Enigmatic Orioles prospect Vance Honeycutt finally turning some heads down in the AFL

Once upon a time, the Baltimore Orioles thought that they had a very special player in outfielder Vance Honeycutt. A perfect compliment to go along with other top prospects like Ike Irish. With as much athletic ability as anyone in the 2024 MLB Draft, the team spent their 22nd overall pick on him. While he may be impressing scouts around the Arizona Fall League with his immense talent this season, it took a lot of work to get to this point.  

As noted by Jesse Borek of MLB.com, that work that Honeycutt put in is already showing through two games in the AFL. Playing for the Peoria Javelinas, the 23-year-old outfielder smoked a home run clocked at 106.6 off the bat during the team's game on October 5. He finished the game going 2-4, adding two RBI and a stolen base. 

“Just trying to help the team win. There's other ways to do that, outside of just in the box,” Honeycutt said after the game. “Working on those things in practice and during the games is beneficial, because it’s more than just what shows up in the box score that’s important.”

While he's only played two games in the AFL, Honeycutt is already showing signs of hitting that next level in his development as a ball player. However, some worried that he may never even get this far in his career after the last two seasons that he's had in the minor leagues.

Vance Honeycutt looked to be yet another bust for the Orioles 

Like with many entertaining tales, Honeycutt’s journey to the big leagues faced an enormous obstacle that threatened to close the book on his career before it even had a chance to really begin. In his first full season in the Orioles’ minor league system, Honeycutt sported a ghastly .171/.284/.275 slash line in 374 at-bats with the Aberdeen IronBirds in High-A. With just 23 extra-base hits in 2025, Honeycutt plummeted in the Orioles prospect rankings, disappearing from MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 list. A harsh wakeup call for a player who began the 2025 season as Baltimore's 5th best prospect. 

To make matters worse, he struck out 178 times last season. That was nearly a 50 percent strikeout rate. So not only was he failing to drive to the ball, he struggled to make contact altogether. But with his aforementioned mindset of continuing to improve his game outside of what the box score says, Honeycutt aimed to move past that dreadful 2025 season and re-establish himself as a top prospect for the Orioles. 

But once again, Honeycutt appeared to be overmatched in High-A in 2026. He struck out 110 times in 220 at-bats with the Frederick Keys. He struggled so mightily that many questioned what was wrong with him. But even with a .644 OPS in 64 games, Honeycutt was promoted to Double-A Chesapeake in mid-August. That promotion may have very well saved his career. He boasted a much-improved OPS of .997 in 20 games, even cutting his strikeout rate in half. 

It appears that Honeycutt has carried that forward momentum into the AFL, facing off against some of the best prospects from around baseball. The Orioles can only hope that Honeycutt continues to build on his success and further his development in 2027. But even with that success, Honeycutt is not taking it lightly or letting it get to his head. 

“Continuing to do reps in practice, during the day, before the game,” added Honeycutt. “Really honing in on it, not trying to take a day off, understanding that even if you are good out there, you can always get better.”

Where Honeycutt will begin the 2027 season will remain to be seen. But if he continues to increase his confidence and hone his approach at the plate, he could finally transform into the flashy player that the Orioles envisioned when they drafted him. With a revamped minor league system, the organization could start to see some big things from talented prospects like Honeycutt. Though he's far from a storybook ending, Honeycutt looks to be back on the right track. 

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