A whopping 5 of O's 10 int'l signees among MLB Pipeline's Top 50

Since MLB Pipeline began ranking the top international prospects in 2012, just eight clubs had ever signed five ranked players (the list expanded from 30 to 50 in '22), last achieved by the Padres in ‘21.

That group now has company in the form of the Orioles and their 2026 class.

Baltimore has landed a gargantuan haul right out of the gate, agreeing to deals with shortstop Jose Luis Acevedo (No. 14), outfielders Ariel Roque (No. 18) and Pedro Gomez (No. 35), left-handed pitcher Andri Hidalgo (No. 25) and outfielder/first baseman Gabriel Rosario (No. 41). Cue Mr. Splash and the bird bath.

The Orioles received $8,034,900 in pool money this year -- tied for the highest allotment in the league -- and they certainly put it to good use. The five players featured on the Top 50 International Prospects list alone reportedly combined to command $6.85 million of that figure, with the club using a top-heavy approach to hone in on a class it feels could pay some significant dividends at the big league level.

The O’s also agreed to deals with shortstop Jhostin Aybar, outfielders Joshddy Castillo and Carlos Rubecindo and catchers Luis Dias and Ray Faria. In total, they have signed eight players out of the Dominican Republic and two from Venezuela thus far.

“We are thrilled to welcome these outstanding individuals and their families to Birdland,” Orioles vice president of international scouting and operations Koby Perez said in a statement. “This signing period brings an exciting new group of talented young players into our organization. None of this would be possible without the dedication and hard work of our staff, along with the continued support of Mike Elias and our partnership group, in advancing our international operations.”

The cream of the crop is Acevedo, a right-handed-hitting shortstop from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, who is so advanced in the box that one evaluator succinctly summed him up by saying: “All he does is hit.”

Landing a franchise-record $2.3 million signing bonus, Acevedo also has the athletic traits to hold down the premium position long term. At No. 14 overall, he slots in as the highest-ranked player the Orioles have landed over the past decade-plus.

If not for Acevedo, Roque would be Baltimore’s all-time highest-ranked signee. Built like a hard-hitting safety on the gridiron, the left-handed-hitting native of the D.R. has the type of athletic body that would enable him to be successful at whatever sport he put his mind to.

There’s a lot of polish at the dish for Roque, who keeps his hands fairly high but utilizes oodles of bat speed to consistently get to all types of pitches, often spraying line drives from gap to gap. A surefire bet to stick in center field as he moves into pro ball, he also has plus wheels that he utilizes to impact the game with the glove and on the basepaths.

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Pitching is notoriously difficult to project on the international market, largely due to the limited reps that many Latin American teenagers receive against high-end competition. There are just three hurlers among this year’s Top 50 list, but leading the pack is Hidalgo, a 6-foot-4 southpaw with significant projection.

The Dominican Republic native has been able to rely upon his fastball/slider combo as an amateur, routinely cranking his heater up into the low 90s as a 16-year-old. Unlike many of his counterparts, Hidalgo took to pitching full time at a young age (around 12), which has allowed him to craft a smooth and repeatable delivery despite his long levers. It’s easy to envision that if he were MLB Draft-eligible, he would have the kind of upside that many teams would consider with their first-round selection.

As a proverbial cherry on top of its star-studded class, Baltimore is also banking on the upsides of Gomez and Rosario, both of whom are seen as slugging corner-outfield types in the long run, but ones who could impact the game offensively if everything comes together.

It was five years ago to the day that the club signed No. 1 prospect Samuel Basallo at the opening of the 2021 international signing period. MLB’s top-ranked catching prospect received a then-club record $1.3 million to put his name on the dotted line and has since blossomed into a future cornerstone of Orioles baseball.

But it’s also a reminder of the runway that comes with the international market. Basallo hit just .239 with a .748 OPS in his debut campaign in the Dominican Summer League. Those numbers ticked up as he came stateside the following year, but it wasn’t until 2023 that he truly began to blossom, culminating in his MLB debut just four days after turning 21 years old last August.

As Baltimore’s farm system continues to churn following the recent spate of players who have made their way to Camden Yards, this latest infusion of talent will keep the pipeline chugging right along.

An international player is eligible to sign with a Major League team between Jan. 15 and Dec. 15. He must turn 16 before he signs and be 17 before Sept. 1 the following year.

That means players born between Sept. 1, 2008, and Aug. 31, 2009, will be eligible to sign in the current signing period. Players must be registered with Major League Baseball in advance to be eligible to sign.