Baltimore Orioles Young Superstars Make Top 100 Players List

Two of the Baltimore Orioles' homegrown players are ranked among the Top 100 players in all of baseball.

The Baltimore Orioles have a ton of young talent in their minor-league pipeline. Some of it, like No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday, could make the team coming out of spring training.

But some of it is already considered among the Top 100 players in baseball, according to ESPN’s latest rankings.

Two of those players — catcher Adley Rutschman and third baseman Gunnar Henderson were among the Top 40 ranked players on the list. Both are homegrown players, former draft picks the Orioles’ organization has molded into up-and-coming stars.

The third Orioles player to make the list is their most recent acquisition, pitcher Corbin Burnes.

Rutschman has grown quickly into one of the game’s top players, and ESPN had him at No. 11.

Rutschman, made the All-Star Game for the first time and was named the Silver Slugger at his position. In just two full seasons in the Majors he’s built a slash line of .268/.369/.439/.808 with 33 home runs and 122 RBI.

He’s finished in the Top 12 of MVP voting in each of his first two seasons in the Majors. He may already be considered the game’s top overall catcher. Rutschman was the Orioles’ first-round pick in 2019 out of Oregon State.

Henderson, who was the American League Rookie of the Year last season, was ranked No. 37. He played in 150 games and slashed .255/.325/.489/.814 with 29 doubles, nine triples, 28 home runs and 82 RBI. He also stole 10 bases. He was also a Silver Slugger selection.

Baltimore selected Henderson in the second round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Morgan High School in Selma, Ala.

Burnes was No. 21 on the list and he’s not stranger to being included in these Top 100 lists. Burnes has just one year left on his deal and the Orioles hope that he’s worth the trade, which is hoped to help get them over the top in the American League and into their first World Series since 1983.

Burnes has won at least 10 games each of his last three seasons and in 2021 he had an MLB-low 2.43 ERA. In 2023 he went 10-8 with a 3.39 ERA in 32 starts and had an NL-best WHIP of 1.069. He also won the 2021 Cy Young award. Burnes will make $16 million this season.