Orioles Former Top Prospect Says He's 'Ready' After Career-Best Day

One of the Baltimore Orioles former top prospects says he finally feels ready to become a contributor for this team after his breakout performance.

May 25, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Baltimore Orioles outfielder Kyle Stowers (28) hits a single in the fifth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. / Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles have a loaded farm system.

Everyone across baseball knows that by now as they have graduated multiple high-end prospects who have turned into stars at the Major League level and still have tons of talent waiting in their pipeline.

Normally, organizations who have all this talent are looking to cycle them up through the farm quickly to get them to the MLB.

That's not the case for the Orioles.

They are in a great position right now where their team can compete for division titles and make deep playoff runs, which was a reason why the front office decided to trade for Corbin Burnes this offseason.

Because of that, there are fewer opportunities for their talented prospects to stick on the Major League roster.

That's been the case with Jackson Holliday and Heston Kjerstad, who were sent back down to Triple-A to give them more time to develop while playing everyday.

One player who was given another shot was Kyle Stowers.

The 26-year-old was taken in the second round of the 2019 draft by Baltimore behind Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson who have both become the faces of this franchise.

Stowers was given his first chance in 2022, appearing in 34 games while slashing .253/.306/.418 with three homers, eight extra-base hits, and 11 RBI, but he was limited the following year when he struggled by going 2-30 at the plate.

Ranking inside their Top 30 prospects from 2020-22 and peaking at No. 8, he was seen as someone who could eventually become a contributor.

He believes that time is now.

"I feel ready. I feel ready to help this team. I feel confident in my ability. At this point you have to go play and play hard. I control my controllables. Play hard, have a good plan and whatever happens is what happens. But I know that I believe in myself and I feel that I'm ready. Just happy to be here to help this team," he told Steve Melewski of MASN.

Stowers certainly looks like a different hitter.

In nine games since being called up on May 13 this season, he's gone 6-16 with three doubles and five RBI.

Much of that production came on Monday when the former top prospect drove in his career-best four runs in single game against the Boston Red Sox during their 11-3 dominating win.

The Orioles' offense has recently started to look like the unit who was on fire at the beginning of the year, and it seems like manager Brandon Hyde could be giving Stowers more opportunities if he continues to perform.

"Well, I'm trying to play everybody ... I'm trying to get them going honestly too for a lot of different reasons. But I'm also trying to give young guys a chance and give them the best matchups that I can as well," he said.

Playing time will be dictated by performance.

That's the way Hyde has operated.

For Stowers to contribute to this team like he feels he's ready to do, then he'll just need to keep playing well when those chances are given to him.