Some of the best prospects in the Orioles system are moving on up. 

Starting pitchers Luis De León and Juaron Watts-Brown, the No. 7 and No. 27 prospects in the O’s system, according to MLB Pipeline, are heading to Triple-A Norfolk. Wehiwa Aloy (No. 4), Caden Hunter (No. 11), Victor Figueroa and Joe Glassey are making the leap to Double-A Chesapeake. And Félix Amparo, Andrés Nolaya, Christian Rodriguez, and Stephen Still are making their way up to High-A Frederick.

Here, we’ll put a spotlight on a few of the O’s top dozen prospects. 

Wehiwa Aloy (No. 4) 

Aloy has been knocking on the door of Double-A for a long time now, but an otherworldly month of July finally put him over the edge. 

Entering play last night, the former Golden Spikes Award winner was slashing a ludicrous .425/.494/.712 in the month, good for a 1.206 OPS. The stretch of 19 games included four home runs, seven doubles and a triple with 10 walks and 18 runs driven in. Overall, his season in Frederick ends with a .300 batting average, 15 home runs and an .874 OPS. 

Despite impressive offensive numbers overall, there are still areas for growth for Aloy, namely a 25.6 percent strikeout rate and 14 percent infield fly ball rate. Double-A pitching should provide a good challenge for Aloy’s approach. 

Unfortunately, he won’t be making his Baysox debut alongside Ike Irish, who tore his meniscus and is likely to miss the rest of the season. But a promotion for one of the O’s top draft picks from a year ago is encouraging nonetheless. 

Luis De León (No. 7) 

Don’t let a tough April and one blowup start in June fool you: De León has been, largely, very good for the last three months. In July, everything started to come together. 

In his last four starts, De León has surrendered just two total earned runs, striking out 28 in 24.2 innings, averaging just over six innings per outing. The powerful lefty hasn’t walked more than three batters in a start since June 5, which was also the last time he surrendered more than three earned runs. He hasn’t allowed a home run in over a month, either. 

De León is not your typical left-hander, as his ability to live comfortably with a 95-98 mph sinker is a trait rivaled by just a few lefty starters in the game. The key for him has always been command, and his walk rate has been below ten percent in each of his last three starts, a feat he accomplished just twice in his first 16 appearances.  

Just one step away from the big leagues, De León joins a talented group of arms that already includes top prospects like Trey Gibson, Nestor German and Levi Wells. While a major league debut in 2026 feels unlikely, De León has the kind of stuff that could entice the major league club to see what he has to offer. 

Caden Hunter (No. 11) 

It took Hunter just six professional games to move from Low-A Delmarva to Single-A Frederick. Then, it took him just 10 games to earn a promotion from Frederick to Double-A Bowie. By my math, he’ll need just over 16 starts in Norfolk to work his way up to the majors, and then 28 big league starts to move up to the super secret special league. 

It’s no surprise that Hunter has moved this quickly, as I highlighted recently. 

In 10 outings with the Keys, the lefty posted a 1.60 ERA, nearly 12.5 strikeouts per nine and a 1.04 WHIP. Similarly to De León, Hunter’s high-velocity fastball is uncharacteristic for a lefty starter, and raises his already intriguing ceiling. 

With the Baysox, Hunter joins Joseph Dzierwa, recently ranked as the top arm in Baltimore’s system, according to MLB Pipeline. JT Quinn might not be far behind.

The upcoming Trade Deadline could bring additions to or subtractions from the farm system. It could even bring both. Regardless, a day of promotions is a welcome sight.