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HOUSTON – The second half of the Orioles’ 2025 season won’t go the way that many had expected.
Baltimore won’t be competing for an American League East crown, nor will O’s fans be keeping an eye on wild card playoff spots. Instead, the excitement will come from memorable moments, encouraging signs for the future, and individual accomplishments.
Last night, Brandon Young provided the excitement. The rookie tossed 7 ⅔ innings of perfect baseball before surrendering his first hit with one out to go in the eighth. He did so in front of family and friends, who made the short trip from Lumberton, TX to watch Young deliver the best start of his young career.
Today, it’s Dylan Beavers who provides the excitement, making his MLB debut as one of the O’s most anticipated prospect promotions.
“It’s super exciting,” Beavers said this afternoon. “It’s what I’ve kind of been working for my entire life. But there’s nerves, too, kind of uncertainty in not knowing when it’s going to happen. A little bit of a mixed bag of emotions, but yeah, exciting.”
Beavers, the No. 3 prospect in the Orioles’ system, was always a relatively touted prospect, as he was the No. 33 overall selection in the 2022 MLB Draft.
The Orioles have been spoiled by the meteoric rises of prospects Jackson Holliday and Samuel Basallo. Beavers, though, spent 153 games in Double-A before earning a promotion to Triple-A Norfolk at the end of last year.
From there, he didn’t look back.
Beavers’ numbers vaulted from a .750 OPS across two levels in 2024 all the way to a .934 OPS in 2025. In 94 games with the Tides this season, the Cal product hit over .300 with a .420 OBP, .934 OPS and 68 walks compared to 76 strikeouts. Not to mention, he also nabbed 23 bases.
Improving your batting average, walk rate and strikeout rate while maintaining a great speed and speed combination is a good formula to earn a promotion.
“He’s had a very nice run at the minor leagues the last few years,” Mansolino said. “And he’s knocked the door down and he’s earned it.”
The interim skipper is a particular fan of Beavers’ bat-to-ball skills.
“The old grandpa in me likes the batting average, I know I’m not supposed to say that,” Mansolino joked. “But batting average is indicative of contact and contact quality, so I think it kind of paints that picture. I like the fact that he hit .300, I know that’s old school, but batting average matters.”
Beavers’ .304 batting average with the Tides is the highest of his recent baseball career, even stretching back to his college days at Cal. The lefty has always had an unconventional swing, and it’s undergone a lot of changes throughout his minor league career.
This season, though, he’s clearly found a groove with it.
“The base of the swing has been pretty similar for a while,” Beavers said. “It’s just little tweaks that I’ve made. And this year, I feel like I’m controlling my forward move a little bit better, and that’s made it easier to stay consistent. No matter what pitch I see, I feel like I can adjust to it. So, I just feel more adjustable this year.”
He joins Jackson Holliday in the big leagues, who was the first overall pick in Beavers’ 2022 draft class.
“I’m very excited,” Holliday said of his friends’ promotion. “Beavs is one of my best buddies. Couldn’t be happier for him, and very excited to finish out the year with him and watch him do his thing.
I think he brings a lot to the table,” Holliday added. “Obviously, the ability to impact the game on multiple levels on offense as far as being able to hit the ball hard and run the bases really well and be a big-time steal threat.”
With Beavers’ debut tonight, all of their first two selections from the 2019 to 2022 MLB drafts will have made the major leagues. Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson in 2019, Heston Kjerstad and Jordan Westburg in 2020, Colton Cowser and Connor Norby in 2021, and now, Holliday and Beavers from the ‘22 class.
That’s an incredible hit rate.
“I think it starts with our scouting, obviously with Mike and Sig and Matt Blood and everybody kind of involved in that,” Mansolino said. “They’ve obviously done incredibly well in the draft. As you look at our lineup today, and the one we’re probably going to crank out tomorrow, there’s a lot of players that are signed and developed by the Baltimore Orioles.”
Looking up and down the lineup card, you’ll find a lot of homegrown Orioles. Beavers’ moment is another special one in a line of O’s debuts over the past few seasons. He’s gotten plenty of advice, but those major league lights will still be bright.
“I know myself,” Beavers said. “No matter what, my heart will be pounding. I’ll be excited, thrilled. It’s really just kind of slowing it down and reminding myself that it’s the same game.
There’s a lot going on, obviously, a lot more going on around, but keeping the main thing the main thing is kind of what I’m going to try to do and slow down my heart rate. But, yeah, a lot of guys said, ‘It’s the same game.’”
Between the white foul lines, it is the same game.
But between the ears, this one might feel just a bit bigger.
Breadcrumbs from the Skipper
Mansolino expects to see Cowser back in the lineup tomorrow.
“Yes, but he’s gotta go through some stuff right now,” Mansolino said. “So, if he checks the boxes, he comes out of it really good, then I think there’s a good chance we see him tomorrow, and I think probably in center field is where I will put him given Beavers being here and kind of the construction of the outfield now.”
