Inside The Orioles

Expensive Baltimore Orioles Hidden Gem Prospect Making Waves in Minors

The Baltimore Orioles farm system has seen a pitcher climb up the rankings this year.

Dylan Sanders

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. / Maya Carter/Asheville Citizen Times / USA TODAY NETWORK
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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.

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.

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Dylan Sanders

DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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