Kyle Stowers is here to stay

Back in June, the Baltimore Orioles called up prized outfield prospect Kyle Stowers ahead of a 4 game set in Canada with the Toronto Blue Jays. They had an open spot on the 40 man roster to use on him, and he was sent back to Triple A Norfolk at the conclusion of the series, which the Orioles split two games each.

Now, we get part two of the Stowers experience. On August 19, Stowers was recalled from Norfolk, adding him to the  40 man roster. The corresponding move was Brett Phillips, a trade deadline acquisition, being designated for assignment. Stowers is here to stay.

Kyle Stowers gets his much-awaited chance to make an impact for the Baltimore Orioles

This callup of Stowers is much different than the first time. For one, he was called up for only four games in Toronto, with Anthony Santander being placed on the restricted list ahead of the series in Toronto. This callup seems more permanent in the sense that they DFA’d Phillips, who they haven’t even had for a month yet, to make room for Stowers, which signals trust in his abilities.

The Orioles are hoping for Stowers to impact the club offensively, something that has hit a bit of a snag lately. His 19 home runs with Norfolk this season rank second among all Orioles minor leaguers, and his .954 OPS with 12 extra base hits in his last 21 minor league games show a red hot bat that is ready to make an impact in the majors. Stowers had this to say of his second callup:

“The little Toronto stretch was like my debut, and this feels a little bit more like the callup, you know? I’m excited.”

In terms of where Stowers fits right now on the big league roster, he’ll seemingly come off the bench more often than not. Santander, Austin Hays, and Cedric Mullins are pretty firmly entrenched as starters, but Stowers will likely see more action than someone like Ryan McKenna would off the bench. The bottom line is that Stowers is here to stay, likely for the rest of the season.