Sure, we’ve all grown to love this Orioles squad. But we also know that baseball is a business, elite-status players are harder to keep around now more than ever, and that a trade can happen at any second.

With that being said, let’s take a look at some of the prospects in the Orioles minor league ranks position-by-position, and see who could be playing in Camden Yards sooner rather than later.

 

Catcher

Chance Sisco– (2nd round, 2013)

Currently ranked as the Orioles’ #1 prospect, the highly-touted 22-year-old has made the jump to AAA this season and has recorded a .252 average with eleven doubles, two homers, 19 RBI and a .329 OBP through 38 games for Norfolk.

Alex Murphy– (6th round, 2013)

Taken in the same draft as Sisco out of Calvert Hall High School, Murphy has a good chance at becoming the Orioles long-term back-up behind Sisco going forward. Coming off a promising 2016 season, Murphy has continued to show flashes of potential this year with high-A Frederick. He’s hitting .196 with five doubles, five homers, 16 RBI and a .319 OBP this season. Just twenty-two years old, he is also learning the ropes at first base this year.

 

First Base

Randolph Gassaway– (16th round, 2013)

Gassaway is an exciting 22-year-old prospect who has already advanced to AA Bowie after posting a stellar .316 average with eight doubles, two homers and 28 RBI with Frederick earlier this season.

Preston Palmeiro– (7th round, 2016)

The son of Rafael, Palmeiro has shown flashes with class-A Delmarva this season. The 22-year-old NC State alum is hitting.242 with nine doubles, one triple, three homers, 17 RBI and a .320 OBP through 43 games on the year.

 

Second Base

Adrian Marin– (3rd round, 2012)

The Orioles lack depth at second base throughout the system, but Marin is a name that is at least worth keeping tabs on. After bursting onto the scene as a teenager, the now twenty-three-year-old hit a snag in his development, but seems to be back on the up-and-up this season.

He’s hitting .282 with six doubles, three triples, 13 RBI and a .321 OBP for AA Bowie on the year. Marin has also demonstrated his versatility by playing 28 of his 39 games at second base in 2017 after primarily playing shortstop for his entire professional career.

Steve Wilkerson– (8th round, 2014)

A name that is probably familiar amongst college baseball fans, the Clemson alum has had a stellar 2017 campaign so far and has already made the jump from high-A ball to AA Bowie. He hit an impressive .323 at the plate with ten doubles, two homers, 15 RBI and a .407 OBP for the Keys before getting promoted.

The 25-year-old Georgia native hasn’t skipped a beat since moving up a class and already has two home runs and five RBI through his first six games for AA Bowie.

 

Shortstop

Ryan Mountcastle– (1st round, 2013)

While the O’s also lack depth at shortstop in their minor league system, at least part of the future could be bright with Ryan Mountcastle. Currently ranked as the Oriole’s fourth-best prospect, the electric 20-year-old is hitting a stellar .332 with sixteen doubles, eleven homers and 35 RBI down in Frederick on the year. A call-up to Bowie seems imminent.

Irving Ortega– International Free Agent, 2015)

He doesn’t have much of a track record and he is only starting out with class-A Delmarva, but those in the loop seem to think highly of Ortega. Just twenty years old, he is a very raw prospect but one to keep an eye on in the future.

 

Third Base

Jomar Reyes– (International Free Agent, 2014)

A disappointing 2016 campaign saw Reyes fall from third to ninth on the Orioles prospect chart, but at just twenty years old, Reyes seems to have a big-time future. He’s hitting .321 at the dish with six doubles, one homer and ten RBI for the Keys this season. A broken right pinky finger sustained in late April will keep him sidelined until late June, but here’s to hoping he can end the year with a bang.

Drew Dosch– (7th round, 2013)

Like Marin, Dosch had seen his stock fall among scouts going into the season, but seems to be trending upwards once more after posting a solid .265 average with nine doubles, four homers and 21 RBI down in AAA Norfolk so far. The 24-year-old Youngstown State alum was promoted from AA Bowie to Norfolk after lighting it up during a nine-game stint in April.

 

Outfield

Austin Hays– (3rd round, 2016)

Currently ranked as the seventh-best prospect in the Orioles organization, the twenty-one-year-old out of Jacksonville University seems to be on the fast track to Camden Yards. He’s crushing it in high-A Frederick with a superb .319 average, nine doubles, three triples, ten homers, 26 RBI and a .356 OBP. He’ll be in Bowie soon.

Cedric Mullins (13th round, 2015)

Before getting injured, the highly-touted Mullins was shining for AA Bowie this season. If he can build upon his .367 batting average, five doubles, four home runs and eleven RBI upon his return, he’ll be with the Tides in no time. The 22-year-old has been dealing with a troublesome hamstring injury as of late.

After picking up the knock in late April, he was expected to be back in two weeks’ time, but a setback has seen him sidelined for over a month now. The Orioles will not rush one of their prized prospects back onto the field until he is 100%.

DJ Stewart (1st round, 2015)

After seriously disappointing for the majority of his first two years of professional baseball, Stewart has looked rejuvenated this season and is hitting a solid .254 at the dish with eleven doubles, eight homers, 28 RBI and a .345 OBP with the Baysox. If he keeps it up, the 23-year-old Florida State alum should finally receive his long-awaited promotion to AAA Norfolk.

 

Later today, we’ll look at the pitchers in the Birds’ minor-league system.