Baltimore Orioles Outfield Prospect Has Elite Power and Speed

Vance Honeycutt of the Baltimore Orioles has the abilty to be a 30/30 player.

Jun 18, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels center fielder Vance Honeycutt (7) celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Florida State Seminoles during the fifth inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

As the Baltimore Orioles limp into the final week of the season, they will have six more games to gain some momentum before the playoffs start. 

The Orioles have a big series coming up against the New York Yankees to start the week, as they will be trying to officially clinch their playoff berth. 

Since Baltimore has been under .500 for months now, there is clearly a lot wrong with the team. Coming into the season, the Orioles were expected to lean heavily on their talented young lineup that seemingly had young stars at every position. 

While some of their young players have been performing up to expectations, like Gunnar Henderson, other players like Jackson Holliday and Adley Rutschman have struggled for the Orioles. 

Even though they have a ton of young talent already in the Majors, Baltimore has more talented prospects in the minors league that they hope will continue to develop as well. One of those appealing prospects is outfielder Vance Honeycutt. 

MLB.com recently ranked some of the best power-speed prospects and Honeycutt made the list with his ability to hit for power and run the bases. 

“Honeycutt is a 2024 first-round pick with ridiculous tools (60 power, 65 run). But the North Carolina product has even more questions about his hit tool, something he’ll have to answer after striking out in nearly 43 percent of his plate appearances during his pro debut. Despite the swing-and-miss concerns, Honeycutt had 20-20 seasons with the Tar Heels as a freshman in 2022 (25 HR, 29 SB) and this past spring (28-28).”

Even though things might not be looking great for the Orioles right now, this is an organization that has done a good job developing their young hitting prospects in recent years. 

While Honeycutt had just got a taste of the minors after being selected in the first-round from the North Carolina Tar Heels, he showed the ability to hit home runs and steal bases in college. 

In 176 games with the Tar Heels, the young prospect totaled 65 home runs and 76 stolen bases. As teams try to find the next 50/50 player to follow Shohei Ohtani, a player like Honeycutt has real 30/30 potential. 

It’s likely going to be a few years before Honeycutt is called up, but he is one of the best prospects in the organization and, with his unique ability to have power and speed, he will certainly be a prospect to keep an eye on.