Baltimore Orioles Young Core Players Ranked Among Best in Majors

The Baltimore Orioles have a core of players that one site believes has the franchise built to succeed for the long haul.

Sep 2, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (left) celebrates his first inning solo home run with first baseman Ryan OíHearn (right) against the Chicago White Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles are one of the best teams in baseball. For the past half-dozen years the franchise has built around young talent.

And, it’s paying off.

ESPN recently ranked each Major League team’s core players against one another. It’s the third year that the site has conducted the exercise and Baltimore came in No. 3.

The Orioles have been on the rise in these rankings since they started in 2022. In the inaugural rankings, Baltimore was No. 13. Last year the Orioles were No. 6.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were No. 1, followed by the Atlanta Braves.

ESPN ranked players on three different tiers based on WAR, or wins above replacement. The site had two Orioles at the elite level, which is a WAR of +5.0 or better — infielder Gunnar Henderson and catcher Adley Rutschman.

These are players the site sees as MVP level players. Henderson was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2023. He also finished eighth in AL MVP voting and was awarded a Silver Slugger. Henderson is having an MVP-level this season.

Rutschman was one of the first young prospects to get to the Majors, as the first-round pick in 2019 is now one of the game’s top catchers. He’s been selected to the All-Star Game twice, finished in the Top 10 in MVP voting in 2023, won a Silver Slugger and was second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2022.

Three Orioles are listed as plus players, or those with a WAR of +3.0-5.0. One is pitcher Kyle Bradish, who is out for the season. Another is third baseman Jordan Westburg, who has been fighting injuries.

The third is outfielder Colton Cowser, who is one of the favorites to win the AL Rookie of the Year award.

From there, the Orioles have a wealth of solid players, those with WARs below +3.0. Twenty players are listed there, including top young players like Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo and Heston Kjerstad, along with prospects that haven’t hit the Majors yet like Enrique Bradfield Jr. and Samuel Basallo.

That’s not a surprise. The emphasis on these rankings were on teams that have control over players for the next two seasons, excluding age and salaries.

To ESPN, it’s no surprise the Orioles are where they’re at:

“The slew of prospects we've been waiting to see become the Orioles' major league core has arrived and Baltimore has jumped into the top tier as a result. Henderson and Rutschman are legitimate stars while Westburg and Cowser have made the leap into becoming strong regulars as Holliday, Mayo and Basallo all arrive.”

The Orioles’ time is now and the core is in place.