Top 7 O's storylines for Spring Breakout

March 13th, 2024

This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- It’s almost time for the inaugural Spring Breakout.

For those unaware, Spring Breakout is a four-day prospect showcase taking place at ballparks across Arizona and Florida. The event begins Thursday, which is when the prospect teams assembled by the Orioles and the Pirates will face off at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla. The seven-inning game will air live on MLB Network and MLB’s digital platforms at 7:05 p.m. ET.

“It’s going to be an incredible experience to just showcase what I’m capable of, and what we’re capable of,” said O’s No. 2 prospect Samuel Basallo via team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “Being able to share the field with other talented and special players is going to be great.”

Here are seven things fans should be excited to see from the O’s side of Spring Breakout.

1. Jackson Holliday vs. Paul Skenes
MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 prospect vs. the No. 3 prospect. The top hitting prospect vs. the top pitching prospect. The No. 1 pick from the 2022 MLB Draft vs. the No. 1 pick from the ‘23 Draft.

It’ll be the second meeting of the spring between Holliday and Skenes, who is set to start the Spring Breakout exhibition for Pittsburgh. On Feb. 29, Skenes got Holliday to ground out to second base in a two-pitch at-bat at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, but Holliday could win the matchup this time.

“Any time you get to face somebody, it gives you a better idea of the second time you get to face them,” Holliday said. “So I’m excited about that.”

2. Jackson Holliday, period
If you haven’t watched the 20-year-old prodigy play this spring, you don’t want to miss this opportunity to do so. A legitimate candidate to break camp with Baltimore, Holliday is 10-for-31 (.323) with two doubles, two triples, one homer, five RBIs and two stolen bases in 10 games.

Holliday, a natural shortstop, is also proving he can handle second base. He’ll be in the Spring Breakout lineup, and he could be in the Orioles’ Opening Day lineup on March 28.

3. A glimpse at a future No. 1 overall prospect?
Since May 2022, the Orioles have had three players with a stint atop MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list: Catcher Adley Rutschman, infielder Gunnar Henderson and Holliday. Basallo could join the exclusive club in the future.

A 19-year-old catcher/first baseman in big league camp for the first time, Basallo is still recovering from a right elbow stress fracture. He won’t catch in games until late April, but he’s getting time as the club’s designated hitter in Grapefruit League action and he should get one or two at-bats at Spring Breakout.

4. Coby Mayo’s 70-grade power
No player in Baltimore’s farm system has a more powerful bat than Mayo. The 22-year-old third baseman slugged 29 homers and posted a .973 OPS in 140 games between Triple-A Norfolk and Double-A Bowie last season, and the O’s No. 4 prospect is having a terrific spring.

5. Enrique Bradfield Jr.’s 80-grade speed
No player in Baltimore’s farm system has greater speed than Bradfield. A first-round pick in the 2023 Draft, the 22-year-old went 25-for-27 on stolen base attempts in 25 games last season, split between High-A Aberdeen, Single-A Delmarva and the Rookie-level Florida Complex League. Baltimore’s No. 6 prospect has made several blistering Grapefruit League appearances this spring.

6. Cade Povich’s strikeout-inducing stuff
Although the top eight prospects in the Orioles’ system are position players, there are some talented pitchers coming through the pipeline as well. Left-hander Cade Povich (No. 10) will start the Spring Breakout game, and he has great swing-and-miss stuff.

Povich racked up 171 strikeouts in 126 2/3 innings between Bowie and Norfolk last season, and the 23-year-old has a 1.29 ERA with nine strikeouts in seven Grapefruit innings this spring.

7. Potentially the most underrated prospect in baseball
Connor Norby, a 23-year-old second baseman, is coming off a 2023 season in which he slashed .290/.359/.483 with 40 doubles, three triples, 21 homers, 92 RBIs and 104 runs scored in 138 games with Triple-A Norfolk. And he’s the club’s No. 7 prospect.

If Norby was in a different organization, he could easily be a club’s No. 1 or No. 2 prospect.

“I agree,” O’s manager Brandon Hyde said. “If he is under the radar, he shouldn’t be, because he can really hit.”