The Orioles’ young core has led them to a strong start. There remains the potential for more youth to join in.
Speaking with local reporters for the first time since the end of spring training, executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said he was pleased with the 22-13 record the Orioles took into Tuesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, adding, “I think we can get better, too.” He largely expects those improvements to be in the form of steps forward from players currently on the roster, but the ascension of more prospects from the club’s top-ranked farm system would also add talent.
Eight of the organization’s players landed in Baseball America’s latest list of the game’s top 100 prospects, and six of them are in Triple-A or the majors. That group doesn’t even include Gunnar Henderson, who opened the year as baseball’s unanimous No. 1 prospect but has since graduated from that status because of his time with the Orioles. Others might soon join him.
“We’re actively discussing all of those guys that are knocking on the door,” Elias said.
Here’s what Elias said about many of those players Tuesday:
Preseason top 100 rank: No. 1
Current top 100 rank: Graduated
Henderson hasn’t had the start he or the Orioles hoped for. A preseason favorite to be the American League Rookie of the Year, the 21-year-old entered Tuesday batting .179, though he’s managed a .339 on-base percentage by drawing walks in an AL-best 19.1% of his plate appearances.
“There’s been some encouraging stuff,” Elias said. “The walk totals. He’s hit for power in spots. The defense has been really good. It’s really early. We’ve seen what he did in the minors. We saw what he did last September. You look at what other people around the league are doing through April. It’s very early. He’s putting the work in. He’s grinding out at-bats. I think he’s gonna snap out of this pretty soon, and with Ramón [Urías] going on the [injured list], I think we need him.”
Preseason top 100 rank: No. 6
Current top 100 rank: No. 5
Rodriguez entered Tuesday’s start — his first against an AL East opponent — with a 5.46 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 28 innings across five starts. The 23-year-old didn’t break camp in the Orioles’ rotation, with Elias particularly critical of his spring training performance, but Baltimore’s GM said he’s been pleased with the right-hander’s performance since entering the rotation early in the campaign.
“He’s doing really good,” Elias said. “Can’t wait to see what he does tonight. I think that he has been very gritty, even in the starts that haven’t had the best box scores. Overall, you look at his statistics, and he’s helped this team win more than not since he’s been up here, so I know our pitching guys are viewing this as valuable learning experience for him, but he’s not hurting us right now, and he’s helping the team, so I think it’s been really good all around. I think he’s nowhere near the pitcher that we’re gonna see when he kind of matures into his prime as a major league starter, so I think we should kind of all enjoy watching a gifted young pitcher like this pitch in the major leagues for the first time, and that’s not all gonna be perfect.”
Preseason top 100 rank: No. 15
Current top 100 rank: No. 7
Holliday is likely the only prospect Elias discussed Tuesday for whom the majors are out of reach in 2023. A 19-year-old infielder drafted with the first overall pick last year, Holliday thrived in his first two weeks for High-A Aberdeen — hitting .297 with an .894 OPS — before finally getting to play his first home game Tuesday.
“That’ll be nice for him to have a home crowd and some Maryland fans for him,” Elias said. “He’s been terrific so far. I just want him to go out and play, and if he has some ups and downs, that’s not going to be surprising, but so far, he’s definitely not sinking since the promotion to High-A. He’s continued to draw walks, find ways to get base hits here and there, but it’s early. We’re going to be patient with him, but we’re very proud of what he’s done so far and thrilled to have him in the organization.”
Preseason top 100 rank: No. 41
Current top 100 rank: No. 34
Baltimore’s first-round pick in 2021, Cowser came into Tuesday with a .304/.448/.509 line at Triple-A. After striking out nearly three times as much as he walked during a stint at Norfolk to end last year, the 23-year-old outfielder has a nearly even strikeout-to-walk ratio this year. A left-handed hitter, he has harsh platoon splits, hitting .323 with a .992 OPS against righties compared to .188 with a .747 OPS off lefties.
“So far, very encouraging in terms of production, but I think in particular, the strikeout-walk numbers have been good,” Elias said. “He really hasn’t spent that much time in Triple-A. We gave him a taste at the end of last year. We’re a month and change in. Everything he’s doing is really encouraging. If he keeps this up, he’s going to put himself in a position to help this team. But I don’t think we’re at that moment in time yet where we can say that he’s graduated Triple-A. But again, we’re constantly having internal discussions about all of those guys down there because they’re all performing.”
Preseason top 100 rank: No. 75
Current top 100 rank: No. 67
For the second time in about two weeks, the Orioles brought up a left-handed starter from Triple-A to offer length out of their bullpen. Tuesday, it was Drew Rom, their preseason No. 24 prospect. During their series in Detroit, it was Hall, brought up to be the 27th man for a doubleheader. Elias said the Orioles would “definitely” consider using Hall in that fashion again, though they remain tantalized by his starting potential.
“While we’ve got some big ambitions and some big development goals for DL Hall, on a day-to-day basis, we’re looking at him in that way, too,” Elias said. “It’s sort of something we’re going to balance throughout the year, and if a guy like Rom comes up and helps our bullpen for a while, it doesn’t mean we’re no longer developing him as a starting pitcher. So we’ll just try to balance all that.”
Preseason top 100 rank: No. 76
Current top 100 rank: No. 68
Although the Orioles created a 40-man roster opening by designating catcher Luis Torrens for assignment and lost a right-handed-hitting infielder by placing Urías on the injured list, they held off promoting Westburg, who is putting together quite the Triple-A resume. Westburg, 24, was drafted 30th overall in 2020 and is hitting .333/.395/.593 with eight home runs in 26 games at Triple-A Norfolk, playing second, shortstop, third and the corner outfield. Last season, Westburg hit .265 with an .852 OPS, 27 home runs and 106 RBIs between Double-A and Triple-A to be named the organization’s minor league player of the year. He entered Tuesday with one fewer Triple-A plate appearances than Adley Rutschman and Henderson had combined before their major league debuts.
“He’s been a great performer in Triple-A,” Elias said. “An active topic of conversation, dating back even into last year, and this is a move that we had to make pretty quickly last night. But certainly, he’s somebody that we’re still monitoring and discussing and paying very close attention to on a nightly basis. And I think, right now, with the opponents we’ve got here coming up, we’re going with this group, but we’ll keep an eye on all those guys, him included.”
Preseason top 100 rank: Unranked
Current top 100 rank: No. 98
Kjerstad also trails infielders Connor Norby and Joey Ortiz among the Orioles’ prospects, but his return to top 100 status speaks to how impressive he’s been in recent months. After a heart condition and severe hamstring strain caused him to miss two years after Baltimore drafted him second overall in 2020, the 24-year-old was the Most Valuable Player of the Arizona Fall League, one of the stars of the Orioles’ spring camp and has dominated at Double-A Bowie, hitting .300 with a 1.044 OPS and slugging eight home runs while playing the corner outfield and first base.
“It’s remarkable what he’s doing with the outage that he had,” Elias said. “I think it was two years off, give or take, and that’s a long time to go without seeing pitching. But also he was restricted from general physical activities for a long time. That can’t be underestimated, as well. And he’s been one of the best hitters in Double-A so far and was equally as good in major league spring training, so I view it as a matter of repetitions, in terms of, if he keeps doing this, how much longer before he needs a new challenge.”
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