Baltimore Orioles: Six Prospects Likely To Debut in 2020

If players are moved by next year’s trade deadline, Rylan Bannon will slide into the Baltimore Orioles lineup.

Few prospects in the Orioles system were as much fun to watch as Rylan Bannon was as the season went along. Beginning the year with 110 games in Double-A, Bannon started out just as the entire Bowie offense did in 2019, very slowly. By the end of the season, Bannon was one of the hottest hitters in Triple-A.

Bannon hit .255 with eight home runs, 22 doubles, and a wRC+ of 120 with the Baysox before hitting .317 with a .344 OBP and 13 extra-base hits in 20 games with the Norfolk Tides to close out the season. Overall, it was a solid first full season in the Orioles organization after coming over in the Manny Machado trade last year.

Bannon is continuing his work in the Arizona Fall League, where he has drastically cooled off from his hot start, but he’s still a solid candidate to make his major league debut in 2020, especially if Jonathan Villar and/or Hanser Alberto are moved by next year’s trade deadline.

He played the majority of his time at third base and made a few highlight-reel plays, but my completely untrained eye says he played a much better second base last year and could be a reliable option there if there’s suddenly a hole up the middle.

More time in Triple-A won’t hurt Bannon as he learns to become more consistent at the plate, but the Orioles could turn to him later in the year if they are active at the trade deadline or if Rio Ruiz struggles to take third base for himself.