Orioles’ make massive shift in the minors with new(ish) minor league affiliate 

One of the joys of being a baseball fan is the ability to, on any given night, take in a seemingly endless amount of games across every professional level. While every player’s dream is to play in MLB, there are multiple minor league levels they need to play in before that can happen, which can give fans the ability to watch future stars before they become household names. 

And, starting in 2026, Orioles fans in Frederick County, Maryland will once again be able to watch the future of the Orioles cut their teeth in professional baseball with the return of the Frederick Keys as an affiliated team in the Orioles’ system. 

Orioles’ make massive shift in their minor league system with new(ish) minor league affiliate 

The Keys should sound familiar to Orioles fans, as they were the High-A affiliate for the Orioles from 1989 to 2020 before they were removed from affiliated baseball during minor league’s baseball reorganization in 2021 as the sport came out of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Keys have been a part of the MLB Draft League in the time since, and will return as the team’s High-A affiliate next year. They’ll take the palace of theAberdeen IronBirds, who will take the Keys’ spot in the MLB Draft League. Their games will still be played at Harry Grove Stadium, which is undergoing a $39 million renovation. 

The move comes at a time when the Orioles’ farm system is in a bit of a transitional period. While they had one of baseball’s best systems in 2023 and ‘24, almost all of that talent has graduated to the big leagues. They still have one more big chip prospect in the minors in catcher Samuel Basallo, but he’s in Triple-A and seems to be on the cusp of his major league debut.

That said, they were able to get some promising prospects thanks to their trade deadline firesale, which means that fans could see some of the new members of the core with the Keys next year. 

Prospects Esteban Mejia, Nate George, Boston Bateman (who was the prized prospect in their trade deadline deal with the Padres) and Keeler Morfe are all currently at Single-A, which means they could make their High-A debut late this season or early next season. 

Although none of them have the prospect pedigree of Gunnar Henderson or Jackson Holliday, they’re all key pieces of Baltimore’s future and are thought of as pieces for the long-term core. 

Minor league baseball is at its best when teams have affiliates that are close to the organization’s major league home so that way fans from within a close geographical distance can take in the action. The Orioles’ decision to make the Keys an affiliated team is an example of that.  

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