ESPN has Coby Mayo, Samuel Basallo, and Enrique Bradfield Jr. as top 100 prospects.
Hello, friends.
There are now 56 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day. Pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Sarasota in just another 13 days from today. Baseball is going to be back soon, and another dark winter with only inferior sports for entertainment will be through.
Earlier in the week, I wrote about four of the major prospect lists that have come out to date and where the Orioles placed in the top 100(ish) for each. Wednesday brought one more list for the group, with ESPN publishing Kiley McDaniel’s prospect ranking heading into the 2025 season.
McDaniel’s list was different from the others that have come so far because he rates Coby Mayo higher than he does Samuel Basallo, with Mayo as the #8 prospect and Basallo at #17. It’s similar to the others because these are still two very well-regarded prospects. Four of the five big lists to date – only FanGraphs is still to come – have had both Basallo and Mayo within the top 18. There’s a lot to be excited about with these two players hopefully breaking in to regular big league playing time within the next year.
Also on McDaniel’s list is outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr., the Orioles first round pick from 2023. Bradfield checked in at #82 of the top 100, the same spot he had in Keith Law’s list from The Athletic. Three of the five rankings so far have Bradfield in the top 100.
I’ve been skeptical of Bradfield as a prospect because I fear that the higher he goes up the minors, the more that his lack of power is going to hurt him. In today’s game, if the pitcher does not fear that a player might hit the ball hard, he is going to have a steep hill to climb. So, it’s interesting to see these independent evaluators giving top 100 status to Bradfield.
I hope that they’re right that the defense and speed that no one doubts he has will be paired with just enough hitting to make him a decent-to-good player. With Cedric Mullins set to become a free agent following this season, it would be helpful for the team to be able to slide Bradfield right in there. His success would be encouraging for showing that the O’s can turn mid-to-late first round picks into quality players.
Bradfield will probably start off this season at the Double-A level, where he ended last year. That affiliate has changed its name from Bowie to Chesapeake in the meantime, but they’re still the Baysox. He had a nice month there in 2024, batting .285/.395/.396 in 27 games, including more walks (15) than strikeouts (14). If he’s able to keep up that level of performance, we should see a midseason promotion to Triple-A, and then it’ll really be interesting to see what he can show once he’s just one rung down from the majors.
Around the blogO’sphere
Heston Kjerstad sees the 2025 season as his best chance to break out (The Baltimore Banner)
Interesting tidbit here with Kjerstad trying to adapt the pre-game preparation of Corbin Burnes to his own routine. Burnes did not break out as a starting pitcher until his age 26 season, which Kjerstad is entering now.
Non-tendered Dylan Carlson, Austin Hays sign one-year deals (FanGraphs)
The parallel of the Orioles signing a new outfielder at around the same time the outfielder they traded away last year reached a new deal elsewhere was too much to resist.
Adam Jones to help Orioles in Japanese market (Orioles.com)
This whole thing strikes me as one of those where people manage to convince themselves it will go a certain way because they want it to be true.
Baysox ballpark Prince George’s Stadium to undergo $50 million renovations by 2026 (The Baltimore Sun)
The freshly-rebranded Chesapeake Baysox will be playing in a nicer stadium for 2026. Not unlike Camden Yards, tough luck to anyone waiting for bigger changes sooner than that.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 1978-80 pitcher Joe Kerrigan, 1965-72 infielder and 1996-97 manager Davey Johnson, and 1959-61 infielder Walt Dropo.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: 32nd president Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882), historian/author Barbara Tuchman (1912), actor Gene Hackman (1930), musician Phil Collins (1951), and rapper Kid Cudi (1984).
On this day in history…
In 1648, the Eighty Years’ War came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Münster and Ostabrück, which settled that Spain would recognize the independence of the Netherlands, its former possession.
In 1835, a man attempted to shoot President Andrew Jackson. This was the first assassination attempt against an American president.
In 1933, Adolf Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany.
In 1968, North Vietnamese forces launched the Tet Offensive against targets in South Vietnam, a series of surprise attacks coinciding with Lunar New Year celebrations.
In 1969, the Beatles performed on the roof of their Apple Records building in London. This turned out to be their last public performance and since they had no permits it was broken up by the police.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on January 30. Have a safe Thursday.