Baltimore Orioles' Next Prospect to Watch is Another Infield Slugger

A talented infielder with one of the best bats in the minor leagues was recently named the top prospect to watch for the Baltimore Orioles.

Mar 16, 2024; Sarasota, Florida, USA; Baltimore Orioles infielder Coby Mayo (86) scores a run during the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Ed Smith Stadium. / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles have had a busy offseason, but plenty of questions remain for the franchise heading into 2025.

It has been an interesting winter for the Orioles so far, as they have made some good moves, but have already suffered some big blows.

Most notably this winter was the loss of Corbin Burnes in free agency. The ace of the staff in 2024 is heading to the Arizona Diamondbacks on a big deal. The loss of the right-hander is one that the organization hasn’t been able to fix yet, and likely won’t at this point of the offseason.

While Baltimore suffered a major blow to their starting rotation, they do still have one of the best lineups in baseball and plenty of more young talent on the way. One of the reasons why the Orioles have really been successful the last two years has been because of the talented young prospects that the franchise has been developing.

Even though there are a lot of good young players already up, Baltimore still has a few more in the system.

Jake Rill of MLB.com recently wrote about the top prospect to watch for the Orioles in 2025. He chose Coby Mayo as the top prospect to watch for the organization. Not only is he Baltimore's top prospect but he's considered a Top 10 prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline.

“...his potent right-handed bat will likely start to produce as the 2020 fourth-round Draft pick gets more comfortable in the Majors. It should only help him that the left-field wall at Camden Yards is being brought back in closer to the ballpark’s original dimensions,” Rill wrote.

Even though he was chosen as the top prospect to watch in 2025, Mayo has already had a cup of coffee in the majors last season. Unfortunately, it didn’t go all that well for the talented slugger and he hasn't played enough games to graduate from prospect status.

Last year, Mayo totaled a really poor .098 batting average in 41 at-bats. While the sample size was small, the results were really bad. Even though he was bad in the majors, he did hit .293 with 25 home runs in the minor leagues.

However, despite struggles in the majors, the talented prospect is widely regarded as one of the best in the minors, and he will certainly be getting a chance to prove himself again in Baltimore.

Mayo has the ability to play either first or third base, as the Orioles will need to find where he is going to be able to fit and get a proper chance to prove himself in the big leagues.

As the Orioles head into 2025, there are going to be a lot of question marks regarding their rotation. However, they will also need their lineup to be better than it was in the second half of last season.

Since Mayo is one of the best prospects in baseball, he should get an opportunity at some point in 2025 and will be a player to watch.