Scouts raving about young Orioles pitching prospect for whom the sky is the limit

The Baltimore Orioles have gained a bit of a reputation in recent years for building crops of prospects that are extremely highly regarded. That reputation has taken a bit of a hit with the team's struggles this year being largely driven by those same young guys regressing, but it does seem as though the Orioles' scouts have an eye for talent. As it turns out, they may have struck gold again with 18 year old pitching prospect Esteban Mejia.

Mejia started getting some attention after a standout performance in the Dominican Summer League in 2024. One needs to take numbers from the DSL with a grain of salt, but Mejia was already flashing a high 90's fastball and very promising slider.

Well, more scouts and experts have gotten their eyes on Mejia now that he is stateside playing rookie ball. As it turns out, Mejia has gotten even better.

Orioles fans should expect to hear a lot more about pitching prospect Esteban Mejia very, very soon

To say that Mejia has been a showstopper is underselling him a good bit. At 18 years old, he is already hitting 102 mph with his fastball, possesses a power slider that is now consistently plus, and his changeup has made real strides thanks to impressive fade. His delivery adds some deception, though the number of guys with similar deliveries that don't have at least intermittent command issues is pretty small.

Whenever you see a kid throwing this kind of heat, there is always the concern about reliever risk or injuries. Those concerns are completely fair as the road to the majors is littered with crazy talented guys who blow their arms out or cannot harness their stuff. It is just how things go a lot of the time.

However, Mejia does seem different. This isn't a situation where he looks the same as he did in the DSL and he is just overpowering kids. Mejia is certainly bullying these kids to be sure, but he is improving. The scary part is that if scouts are close to right after finally seeing him, Mejia is getting better and should continue to do so.

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