Baltimore Orioles Reportedly Promoting Hot-Hitting Prospect to Double-A

The Baltimore Orioles are giving one of their top outfield prospect a chance to test himself with the Bowie Baysox.

Jul 18, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles draft pick Enrique Bradfield Jr. takes batting practice prior to the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles will promote outfield prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr. to Double-A Bowie next week, per MASN Sports.

The Orioles have not confirmed or announced the promotion publicly. Most minor leagues teams are off on Monday. Bowie wrapped up a series on Sunday against Harrisburg. The Baysox start a road trip to Altoona on Tuesday.

Bradfield is currently the No. 4 prospect in Baltimore’s system according to MLB Pipeline. The only prospects ahead of him are infielder Jackson Holliday, catcher Samuel Basallo and infielder Coby Mayo.

Holliday and Mayo are in the Majors now and Basallo is with Bowie.

With High-A Aberdeen, Bradfield slashed .267/.345/.363/.708 with 14 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 26 RBI in 81 games. He scored 63 runs, stole 59 bases, drew 35 walks and struck out 59 times.

He spent part of April and May on Aberdeen’s injured list.

The Orioles selected him in the first round (No. 17 overall) out of Vanderbilt in 2023. The Pembroke Pines, Fla., native played for three different minor league teams last season — the Florida Complex League Orioles, Class-A Delmarva and Aberdeen — and combined to slash .291/.473/.329/.802. He only had three extra-base hits in 25 games, but he stole an average of a base per game.

Notably, in five games with Aberdeen last year he batted .118, so the improvement from last year to this season was incredible.

The 22-year-old is part of one of the deepest farm systems in baseball, one that has been ranked at the top of the league for the past two years, even as it begins to promote those prospects to the Majors.

Those promotions have included Holliday, Mayo, catcher Adley Rutschman, infielder Gunnar Henderson, outfielder Colton Cowser, outfielder Heston Kjerstand (currently at Triple-A Norfolk) and pitcher Grayson Rodriguez.

Bradfield will join another Top 5 prospect in the outfield at Double-A in Dylan Beavers, who was drafted in 2022. Other outfielders among the Top 30 prospects in the system include Jud Fabian, Braylin Tavera, Thomas Sosa, John Rhodes, Hudson Haskin and Stiven Martinez.

MLB Pipeline is set to release a new Top 100 prospects on Tuesday. Bradfield is not among the Top 100, but that could change. Right now, Holliday (No. 1), Basallo (No. 11) and Mayo (No. 14) are the three Orioles listed among the Top 100.

The report also noted that two other Baltimore prospects will be promoted along with Bradfield — outfielders Tavian Josenberger and Reed Trimble.