Despite having graduated a number of top prospects in the last couple years, the Orioles still have a strong farm system.
The group that Mike Elias has put together is both talented and deep, and there are a couple guys near the top of the list who should be contributing in Baltimore as early as 2025.
One of them, we’re already familiar with. Outfielder Heston Kjerstad, who comes in at 81 on Baseball America’s top-100, appeared in 39 games with the O’s in 2024, most of them against right-handed pitchers.
He primarily bounced back and forth between the outfield corners and hit an impressive .253/.351/.394, good for a 116 wRC+.
The expectation as of now is that Kjerstad will see time at both outfield corner spots, as well as DH and possibly first base, and should be a mainstay in the Orioles’ lineup in 2025 as long as the bat stays hot. If he happens to struggle, he still has two option years remaining and the O’s might not hesitate to call one another top prospect to fill his roster spot.
3 Orioles prospects appear in Baseball America’s top-100 list
That next man up could be infielder Coby Mayo, who was exceptional at Triple-A in 2024 but struggled in his major league debut.Mayo has been seen by some as a top-10 prospect in the sport, but Baseball America has him at 29 overall coming into 2025. Part of that drop-off is due to the poor performance during his time in Baltimore.
Mayo struck out nearly 50% of the time in his 17 games with the Orioles in 2024, which was a tough look for someone who’d shown strong plate discipline at lower levels. We should expect to see that strikeout rate come back to earth a bit when he gets the opportunity to return to Baltimore, but it’s not entirely clear when that’ll be. It’ll be a tall task for Mayo to make the roster out of camp but any early injuries or performance issues from the guys ahead of him will likely put Mayo back in the driver’s seat.
Catcher Samuel Basallo is the third and final guy in BA’s top-100, appearing at number 14 overall. Basallo reached Triple-A as a 19 year old last year, and though he struggled a bit during his time there, that’s an impressive feat. He’s crushed it at lower levels and appears on the cusp of making his big league debut later in 2025.
Orioles beat writer Steve Melewski dropped by MASN
In some less than exciting news, it’s been reported that MASN has declined to renew the contract of beat writer Steve Melewski. The erstwhile reporter started working at MASN all the way back in 2007 and has covered the Orioles in a variety of capacities since, including written and visual media, as well as appearing on many of their studio shows.
Melewski will stick around for another week or so before heading into the void. In a goodbye post he wrote on Friday, Melewski mentioned that his last day with MASN will be next Friday the 31st. He spoke highly of his colleagues in the piece, and mentioned being quite disappointed in the outcome. The Orioles are Melewski’s hometown team and it’d be a dream come true for any aspiring sports writer to have covered your childhood favorite team for such an extended period.
It’s not clear what Melewski’s future plans are but given his exceptional skillset as a writer and reporter, he’ll surely land on his feet sooner than later.
