Baltimore Orioles See Farm System Take Major Hit in Rankings

After some prospects got called up, the Baltimore Orioles' farm system has taken a major hit.

Sep 19, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday (7) drives in two runs on his fourth inning double against the San Francisco Giants at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles have officially punched their ticket to the postseason, despite struggling for months now, they will be playing in October. 

It has been a strange year for the Orioles, after being one of the best teams in the league to start the season, they have been hovering around and below .500 for most of the second half. 

Due to the massive change in their record, there are multiple reasons for the struggles of Baltimore. The Orioles have been built on a strong young lineup as years of top picks and development have resulted in them having one of the most talented lineups in baseball. 

While the lineup has a ton of young talent, young talent can sometimes have struggles. Baltimore has seen some growing pains this campaign, and that has been part of the team having some struggles. 

This year, there have been some more young players called up and that has left the farm system for the first time in years looking a bit thin. 

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently ranked the Orioles’ farm system 23rd to end the season, as the system took a hit with players moving on. 

“The Orioles graduated Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad and Cade Povich from, arguably, the best farm system in baseball heading into the season, while also trading Connor Norby to the Miami Marlins at the deadline. The result is a significantly thinned-out top prospect list, though they still have a pair of potential future stars in Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo and a quality pitching prospect with swing-and-miss stuff in Chayce McDermott.”

The Orioles’ farm system was arguably the best in the league at the beginning of the season, as Baltimore had the best prospect in baseball in Jackson Holliday. The young infielder is expected to be a star in the league, but he hasn’t hit the ground running in the Majors yet. 

Even though Holliday has been called up, the Orioles still have two superb prospects in Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo who are regarded as Top-10 prospects by many currently. 

These two players will likely be called up fairly early on in 2025 if they aren’t already on the roster to start the season next year. This will be another hit to the farm system, as the rebuild for the Orioles has been completed. 

While the farm system has dropped significantly in the rankings, Baltimore has had a lot of good players come up through their system in recent years.