Your Guide to the 2018 Baltimore Orioles Farm System
By Julian Baron
Ryan Mountcastle, 3B/SS (20 years old)
Ryan Mountcastle has wasted no time making his presence known in the Orioles organization. The 2015 draftee sported a .319 on-base percentage in 2016 with the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds before being assigned to the Advanced-A Frederick Keys. The promotion didn’t stop Hays from crushing 35 doubles and 15 homers over the course of 360 at-bats in Frederick.
After ending last season with the Double-A Bowie Baysox, many expect Mountcastle to continue his steady climb through the Baltimore Orioles organization during the 2018 season.
His statistics with the Baysox have been underwhelming so far, particularly his .239 on-base percentage, but Mountcastle still has plenty of time to improve and develop before being called up any further.
In the event that Manny Machado leaves the Orioles after this season, Mountcastle may be the perfect candidate to fill Machado’s position. It’s incredibly difficult to replace somebody as talented as Machado, but Mountcastle isn’t a half bad option for a team that needs internal answers to looming problems.
There’s no doubt that Mountcastle is bursting with potential based simply off of his lightning-fast ascension through the Baltimore Orioles farm system.
Mountcastle made headway in Baseball America’s 2018 Top 100 MLB Prospects, landing at No. 71 as the 20-year-old infielder inches closer to his MLB career.