Baltimore Orioles: Four positive takeaways from 2018

What the Orioles lack in star power, they make up for in depth at the minor league level

The Orioles don’t have many top-tier prospects; OF Yusniel Diaz is the only prospect in the system to rank in MLB Pipeline’s top-100. But they make up for the lack of star power with plenty of pitching depth.

Lefty DL Hall is the top ranked pitcher in the Orioles system and for good reason; he has a plus fastball that touches 95 mph, a sharp curve and a plus-change that led him into the top-rated prospect spot in the South Atlantic League.

Lefty Josh Rogers doesn’t have huge strikeout upside but he showed good command of his fastball in his brief appearance in Baltimore this year and he pitched well between Scranton and Norfolk in the International League, posting a combined 3.54 ERA in 139.2 innings.

Righty Luis Ortiz and Lefty Cody Carroll made appearances in Baltimore after their acquisitions at the trade deadline this year. Both of them possess plus-stuff, Ortiz with three plus-pitches and velo that reaches into the high-90’s, and Carroll with mid-90’s velo and a wipeout slider that profiles well in a relief role.

Lefties Keegan Akin and Zac Lowther both split the Orioles minor league pitcher of the year award, which we wrote about last month.  Lowther has fringey velocity but has two plus-breaking pitches which he commands well in the zone. Akin throws in the mid-90’s, has a plus slider and an outside chance to pitch in Baltimore in 2019.

Dean Kremer was a strikeout machine in Bowie after coming over in the Machado trade, posting 53 K’s in 45.1 innings with a 2.58 ERA.

And that’s not including Hunter Harvey, who has plenty of prospect pedigree but whose injuries have prohibited him from pitching in Baltimore. But the list goes on, and there are some diamonds in the rough here.

The Orioles need to focus on developing these pitchers. They have enough depth here that a handful of these guys should hit and become effective major league starters. They may need to pay for a number one in the rotation, but they have enough assets to fill out the back end of their rotation for years to come.