3 Orioles prospects who could take a big leap in 2025

The Baltimore Orioles have become known for their ability to develop young players. They had the top ranked farm system in baseball for almost two full years, had three top overall prospects in that time and now have one of the most home-grown teams in the league. Several other Orioles’ top prospects have also broken through with other teams after some recent trades. 

It’s been a lot of fun following these young players as they come up through the system. Players like Jackson Holliday and Samuel Basallo made big jumps in 2023 advancing four and three levels respectively.  Creed Willems had a breakout season in 2024 that continued through his time in the Arizona Fall League. Who will take the biggest leaps next season?

The player I will be keeping the closest eye on is Griff O’Ferrall. Taken in the first round of last year’s draft, O’Ferrall started his professional career with Single-A Delmarva but quickly made the move to High-A Aberdeen. He is best known for his ability to get on base, and his high baseball IQ. O’Ferrall has great bat to ball skills and a strong command of the strike zone which helped him to a .344 batting average and .408 OBP during his college career while drawing more walks than strikeouts.

Defensively O’Ferrall was a shortstop in college with a solid glove and great footwork. His arm strength is average and the Orioles love youngsters with positional flexibility, so he got his share of work at second base in the minors. A smart base runner with average speed, O’Ferrall was able to steal 50 bases in 58 attempts in college but was just two for six as a pro. O’Ferrall’s intelligence should allow him to make quick adjustments and move up through an Orioles farm system that has lost a ton of infield talent through call ups and trades. 

These 3 Orioles prospects are poised to take giant steps forward in 2025

Fellow 2024 first rounder Vance Honeycutt will look to breakout in his first full professional season. Honeycutt displayed the rare combination of power and speed in college, hitting 65 home runs and stealing 76 bases over three seasons. However, he was much more than that. He had a .293/.412/.638 slash line while playing gold glove caliber defense in the outfield. 

The expectations for Honeycutt are still very high but he struggled in his first taste of professional baseball. He hit just .176 and was homer-less in 13 games split between Delmarva and Aberdeen. His defense is major league ready and speed never slumps. It’s only a matter of time until his offense picks up. 

A guy with a lower profile that you may not have heard of yet is Alex Pham. Drafted as a reliever in the 19th round in 2021, Pham possessed a low to mid 90’s fastball that struggled in the minors. Then, in 2023, he transitioned to a starter during the season and has come into his own. 

In the absence of a dominant pitch, Pham uses a combination of his fastball, curveball, slider, cutter and change up to keep hitters off balance. Typically, pitchers with Pham’s skill set, like the newest Orioles pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano, pitch to soft contact. Pham, on the other hand, has established himself as a strikeout artist. Over the last two seasons in which Pham has worked primarily as a starter, he has struck out 238 batters in 231.0 innings (10.4 K/9). Watch for Pham to take the next step towards becoming an impact starter in the majors in 2025.