masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgBaseball prospect lists are dropping like snowflakes as the start of major league spring training is put on ice.
Organizations and players are ranked within a top 100, 30, 20 or 10. And the variety doesn’t change how the Orioles are perceived within the industry.
They keep gaining respect, with the only caveats being how they’re a bit “top heavy” in the system.
Trust me, they gladly would have taken it back in the day.
The Athletic’s Keith Law offered his opinion this week on the top…

Baseball prospect lists are dropping like snowflakes as the start of major league spring training is put on ice.

Organizations and players are ranked within a top 100, 30, 20 or 10. And the variety doesn’t change how the Orioles are perceived within the industry.

They keep gaining respect, with the only caveats being how they’re a bit “top heavy” in the system.

Trust me, they gladly would have taken it back in the day.

The Athletic’s Keith Law offered his opinion this week on the top 20 Orioles prospects (subscription required) and the biggest shocker was Adley Rutschman dropping out of it.

I’m totally kidding. He’s No. 1 again.

Rutschman is followed by pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, outfielder Colton Cowser, infielder Gunnar Henderson, left-hander DL Hall, infielder Jordan Westburg, shortstop Joey Ortiz, second baseman Connor Norby, third baseman Coby Mayo, pitcher Kyle Bradish, outfielder Heston Kjerstad, pitcher Mike Baumann, outfielder Kyle Stowers, second baseman Terrin Vavra, left-hander Drew Rom, second baseman César Prieto, pitcher Kyle Brnovich, shortstop Adam Hall, pitcher Logan Gillaspie and outfielder Hudson Haskin.

Here are a few of my observations:

Thumbnail image for Hall-Throws-White-Bowie-Sidebar.jpg* DL Hall typically is third in the rankings, but Law lowers him based on an abbreviated 2021 season. Hall made only seven starts before being shut down with an elbow injury, but Law writes: “His stuff was as good as ever, with all three pitches at least flashing plus, his fastball still up to 96-97, his curveball still hard and sharp, helping him punch out 46 percent of the left-handed batters he faced.”

Hall has top-of-the-rotation stuff. He’s going to debut with the Orioles later this summer if healthy. A No. 5 ranking is explained by the 2021 injury and nothing else.

* Kjerstad has hung in the top 5, and certainly the top 10, despite being unable to play after a diagnosis of myocarditis in 2020. He’s finally 11th in Law’s rankings, and that’s fair.

Kjerstad is full-go for spring training, as he told MASNsports.com last week. But an improved farm system can’t hold him within the top 10 if he hasn’t played in a game.

Maybe during the lowest of times, when the Orioles routinely were last or so close to the bottom that they could touch it. Not anymore.

* Ortiz at No. 7 opened eyes wide enough to push back hairlines.

MLBPipeline.com has Ortiz 20th, and he underwent surgery on his left shoulder last summer to repair a labrum tear after playing in only 35 games – the last 16 at Double-A Bowie. But Law suggests that Ortiz, 23, could be the starting shortstop by Labor Day.

Ortiz is a plus defender who’s making harder contact after the Orioles worked on his swing. A steal in the fourth round in 2019.

The Orioles can figure out later how to fit Ortiz, Henderson and Westburg on the same roster. Law lists the positions for Henderson and Westburg as shortstop/third base. Ortiz has played short, second and third.

This is going to be fun.

* Prieto received a $650,000 bonus from the Orioles last month after defecting from Cuba – the fourth-largest handed out since executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias and director of international scouting Koby Perez joined the organization. He’s positioned to be the first international signee to reach the majors and it could happen this summer.

In the meantime, I wondered where he’d rank among the organization’s prospects. He had to crack the top 30.

* Stowers at No. 13 seemed a bit low to me, but again, this also speaks to the increase in legitimate choices.

Stowers’ power already feels legendary. Everyone talks about the sound of the ball coming off his bat, how everything he hits is scorched. But he loses points for the swing-and-miss aspect of his game.

The Orioles expect Stowers to reach the majors this summer. However they fit him in the outfield.

* Gillaspie hasn’t been located in any top prospect lists, but Law puts him 19th in the organization.

The Orioles protected Gillaspie in the Rule 5 draft and Law mentions his “explosive stuff.”

“He has hard boring action to his mid-90s fastball,” Law wrote, “and can show a power slider with hard tilt, along with an action changeup and a curveball.”

Law meant “boring” in a good way. In case you were confused.

In other news (or non-news) …

* When a player has the name Shed Long Jr., he must be toolsy, right?

The Orioles signed Shedric Bernard Long to a minor league contract yesterday. He may not be available to them right away after undergoing another surgical procedure in October related to a stress fracture in his right shin, an injury that’s severely impacted his last two seasons.

Long didn’t debut last year until June 8 and didn’t play after July 28. He broke summer camp in 2020 as Seattle’s second baseman, and the Orioles can consider him for the position or let him compete for a utility job due to his ability to play third base and the outfield.

The metrics don’t favor his glove, but he’s versatile and has some pop from the left side of the plate. Nothing wrong with tossing him into the mix with Rougned Odor, Ramón Urías, Kelvin Gutiérrez, Jorge Mateo, Jahmai Jones and Richie Martin.

Long is 5-for-12 with two doubles, a triple and a home run against the Orioles. All three games were played at Camden Yards.

* The Orioles are conducting a job fair today from 3-6 p.m. at Camden Yards as they search for, in their words, “passionate individuals interested in joining the Orioles gameday staff for the 2022 season in one of many customer service and operational positions.”

Multiple departments are participating, including event staff, guest services, first aid, grounds crew and box office. The job fair, which includes on-site interviews and on-the-spot hiring, takes place on the ballpark’s club level with access through Home Plate Plaza. Free parking is available in Lot A.

All attendees must show proof of vaccination, and masks are required for indoor spaces. Pre-registration for the event is encouraged, but not required.

To register for the job fair, visit Orioles.com/JobFair. To apply for open positions with the Orioles, visit Orioles.com/Jobs.

* Exactly one year ago, the Orioles signed veteran pitcher Matt Harvey to a minor league contract that paid $1 million if he made the club. He’s back on the free agent market after going 6-14 with 6.27 ERA and 1.543 WHIP in 28 starts.

Harvey went on the injured list in September with right knee inflammation.

He was on the stand Tuesday morning, testifying with immunity in the Eric Kay trial in the drug-related death of former Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, and reportedly expressed concerns that it would damage his reputation and career.

Harvey made 12 starts for the Angels in 2019 before his release on July 21.

* On this date in 2014, the Orioles signed South Korean pitcher Suk-min Yoon to a three-year deal that guaranteed $5.575 million and included incentives and escalator provisions that could increase its total value to $13.075 million – a significant dive into the international market for an organization that usually was reluctant to dip a toe.

The contract allowed Yoon to be eligible for free agency after three years, and it contained a mechanism to protect him from a minor league demotion.

Yoon was regarded as the second-best pitcher in the Korea Baseball Organization after Hyun-jin Ryu, but he didn’t come close to working out favorably for the Orioles.

On March 5, 2015, the Orioles released Yoon from his contract without a single pitch thrown in a major league game. Yoon wanted to re-join the Kia Tigers and the Orioles no longer were responsible for the $4.3 million in salary and expenses owed over the next two seasons.

Yoon signed a four-year deal with the Tigers worth $8.2 million, after the Orioles didn’t invite him to major league camp – a situation that disappointed him and led manager Buck Showalter to suggest that the right-hander “pitch better.”

Visa issues caused Yoon to get a late start in his first camp and he logged only three exhibition innings before an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. He posted a 5.74 ERA in 23 games with the Tides and opponents batted .317, and the Orioles removed him from the 40-man roster in August and outrighted him.