There hasn’t been much to look forward to with the way the season has gone for the Orioles. The Orioles currently hold the worst record in the MLB and are now on an 18-game losing streak.
One thing coming that might add extra excitement to the end of the season is September call-ups. At the start of September, the rosters for all MLB teams will expand to 28, which usually gives a chance for fans to catch a slight glimpse of what could be coming in the future. So here are five prospects in the Orioles farm system that could get the call.
Before we get started, Adley Rutschman and Grayson Rodriquez are not on this list. This has nothing to do with how they have performed, as both of them are top prospects (Adley #1 in MLB). It has to do with service time, and the Orioles will not start the clock on both of them on the worst roster in the majors. It stinks, but I don’t blame the Orioles for not bringing them up.
5. Tyler Nevin: 1B/3B
While Nevin already made his Major league debut this year, it was out of desperation due to injuries at the time. This year, Nevin has spent most of his time in AAA with below-average numbers, hitting,.230/.296/.397 with 12 home runs. He is the lowest on this list because he just hasn’t impressed at AAA. He has gotten a little hot lately with Rutschman coming up and taking some heat off him in the lineup.
However, Nevin has gotten a little taste of the majors, which pushed him on this list.
4. Isaac Mattson: RHP
Like Nevin, we have already seen Mattson this year. It didn’t go well, but he has been trying to come back from being injured and trying to gain his footing. Due to how poorly the rotation has performed this year, he offers solid bullpen depth that the Orioles might need in September.
3. Rylan Bannon: 2B
If you told me a few weeks ago I would consider Bannon for this list, I would have told you that you are crazy. I guess that is what happens when you have the last few weeks that Bannon has had. He has been so hot this last week-plus, with 10 home runs in 10 games, that it skyrocketed him on this list. Bannon is a solid hitter, so this huge hot stretch might be an illusion, but he honestly might deserve a call-up just because of how hot he has been. Bannon still doesn’t have impressive stats but leads the Tides in home runs with 12. He ranks only at three because I don’t see the Orioles calling him up because they might not want to upset his hot streak.
2. Jahmai Jones, 2B
Jones was the talk of the Orioles prospects in June when he got off to a blazing start. Had Jones at least been respectable these last two months, he would have been number one on this list. The catch is that Jones has been underwhelming lately, batting .240/.309/.440 with five home runs in July and .185/.239/.292 with only two home runs in August. Jones also has questionable defense at second base. Despite this, I still feel that the Orioles will call up Jones over someone like Bannon because Jones is farther along in development than Bannon.
(Update: After I submitted this article, Jones was recalled on Monday when Maikel Franco was designated for assignment.)
1. Mike Baumann: RHP
This is the one I want to happen. Baumann was the co Minor League Pitcher of the Year for the Orioles in 2019 with Grayson Rodriquez, but got off to a slow start with injuries to start the year in 2021. Since he got sent to AAA, he has been great. He has a 2.81 ERA in four games with one complete game for the Tides. He hasn’t pitched that many innings because he has been coming back from those injuries. So the solution is pretty simple: put Baumann in the bullpen in the Majors to let his stuff play up. Unfortunately, I don’t know if this will happen because of the lack of innings this year, and he seems to be on an Innings limit. Again these things go away if you put Baumann in the bullpen in the majors, but he hasn’t pitched out of the bullpen this year. I put Baumann number one because this is the one I want to see the most. After all, Baumann’s electric stuff can bring some excitement to what has been a miserable year for the Orioles.
So here are my five prospects that could get called up in 2021. These are also all guys on the 40 – man roster, making the decision easier for these five. If a player wants to be on the Major League Roster, they have to be on the 40 – man, so that was a significant factor in my list.
Let’s hope we see at least one of these prospects in the majors in September to add some excitement to this team.
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