Baltimore Orioles: Top Five Prospects
By Ben Palmer
The Baltimore Orioles have some top prospects who are on the cusp of providing significant help to the parent club.
One of the most exciting things in Major League Baseball is seeing call-ups. Whether it’s at the beginning of the season or in September, seeing a major prospect called up to play in the big leagues is always exciting. Everyone hopes that the guy they call up turns it on immediately and becomes the next Mike Trout or Kris Bryant or Carlos Correa. While that’s rare, when a team does hit that jackpot, it’s incredible to watch.
If the Orioles are going to succeed, it’s not just free agent acquisitions they’ll need to acquire. They need to build from within, as every team does; they’ll need to grow the farm system, develop their young, talented players into future stars. This, combined with their current stars and free agent signings, are what will propel the Orioles into a World Series.
What follows are the five best prospects the Orioles have in their farm system. Note: I am not including Hyeon-soo Kim as he’s 28 and played a considerable amount of time in Korea.
Hunter Harvey – RHP
As soon as you hear the name Hunter Harvey, you think injury. Along with Dylan Bundy (who I’ll talk about later), Harvey is one of the top pitching prospects that is always followed with the phrase “If he could just stay healthy.” So, if he could just stay healthy, Harvey could be a serious No. 1 or No. 2 starting pitcher.
With a plus fastball that tops out around 94-95 mph and stays consistently in the low-90s, and a solid curveball and changeup to complement it, if Harvey isn’t on the DL and has time to develop, he could have an excellent mix of three pitches that could develop into a high K/9 pitcher.
We might see a little of Harvey in the 2016 season, I’d be surprised if he isn’t up in September (assuming health), but I think 2017 will be the year we really see what Harvey can be.
D.J. Stewart – OF
The top pick for the Orioles in the 2015 draft, Stewart is just an all-around great athlete. You might not think that looking at his 6’0”, 230lb frame, but he’s a guy who can do well at just about everything.
Without a doubt, Stewart was one of the best all-around hitters available in the 2015 draft, slashing .351/.472/.557 in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2014.
Stewart has two big things you can’t easily teach: raw power, and patience at the plate. With an adjustment to his stance, he could easily be a 20+ home run guy who bats .260-.275 relatively quickly.
He’s not an amazing fielder, but he’s certainly not going to hurt you, and with the level of offense he brings, you can handle average fielding. We’re likely not going to see Stewart until roughly 2018, perhaps September of 2017.
Dylan Bundy – RHP
Yes, he’s still here, and I still have faith. Could Bundy be a bust? Absolutely, without question. The injuries have been brutal, and I know the Orioles were really hoping to bring him up this past year to see what he could do, but unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.
If Bundy can stay healthy though (and that’s a gigantic “if”), he can be a really fantastic pitcher. Similar to Harvey, Bundy has a great three-pitch mix of a plus, mid-90s fastball, and an above-average curveball and changeup. These three pitches together, when he’s on, can miss a lot of bats, and he could easily be a top-tier strikeout pitcher.
Bundy will be on the major league roster this year, as he’s out of options, and we’ll see what he ends up being. Likely, he’ll spend a lot of time in the bullpen with a spot start here and there as he gets back into baseball and gets used to major league hitters. But if all goes well this year, we could see the start of something great with him.
Trey Mancini – 1B
He never stops hitting. In 2015 in AA Bowie, Trey Mancini slashed .359/.395/.586, which is just absolutely insane. He only hit 13 HRs, but the guy is only 23. There is still time to develop, and with a .586 SLG, he’s hitting the ball hard, some of those hits are going to turn into home runs.
Mancini is an average fielder and an average runner, but with the potential to hit 20+ home runs and bat in the .270s, that won’t be a problem at all. Likely Mancini won’t be up until sometime in 2017, though a September call-up this year wouldn’t be out of the question. The question will just be, where does he play? Because Chris Davis isn’t moving anytime soon.
Christian Walker – 1B
Another power-hitting first baseman in the Orioles farm system, Christian Walker has shown that he’s got some serious gap power and the ability to be a 20+ home run guy. His biggest issue will be batting average, as he’s a bit of a free swinger. But Walker has an incredible work ethic and could easily develop into something really special.
I don’t really see him ever batting much better than about .260 or so, but if he continues to work and develop, he could be a pretty big power-hitting first baseman (sound familiar?), and could probably hit about 20 home runs if given 500 at-bats this year (which he won’t be).
Likely we’ll see Walker up this year, though, barring injury to Chris Davis, we won’t see him much. Perhaps he ends up being more trade bait than anything, as certainly the Orioles have enough power-hitting corner infield prospects between Walker, Trey Mancini and Jomar Reyes. But we will see what eventuates.
Honorable mention: Mike Yastrzemski – OF
I’m not sure what it is, but I’m a Mike Yastrzemski fan. I’ve seen him play a bit in Bowie, and I just like what he does. He’s not exceptional at anything, but he’s good, or at least above average, at just about everything. A good hitter with a bit of pop, decent speed, and a good glove; and if he continues to develop, he could turn into something good. He’s a ways away from that as of now though, and we likely won’t see him up until 2017 at the earliest, but I’m a fan, and I hope to see more from him.