3 under the radar prospects that will get a shot with the 2026 Orioles

Between Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers, the Baltimore Orioles have two strong contenders for the AL Rookie of the Year award. However, those two are not the only prospects that the Orioles hope will contribute to their 2026 campaign.

The Orioles certainly have been aggressive thsi offseason, signing Pete Alonso and adding Shane Baz and Ryan Helsley to their pitching staff. There might be one more big swing left in them before the offseason concludes, and that certainly will have them on track to contend this season.

3 under-the-radar prospects that will get a shot with the 2026 Orioles

But, if their contention is not going to be viewed as flash in the pan, it will be due to some unsung prospects making their debut and providing an impact.

Anthony Nunez

Anthony Nunez came to the Orioles as part of the package the Mets gave up for Cedric Mullins. He took a unique path to get to where he is now with the Norfolk Tides. He was originally drafted in the 29th round of the 2019 draft as a shortstop.

As is the case with some shortshops taken during the later rounds of the draft, Nunez was in line for a position change. When that happened, he transitioned to the mound and showed enough promise that the Mets signed him in 2024.

2025 was his first full season in the Mets org as a pitcher, and he made the most of it. He started the year in A-ball and finished in Triple-A.

The ERA creeps up as he's faced tougher competition, as you'd expect, but at every level, he's kept up his strikeout rate and maintained a sub-1 WHIP.

Nunez throws five pitches, and he has solid command. His slider is the star of his arsenal; Fangraphs gives it a future value grade of 70. When he reached AAA Norfolk, his slider produced a 46% whiff rate while only allowing a 16% hard hit rate.

Compared to most pitching prospects, Nunez has only just begun pitching, so there may be even more potential than what he's shown in his first full season. With only 15 career AAA innings, it's unlikely he starts the season with the major league club, but with the rate he's risen through the minors a early to mid-season call-up feels imminent

Tyson Neighbors

Tyson Neighbors is also fairly new to the Orioles organization. He came over as part of a six-player package that the Padres gave up for Ryan O'Hearn and Ramon Laureano.

After being drafted by the Padres in the 4th round of the 2024 draft, 2025 was Neighbors' first full professional season, and it was dominant. Especially after he was traded to the Orioles. At AA Chesapeake, he put up a 0.59 ERA, 0.78 WHIP with 19 strikeouts and 5 walks in 12 appearances.

Neighbors does not have pinpoint command, but between his curveball and his high IVB fastball, he managed to confound enough AA hitters that walks did not become a serious problem for him in 2025. For him to make his MLB debut in 2026, he'll have to prove that more advanced hitters won't be able to beat him by just leaving the bat on the shoulder.

With such an impressive season in AA under his belt, the Orioles will likely start him in Triple-A Norfolk. Once he proves that his style can scale to that level of competition, he'll be a candidate for a major league call-up.

Keagan Gillies

There was a game last season where the Orioles' entire offensive lineup was younger than Keagan Gillies, so it's odd to refer to him as a prospect, but the Orioles did send him to the 2025 Futures Game, so they clearly view him as one.

Gillies was a 15th-round pick in 2021 and has been slowly metriculating through the Orioles farm system for the past 5 seasons. What stands out when you look at his stat sheet is his height. He stands at a towering 6'8.

The reason the Orioles sent him to that Futures Game because for the first half of the 2025 season, it looked like Gillies had reached another level. At AA Chesapeake last year, Gillies put up a 1.15 ERA, 0.57 WHIP with 34 strikeouts and just 4 walks in 31.1 innings. The results once he got to AAA Norfolk were disappointing, but over the course of his minor league career, he has typically experienced a speed bump every time he's gone up a level and then settled in. If he settles in at AAA in 2026, he's a candidate for a late-season call-up when rosters expand.