Baltimore Orioles: Chance Sisco considered a Top 10 prospect still

A key piece of the future of the Baltimore Orioles is still showing up on the MLB Pipeline as a top prospect.

In what will be his fourth season as a top Baltimore Orioles prospect, the MLB Pipeline named Chance Sisco the seventh best minor league catcher for 2018.

He has been a top-10 catching prospect since 2015. This is a long time, but it shows how much promise this young catcher has.

The last few rankings

Cisco was drafted in 2013, but top prospect data does not go back enough to see if he was ranked in 2014. In 2017 he was the top prospect with the Orioles and Austin Hays was right behind him.

Since the Orioles need a second pitcher and the team is without a full-time right fielder, these two could lose their prospect ratings and become real rookies.

In 2016, he was the second-best prospect with the team. Cody Sedlock was the top prospect. Trey Mancini was the fifth best. In 2016, Austin Hays, Anthony Santander, and Gabriel Ynoa were 14, 15, and 16. Interestingly, the prospects who were farther down the list have spent more time in Baltimore. Ynoa might even have a chance to get into the starting rotation.

Working with homegrown players

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Homegrown players mature at different rates. Clearly, Manny Machado was ready to hit the big leagues when he was brought up in 2012 at age 19. And, Trey Mancini proved he could make it work in Birdland when he arrived at age 25. Cisco turned 22 in September – he was 18 when he signed with the organization. It is worth it let him use his minor league time to develop. The biggest difference between Mancini and the other two is that he played two seasons with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish prior to being drafted.

Cisco will be an active catcher in spring training and the coaches will keep a close eye on him to see how he works with the big league pitchers (if there are more than two that come to spring training). The coaches will also keep close tabs on his eye at the plate. The chances are good that he will see a lot of at-bats in Sarasota and around the Grapefruit League.

Next: What Orioles should be on the team's Mount Rushmore?

His biggest competition will be himself as well as Austin Wynns who was drafted by the Orioles in 2013 but has not gotten the same attention that Sisco has.