Orioles reassign top prospect amidst group of spring roster moves

On Sunday afternoon, the Orioles made their first batch of roster adjustments, sending a large group of players over to minor league camp. In addition to the bulk move, the O's also optioned reliever Colin Selby to the minor league roster. Selby will join the group of prospects heading to minor league camp for the upcoming week.

The biggest name in the group of re-assigned players is outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr, who's currently listed as the O's 4th best prospect by MLB Pipeline. Bradfield had a couple of moments during his 4 spring appearances, with his lone hit coming on a home run last week. He did draw a walk on Friday and scored a run after coming in as a pinch runner in last Tuesday's matchup.

Expectations are high for Bradfield, who is a monster on the basepaths and is a strong defender in center field. His defensive skills and speed should give him a relatively high floor as a major league contributor but if he's able to find a way to click at the plate, he could be a star. He did post an impressive .287/.395/.396 slash line at Double-A last year, and he managed to steal a combined 74 bases between Bowie and Aberdeen last year.

Orioles reassign top prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr and others to minor league camp

In addition to Bradfield, eleven other players will be heading to minor league camp. Selby is the most notable name outside of Bradfield. Selby pitched in Baltimore last year after the Orioles acquired him from Kansas City in a small trade. The righty threw just 4 innings in the majors but he struck out 5 batters and didn't allow any runs.

In his lone spring outing, Selby allowed 4 runs on a hit and 2 walks, and recorded just 2 outs. The Orioles do have a deep bullpen and a number of guys fighting for innings at the back end, so it's not entirely surprising to see Selby optioned down. However, one would have thought he'd get more than one chance to throw against major league hitters this spring.

The rest of the players heading to minor league camp are Silas Ardoin, Justin Armbruester, Dylan Beavers, Jud Fabian, Jakob Hernandez, Yaramil Hiraldo, Jeremiah Jackson, Robinson Martinez, Carlos Tavera, and Nathan Webb.