Baltimore Orioles Could Have Star-Studded Batting Order in Three Years

The Baltimore Orioles have done all this work with their farm system and it’s starting to pay off all over the field.

Sep 25, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) breaks his bat hitting a single against the New York Yankees during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles have been lauded for their player development the past few years and for good reason.

In each of the last three seasons the O’s have had a player finish in the top two in American League Rookie of the Year voting. In 2022, catcher Adley Rutschman finished second. In 2023 Gunnar Henderson won the award. Earlier this month, outfielder Colton Cowser finished second.

Rutschman has already been to the All-Star Game twice, won a Silver Slugger and finished in the Top 10 in MVP voting. Henderson has been to the All-Star Game once, won a Silver Slugger and finished in the Top 8 in MVP voting twice, including fourth this year.

That’s just the start of the embarrassment of riches for the Orioles and the great news is it’s not going anywhere.

Recently, Baseball America put together an everyday lineup for each of the 30 teams in baseball. The lineups are filled with current Major League players and prospects. The significant criteria is the player has to be under the team’s control in 2028. So it’s a three-year projection for where each team is going.

The Orioles are going places.

All three were part of the projected 2028 lineup — Rutschman at catcher, Henderson and shortstop and Cowser in left field.

Four other highly-toughed youngsters with MLB experience are in the lineup too, starting with 2022 No. 1 overall pick Jackson Holliday, who projects to second base. He had a slow start to his MLB career this year, but he picked up some speed once he received regular playing time in the second half.

Jordan Westburg would play third base while Heston Kjerstad would play right field. Coby Mayo, who got a cup of coffee with the Orioles this year and is considered one of their most tradable assets, would start at first base in this lineup.

Two prospects currently in the minor leagues are projected to be part of that lineup. One is Samuel Basallo, considered by some to be the organization’s top prospect. While he plays catcher and first base in the minors, he projects as the designated hitter.

The other is the O’s first-round pick in the 2024 draft, outfielder Vance Honeycutt, who projects as the center fielder.

The incredible part of the lineup is that the only everyday player that will be 30 years old by 2028 is Rutschman.

Baseball America also projected a starting rotation for 2028 that included Kyle Bradish, Grasyon Rodriguez, Cade Povich, Dean Kremer, Chayce McDermott and closer Felix Bautista.