Orioles fans shouldn’t buy into Vance Honeycutt’s insane start to spring training (yet)

Many Baltimore Orioles fans have been understandably impressed with prospect Vance Honeycutt's early performance in spring training. It may be a bit premature to fully believe he has turned a corner, though.

The 2024 draftee has three home runs in his first three at-bats, which is pretty dang impressive. It's exactly what fans want to see, but after how badly Honeycutt struggled in the minors last year, it would be wise to be patient with the young player.

Orioles fans should pump the brakes on Honeycutt despite hot start

Last season, the University of North Carolina product struggled mightily. He slashed .171/.284/.275 with five home runs and 24 runs batted in across 101 games. His bat was his biggest question mark coming out of college, but the O's were willing to take a chance on him with their first-round pick in 2024.

Honeycutt got off to a solid start last year, and things were actually looking promising, but his numbers just fell off a cliff. It's easy for a prospect with high expectations to struggle and have a hard time dealing with the ups and downs of professional baseball, so it is at least encouraging that he is showing signs of a turnaround.

His hot start should not convince fans that he is going to make his big league debut this season, though. He needs to go back to the minors and prove that what he's doing right now in Florida is not a flash in the pan. If he can do that and work his way up, then it is time to get excited about his development.

He's just 22 years old, so he has his whole career ahead of him. He is inevitably going to face some tough times as he progresses through the minors, but as long as he is trending upwards overall, that is what matters.

The thing with Honeycutt is that he only has to be average offensively to be seen as a valuable big league player. He is known for his defense and speed, as he swiped 32 bases last year, so he does not have to win the Triple Crown for him to help out the Orioles someday.

If he can just get on base at a decent clip so he can take advantage of his speed and track everything down in the outfield, then he could certainly be a solid big leaguer.

His hot start in spring training is encouraging, but fans should hold off on the Honeycutt tattoos for now until he shows he can hit consistently in the minors.