Baltimore Orioles Have Another Outfielder Projected To Rise in Prospect Rankings

The Baltimore Orioles have another talented hitter making his way through their farm system.

Jun 18, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels center fielder Vance Honeycutt (7) catches a fly ball for an out against the Florida State Seminoles during the fifth inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles are loaded with young talent on their Major League team.

Already one of the deepest lineups in the game, there is even more help on the way down the line from their farm system.

The Orioles have done a wonderful job developing draft picks in recent years. Grayson Rodriguez, Adley Rutschman, Jordan Westburg, Heston Kjerstad, Colton Cowser and Jackson Holliday were selected in consecutive first rounds from 2018-2022.

In this year’s first round, the team selected outfielder Vance Honeycutt out of North Carolina with the No. 22 overall pick. He is someone that Jim Bowden of The Athletic thinks very highly of.

In a recent piece, the former MLB executive listed Honeycutt has one of the prospects who will break into his top 50 in 2025.

He came in at No. 8 on this prospect rankings list.

“Vance Honeycutt was the most intriguing player in this year’s draft because he is a legitimate four-tool player and his four plus tools are all graded 65 (on the 20-80 scouting scale), which is extraordinary. However, hitting, the most important tool, is his biggest weakness and question mark. If he hits, he’ll be a star. If he doesn’t, he might not make it to the majors at all,” wrote Bowden.

That is about as clear-cut as things could be when evaluating a prospect.

Honeycutt is elite in several categories, but if his bat doesn’t translate, he is going to be stuck in minor-league purgatory.

In three seasons with the Tar Heels, he had a slash line of .293/.412/.638 with 65 home runs, 30 doubles and seven triples and 76 stolen bases.

To this point, things have not gone well for him with the bat. He is hitting .176 and has struck out in nearly half of his 51 at-bats with 24.

Of course, it is still way too early to make a determination on where his professional career will end up. Despite the ice cold start, Bowden still thinks very highly of the selection.

“But I think the Orioles made a great pick by drafting Honeycutt at No. 22, because if he figures it out at the plate, he has such a high ceiling.”

If anything can be taken away from the last few years, it's that Baltimore is capable of developing hitting talent in the minor leagues. If they can do that again with Honeycutt, they should have a big-time player on their hands with the other areas of the game in which he excels.