Baltimore Orioles: Six Prospects Likely To Debut in 2020

Fans may see a lot of new faces in 2020. Here are six Baltimore Orioles prospects who could make their debut next season.

The 2019 season wasn’t a lot of fun for fans of the Baltimore Orioles, but if you watched closely, there were plenty of storylines to hold your interest, even if just for a few weeks. One of those storylines was the major league debuts for a handful of rookies such as Hunter Harvey, Dillon Tate, and Branden Kline.

Tate’s debut was up and down, but it seems as if the Orioles are set on keeping him as a reliever now. Depending on how the roster shakes out, Tate could start 2020 in Triple-A. Becoming a regular on the Baltimore-Norfolk shuttle is a strong possibility. Kline struggled mightily to find his footing, but Harvey was dominant and is now everyone’s favorite to close out games.

The Orioles will continue to rotate players in and out next season as evaluations continue and the first wave of highly-anticipated rookies work their way to the major leagues.

Let’s take a look at six Orioles prospects who are likely to make their major league debuts in 2020. First, we need to clarify which players we are talking about, specifically.

For the purposes of this piece, we will look at prospects currently ranked in the Top 30, according to MLB Pipeline, plus one additional name who you won’t find on the list because I really think he gets an early call. There are a handful of relief prospects who excelled in Double-A Bowie last season and could, therefore, see time in the majors, but we aren’t including them here.

First up, a group of pitchers who are knocking on the gates of Camden Yards.

Keegan Akin will be with the Baltimore Orioles very soon.

When it comes to minor league baseball, I wouldn’t call myself a fan of most teams, except for the Norfolk Tides. I spent much of my childhood at Harbor Park and love being able to watch the Tides on a nightly basis on MiLB.TV.

It was hard to watch most games in 2019, but not when Keegan Akin took the mound. It’s difficult to take much away from Triple-A numbers, thanks to a juiced baseball, but Akin is ready to make his major league debut after a full season in the highest level of the minors.

Just seven qualified pitchers in the International League recorded an ERA under 5.00 last season, with Akin being one of those. He finished the year with a 6-7 record, 4.73 ERA (4.13 FIP), a career-low 0.80 HR/9 IP rate, and an International League-leading 131 strikeouts.

Armed with a low-90s fastball, a slider, and a changeup that could become a decent weapon in his arsenal, Akin has a high-floor and the opportunity to hold his own in the backend of a major league rotation. At worst, he’s a long man out of the pen, a position the Orioles will be looking to fill in 2020.

Walks and flyballs are issues to pay close attention to, but his strikeout rate jumped from 9.28/9 IP in Double-A to 10.50/9 IP in Triple-A and he was successful at navigating his way through a record-breaking offensive season in the IL.

Akin likely won’t make the roster out of spring training, but it won’t be long before he puts on a Baltimore Orioles jersey for the first time.

Next up, another lefty who could crack the Opening Day roster?

Could Bruce Zimmermann make the Opening Day roster for the Baltimore Orioles?

Remember at the beginning of the piece when I made up my own rules and said one name I was going to discuss isn’t on the Orioles Top 30 list? Well, Bruce Zimmermann is that guy. This doesn’t mean I think he has the most potential of this group (he doesn’t) but he may not have much more to prove in the minor leagues.

Zimmermann is a Baltimore native who returned to his hometown after being traded by the Atlanta Braves in the Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day deal last season.

He struggled in his first action in the Orioles system, posting a 5.06 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in five starts with Bowie. He was much improved in 2019, going 5-3 with a 2.58 ERA, a .227 average against, and 101 strikeouts in 101 innings with the Baysox.

His dominant performance resulted in a promotion to Triple-A where he went 2-3 with a 4.89 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, and struck out 33 in 38 innings.

Zimmermann doesn’t have the high-velocity fastball or wipeout slider in his repertoire, but he does pile up strikeouts and limit home runs (22 allowed in 298 IP). He’s another high-floor pitching prospect who, at best, can hang around in the backend of the Orioles rotation, or at least contribute out of the bullpen as a long-relief type.

He will be 25 when spring training rolls around and there aren’t going to be many pitching options in 2020, hence why Zimmermann could be up before anyone else on this list.

Dean Kremer was a Fall Star in the Arizona Fall League this offseason. Will he be a major league in 2020?

Dean Kremer is fun to watch pitch and the hype surrounding the 23-year-old righty seems to be growing more and more recently.

After leading the minors in strikeouts last year and coming over in the Manny Machado deal, Kremer went 9-4 with a 2.98 ERA in Double-A Bowie, striking out 87 in 84 innings and limiting opponents to a .236 average.

He ended the year in Triple-A, where Kremer struggled to an 8.84 ERA (3.42 FIP) and .357 average against. He did, however, put up a 21/4 K/BB ratio in his 19.1 innings.

After starting the year a bit late with an oblique injury, Kremer is making up his innings in the Arizona Fall League where he continues to fan hitters and impress on the mound.

Kremer has a deep repertoire, consisting of a low-90s fastball and notable slider, which he uses to attack hitters head-on. He’s likely ticketed to begin 2020 back in Triple-A, but he should make his debut before we get too deep into the summer.

Baltimore Orioles fans will finally witness the debut of Ryan Mountcastle in 2020.

I mean, this is clearly the most obvious choice for players who will make their debut in 2020. Ryan Mountcastle should have been up in 2019, but with the Orioles destined for another 100+ loss season and a severe logjam at first base, designated hitter, and in the outfield, Mountcastle spent the entire year seasoning in Triple-A.

The International League MVP slashed .312/.344/.527 with 25 home runs, 35 doubles, 83 RBI, and a wRC+ of 117. His groundball rate was down, line drive rate was up, and his presence in the batter’s box was well beyond what you would expect from a 22-year-old.

“But he can’t play defense!” Stop. The Orioles have moved him from shortstop, to third base, to first base, and now the outfield. His defense at first base improved as the year went along in Norfolk, as he clearly looked more comfortable at the position. Let’s see the young man play one position for an extended period of time and then we can talk about it.

“But he doesn’t walk!” No, he doesn’t, and the walks aren’t going to come. However, 51 extra-base hits in 127 games is pretty impressive and he does have a sub-20% strikeout rate at two of his three stops in the minors where he appeared in at least 100 games.

Mountcastle is ranked as the 64th best prospect in baseball, he’s still very young, and he’s improved at each level in the minors. See you at Camden Yards very soon, Mountcastle.

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.