Tooled-up O's prospect Honeycutt using Arizona Fall League as proving ground

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – It often takes longer than a couple years for a Draft class to make its impact felt at the Major League level, but the draftees chosen at the top in 2024 were no ordinary group.

Travis Bazzana (No. 1 pick) and Chase Burns (No. 2) were All-Stars this season. Jac Caglianone (No. 6) was the American League’s Player of the Month in August. Hagen Smith (No. 5) has been a postseason star as a rookie, while Trey Yesavage (No. 20) was one in his own right last year. Thirteen first-round selections have already made their big league debuts.

Despite all of that, on the night that the Orioles chose Vance Honeycutt with the 22nd overall pick, MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis said during the broadcast what was largely industry consensus around the North Carolina outfielder:

“He’s got the best tools in college baseball … If they can get Vance Honeycutt to be an average hitter, he’s a 30-30 guy.”

Through two pro seasons, if has been the integral part of that sentence. Still just 23 years old, the jury is still out on whether Honeycutt can trim his strikeout rate (career 40 percent mark) enough to get to those loud power and speed tools with enough frequency to impact the Orioles. But his presence in the 2026 Arizona Fall League is an attempt to continue further honing that hit tool, while also making up for lost time after multiple small injuries.

Giving credence to the 30-30 potential is the fact that, despite the limited opportunities on the basepaths due to the strikeouts, Honeycutt has delivered back-to-back seasons with 30+ stolen bases. Dating back to the start of 2025, his 70 steals rank fourth among all Orioles Minor Leaguers.

And the power is still without question. Honeycutt enjoyed an epic home run heater that captivated Grapefruit League play in early March, homering in four consecutive at-bats, including one that went a Statcast-projected 471 feet.

“I think that just kind of built confidence going into the year, something to fall back on throughout the year if things weren't going great,” said Honeycutt. “Just trying to find areas to pull from always, right? This season's so long -- these games, they can get long, so it's just always looking for something to kind of pull from to kind of bring you confidence.”

Honeycutt’s confidence was never higher during the 2026 regular season than over his final 20 games. After homering for High-A Frederick on Aug. 15, the Orioles promoted the North Carolina native to Double-A Chesapeake for the first time. He hit the ground running, collecting knocks in his first five contests and then ripped off an 11-total-base performance on Aug. 28.

All told, Honeycutt hit .288 with a .997 OPS and swiped 10 bags on 11 attempts in his first taste of the upper Minors. He credited the change of scenery with giving him a late-season reset after hitting just .185 with a .644 OPS for Frederick through the season’s first four and a half months.

He’s carried over that confidence in the box to the Arizona Fall League, where he slugged his first home run on the circuit Monday for the Peoria Javelinas at 106.6 mph off the bat. He also added a stolen base and a full-sprint running grab in center field -- those captivating tools, once again on full display.

“Just trying to help the team win. There's other ways to do that, outside of just in the box,” said Honeycutt. “Working on those things [baserunning and defense] in practice and during the games is beneficial, because it’s more than just what shows up in the box score that’s important.”

Honeycutt’s work with the glove has never been in question. A two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year, he received the billing of being a 70-grade fielder (on the 20-80 scale) before he entered pro ball. The swing-and-miss concerns have led to the 2024 first-rounder sliding off the Orioles’ Top 30 Prospects list, but his ability to impact the game defensively at a premium position has never been in question.

The last time Honeycutt was ranked on Baltimore’s Top 30, he maintained his 70-grade fielding tool; for context, there are currently just eight ranked prospects in all of baseball to receive that mark, including fellow Orioles prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr. (No. 18).

“Continuing to do reps in practice, during the day, before the game,” said Honeycutt of his continued focus on being a defensive asset. “Really honing in on it, not trying to take a day off, understanding that even if you are good out there, you can always get better.

“There's always something to chase, so just not taking a pitch off. Really being present during that moment and just trying to get better every day.”