Orioles just got validation that the rest of baseball should be worried about

Every year, The Athletic comes out with its preseason MLB All-Under-25 Team. It's a fun exercise, and for the last few years, the Baltimore Orioles have been well represented on these teams. Some of the Orioles' former prospects have recently aged out and are no longer eligible for the team, but a new crop has risen to take their place.

While checking out the article, it is interesting to see which teams have the most players who not only make the team but also appear in the honorable mentions category. Seeing which team has the most players mentioned in the article gives a pretty good snapshot of who has the best young core in baseball.

Orioles had the second most players mentioned in The Athletic's All-Under-25 team article

In the All-Under-25 Team starting lineup, the Orioles are one of 17 teams to have at least one player. It's unsurprising that the player is Gunnar Henderson, who makes the team as the starting shortstop.

The starting lineup of this fictional team draws from a wide range of teams, but three teams have two players each: the Pirates, Cubs, and Reds, which is fine for the Orioles because they're all in the National League.

Where the Orioles get some real validation is in the honorable mentions part of the article, where Jackson Holliday, Dylan Beavers, and Samuel Basallo's names show up, bringing the total amount of Orioles named in the article up to four. Having four guys named in the article puts the Orioles tied for second in the league, along with the Athletics, Reds, Brewers, and Cubs, and trailing only the White Sox.

Perhaps the most significant takeaway from this article is how much deeper the Orioles' young core is than their division rivals. Both the Blue Jays and the Rays each had one player make the team. The Yankees had zero players even mentioned in passing. The Red Sox were the closest to matching the Orioles with three players mentioned in the article.

In a division as tightly contested as the AL East, having the best pipeline of young talent is a major advantage for the Orioles. All four of the Orioles players mentioned in the article are going to be impact players for the Orioles, not only this season but for the next 3-9 seasons, and all on very affordable contracts.

While their division rivals struggle to fill holes in their lineup with expensive free agents and costly trades, the Orioles will be able to use their young players for that and then dedicate their resources wherever they can be the most impactful.