Triple-A. He’s a career .275 minor league hitter with a .485 slugging percentage.
Westburg, however, is the infield prospect with the most experience in Triple-A. The 24-year-old also spent all of spring training in major league camp, impressing with his versatility, consistency and performance with a .306 batting average and .878 OPS in 57 plate appearances. Westburg, who has significant experience playing second, third and shortstop, is a career .277 hitter in the minors. In 107 Triple-A games over the last two seasons, Westburg has an .886 OPS.
This story may be updated.
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