SARASOTA, Fla. -- Nate George answered a phone call from Orioles Minor League field coordinator Jeff Kunkel on Friday night and got the best possible news a member of Minors camp can receive this early in Spring Training.
The 19-year-old outfielder was heading to Baltimore's big league camp -- well, for one day that is.
"It’s such a blessing," said George, MLB Pipeline's No. 93 overall prospect. "I’m really grateful being able to be around these guys and to just get to work."
After participating in morning workouts on the backfields of the Ed Smith Stadium complex, George played left field for the final four innings of the Orioles' 8-2 Grapefruit League loss to the Pirates on Saturday. He flied out to right field in his only plate appearance in the eighth. But he showcased his 70-grade speed earlier, hustling from first to third on an errant pickoff throw after entering the game as a pinch-runner in the fifth.
George shared the field with several guys who have big league experience (such as Ryan Noda, Maverick Handley and Jhonkensy Noel) while also sitting in the dugout alongside of many of the O's top stars.
"Kind of more just observing right now," George said. "Kind of just watching and seeing how they go about their business, their on-deck routines, how they go about their defensive work."
That's exactly why young players are brought over from Minor League camp this time of year.
"They can learn so much, and that’s something that we’re encouraging all of our Minor League guys that are coming in, either just as just-in-case guys or actually get in the game," manager Craig Albernaz said. "To be around big leaguers, you can learn so much by just observing."
Last Spring Training, George had yet to even play a Minor League game. The 2024 16th-round Draft pick then climbed three levels in '25 (from the Florida Complex League to Single-A Delmarva to High-A Aberdeen) and won the Orioles' Brooks Robinson Minor League Player of the Year Award.
In the process, George went from being off the radar of prospect rankings to breaking into the Top 100.
"For me, I’m a strong believer that everything happens for a reason. I look at last year and sometimes I question why I was so underlooked," George said. "It's not something that I try and let consume my mind. That’s cool to know that, that I’m [now] getting recognized. But at the end of the day, job’s not finished and I still have so much work and so much I need to improve on, so that’s the main focus."
O's getting used to ABS system
After not challenging any pitches in Friday's Grapefruit League opener vs. the Yankees, the Orioles got more involved with the automated ball-strike system (which is coming to MLB in 2026) on Saturday.
In the third inning, right-hander Tyler Wells threw a low changeup to 6-foot-7 slugger Oneil Cruz that was initially called a ball. O's catcher Adley Rutschman used a challenge, and it was overturned to a strike, prompting Rutschman to look over at his teammates in the first-base dugout and pump his right fist.
"I was stoked. For a second, I thought it was a ball because, I mean, Oneil Cruz isn't short," Wells said. "So I thought it could have been a little low, but I'm happy it clipped the zone and I'm happy Adley saw it."
Baltimore also experienced its first unsuccessful challenge of the spring. Handley used one during the seventh inning on a ball thrown by righty Chayce McDermott to Davis Wendzel, but the call was confirmed using the ABS system.
Old friend alert
One of the Orioles' most popular players from 2023-25, Ryan O'Hearn played his first game in a Pirates uniform against his former team. The 32-year-old went deep in his old home spring ballpark, hitting a three-run, left-on-left blast off Dietrich Enns during the Bucs' six-run fifth.
O'Hearn, who signed a two-year, $29 million deal with Pittsburgh in January, received a loud ovation from the O's fans at Ed Smith Stadium prior to his first plate appearance in the first inning. Home-plate umpire Tyler Jones called for time to sweep off home plate and allow the cheers to continue for an extended period.
Rutschman and O'Hearn chatted at home plate for a moment, before right-hander Dean Kremer got O'Hearn to fly out to left field to end the frame.
"It's good to see him," Kremer said. "He's earned everything that he's gotten. I'm beyond proud and happy for him."