Misc Baseball News

2023 Baltimore Orioles Top 10 Prospects Chat

Gunnar Henderson Goes Yard In Triple-A Debut

Jon Meoli answered questions regarding the Orioles farm system at noon ET today. You can read the transcript here.

Jon Meoli: Hello! Thanks to everyone who is here checking this out. It’s an honor as always to be part of the BA process, and as I feel like I’ve said the last few years, it’s getting more and more fun to dig into the Orioles’ system given the depth and quality here. By virtue of finding this, you’ve probably already seen the rankings. I would be remiss not to direct everyone interested to my Substack, Maximizing Playoff Odds (jonmeoli.substack.com) if they’re interested in regular content about the Orioles. There are some great questions in here so far, but I’ll answer everything that comes in, so feel free to submit more as we go!

Alex (Bay Area):

    Gunnar Henderson took his game to new heights in 2022. After blowing through AA/AAA he more than held his own during his final month with the big league club going .259/.349/.440 good for +123 OPS. Does Gunnar’s tools now rate 60s pretty much across the board with maybe the exception of speed? Do you think he’ll ave ah hot tosend up in the 25-30 HR range in 2023 when he gets a full year in splitting time between SS and 3rd?

 

Gunnar’s Biggest Fan (Baltimore):

    What is a realistic of fnsiveeceiling for Gunnar? Is a better avg/obp version of Bobby Witt with slightly less power/sb fair? Would a triple slash of .280/.350/.500 with 20 HR/20 SB be within reach in 2023? If so, does that make him the favorite for AL ROY?


Jon Meoli: Let’s start with these two at the top of the chat about the top prospect perhaps in all of baseball, but most certainly the top prospect in the Orioles’ system. In regards to Henderson’s tools, yes they’re plus tools across the board. It’s really a special skill set. I think he’d be the favorite for Rookie of the Year if we had to draw that up now, and 20+ home runs with an .800 or higher OPS would probably be as good a rookie year as one can ask for. He’ll still be starting the season at age-21 and teams will have a plan for how to attack him, so expectations should at least take that into account, but there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be producing like a middle-of-the-order bat for the Orioles over the course of his first full season.

El Pescador (Baltimore):

    The O’s have a ton of quality infield prospects in the pipeline. Jorge Mateo, who has Gold Glove-quality defensive skills at SS but little bat, will probably need to be traded to make room. Who do you see next in line…

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