Expensive Baltimore Orioles Hidden Gem Prospect Making Waves in Minors
![Providence's Michael Forret (11) pitches during their game at Roberson on May 27, 2022. The Providence Panthers defeated the Roberson Rams 3-0. Providence's Michael Forret (11) pitches during their game at Roberson on May 27, 2022. The Providence Panthers defeated the Roberson Rams 3-0.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4040,h_2272,x_0,y_113/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/inside_the_orioles/01j4yytp208fctzxt0ka.jpg)
Late-round draft picks in the MLB draft can be a complete shot in the dark and it looks like one flier that the Baltimore Orioles took is starting to work out.
As Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter looked around the league's farm systems for breakout prospects, Michael Forret came up for the Orioles.
"[Baltimore has] had more success developing hitters in recent years, but it looks like they may have uncovered a quality arm when they took Forret in the 14th round of the 2023 draft and gave him three times slot value with a $450,000 bonus," said Reuter. "The 6'3", 190-pound right-hander has seen an uptick in his velocity since starting his pro career, and with a 3.87 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 100 strikeouts in 76.2 innings between Single-A and High-A, his stock is trending up."
The 20-year-old entered the season as an unranked prospected for Bleacher Report and is currently the No. 23 player in the Orioles farm system for the MLB pipeline rankings.
He's split time in the starting rotation and coming out of the bullpen, but mostly works as a stater. He has only reached 70 pitches once this season but also hasn't thrown less than 50. He's projected to be a bottom of the rotation starter, but could also find a relief role if he can pick up the velocity on his fastball.
The righty mows down right-handed batters but has struggled against lefties. When facing other righties, they've only gotten a .205/.300/.292 slashing line against him.
What has stood out no matter who he's pitching against has been his high strikeout numbers. It's a large reason why the hype around him has been building.
As pointed out by Jon Meoli a few weeks ago on the show, the buzz around Michael Forret is loud.
— The Verge- An Orioles MiLB Podcast (@TheVergePod) June 26, 2024
Last night's line: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
The 20-year-old is up to 20 K in 14.2 IP since being promoted to High-A pic.twitter.com/s0HNrocp9f
Since being drafted out of the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, he's averaged 11.8 strikeouts per nine.
While the month of July was his weakest in the minors in terms of ERA, he struck out 13.3 batters per nine.
He's starting to settle into High-A, though, as he had a 3.60 ERA over his last four starts with a .232/.318/.339 slashing line against.
He just needs to work on his consistency as he's liable for a bad outing every couple of games. Once he figures out his control at a more reliable rate, Baltimore could have a real pitcher on their hands.
The North Carolina native is the sixth-highest rank right-handed pitcher in the Orioles farm system and will likely see that rating even higher after an impressive season in the minors.