This Baltimore Orioles Prospect Flying Under Radar at Arizona Fall League

The Arizona Fall League has been a great experience for a young catcher who has designs on a path to the Majors soon.

Shorebirds' Creed Willems (35) crosses home to score against the Cannon Ballers Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, Maryland. The Shorebirds defeated the Cannon Ballers 7-2. / Lauren Roberts/Salisbury Daily Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Arizona Fall League is a showcase for some of the best prospects in baseball and it's a great opportunity for young players to get extra at bats and opportunities to impress their organization as they try to move up the minor league ladder.

For Baltimore Orioles prospect Creed Willems, the AFL has given him a chance to prove that he's ready to move up to Triple-A Norfolk in 2025.

Baseball America recently highlighted five AFL prospects with Major League potential that are flying under the radar and Willems, a catcher and first baseman, made the list.

Baltimore drafted him in the eighth round in 2021 out of Aledo, Texas, and offered him a $1 million bonus to get him to start his pro career instead of joining TCU on scholarship.

He’s steadily worked his way up the organizational ladder in one of baseball’s best minor league systems, one that produced the 2023 American League Rookie of the Year in Gunnar Henderson and appears poised to do it again with Colton Cowser.

That includes what he did at Double-A Bowie earlier this year. He had a slash line of .243/.322/.462/.784 with 17 home runs for the second straight minor-league season along with  65 RBI.

So why is he flying under the radar? Well, in Baltimore’s system, it’s pretty easy to get overshadowed. After all, for most of the past two years it had the game’s top prospect in infielder Jackson Holliday.

But, per Baseball America, there is something he can do as well as some of the organization’s most-respected prospects:

Among Orioles prospects with 350 or more plate appearances, Willems’ 90th percentile exit velocity of 106 mph ranked fourth behind Thomas Sosa, Samuel Basallo and Coby Mayo. Two of those players rank among BA’s Top 100 prospects. He also does an excellent job at pulling the ball in the air, with a clip of nearly 40% in that department.

In the AFL he’s put together a quality slash line of .283/.345/.434/.779 with one home run and five RBI in 12 games. He’s hoping to play his way into a spot in the AFL Fall Stars game next month.

He’s also hoping this season leads to a promotion to Norfolk in 2025, which would put him one step away from the Majors.

There is the matter of where he fits into the Orioles’ plans long-term. Baltimore appears set at catcher with All-Star Adley Rutschman. And, while Willems is also cross-training at first base, the O’s have Ryan Mountcastle under team control for two more seasons.