Baltimore Orioles Prospect Shows Off Pretty Swing in MLB Futures Game

The Baltimore Orioles top prospect continues to show why he's one of the most coveted players in the minor leagues.

Shorebirds' Samuel Basallo (21) swings in the game against the Cannon Ballers Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, Maryland. The Shorebirds defeated the Cannon Ballers 7-2. / Lauren Roberts/Salisbury Daily Times /

The Baltimore Orioles have a prospect on their hands that is shaping up to be another lethal bat to come out of their system.

As the next generation of MLB stars took the field for Saturday's Futures game for All-Star week, Samuel Basallo got the chance to represent Baltimore.

Ahead of the game, Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter listed Basallo as the No. 4 overall prospect in the game. He's No. 12 on the overall MLB pipeline and the No. 2 in the Orioles' farm system.

"[He] was arguably the biggest breakout prospect of the 2023 season, hitting .313/.402/.551 with 26 doubles, 20 home runs and 86 RBI in 114 games over three minor league levels to fly up Top 100 lists," said Reuter. "He has a .787 OPS with 14 doubles, 12 home runs and 38 RBI in 75 games at Double-A this year and looks like the next impact bat to emerge from the Baltimore system.

He didn't have a huge impact in the game itself, going 0-for-1 at the plate while drawing a walk. His one out was a groundout that was converted for a double play.

Fans' favorite moment of the day for the 19-year-old actually came from before the game as the MLB Pipeline account on X shared a clip of him taking batting practice.

Samuel Basallo, the @Orioles' No. 2 prospect and MLB's No. 12, taking some cuts ahead of the Futures Game pic.twitter.com/kL0cvVJv7R

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 13, 2024

His swing continues to look better and better, making it clear why he's such a highly valued prospect.

One of the big questions of the upcoming MLB trade deadline, is whether or not he will be moved.

Baltimore has a huge need at starting pitcher and with a prospect as good as Basallo, they could potentially trade for an impact starter rather than just a stopgap.

With his natural position being catcher, it's clear to understand why teams might believe him to be expendable. That position is locked down for the foreseeable future by Adley Rutschman.

Still, the Orioles will want to keep a hold of him for as long as possible, viewing a trade involving him as a last resort rather than a luxury.

He's begun to work out at first base, which would be a great fit given the potential of his bat. It's been a fine transition so far with him getting more and more comfortable at the position. He did play catcher in the Futures Game, though.

The Dominican Republic native was a huge international signing back in early 2021 and has panned out as well as they could have expected.