Good morning, Camden Chatters.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re just a couple of weeks away now from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training. As of now, that group of Orioles pitchers still does not include Framber Valdez. I will continue to update you as nothing occurs.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, it\u2019s prospect hype season, as publications continue to drop their top-100 rankings ahead of the 2026 season. Yesterday, The Athletic\u2019s Keith Law unveiled his list<\/a>, not long after Baseball America and MLB Pipeline did so, and the Orioles were well represented with five prospects among his top 100. Mark Brown has the details.<\/a><\/p>\n One notable thing about the lists released so far is that there\u2019s a wide variety of O\u2019s prospects who are highly regarded by at least one source, even if they\u2019re not all in agreement. Only Samuel Basallo and Nate George are included in all three of BA, Pipeline, and Law\u2019s lists, but there are six other prospects who are included on at least one. Dylan Beavers is a top-100 guy for both Baseball America and Pipeline. BA\u2019s list also includes pitchers Trey Gibson and Luis De Le\u00f3n, while Law counts Wehiwa Aloy, Ike Irish, and Enrique Bradfield Jr. among his top 100. That\u2019s a lot of different Orioles prospects with a lot of different skills who are getting some measure of hype from the pundits. That seems like a good thing.<\/p>\n Will any of these prospects contribute to a winning Orioles team in 2026? We know that Basallo and Beavers will be on the roster, and if either one plays well enough to win AL Rookie of the Year, they\u2019ll earn the Orioles an extra draft pick<\/a>. Gibson and Bradfield will be one level away and could debut this season, but they both have things to work on at Triple-A first. It\u2019ll be a longer wait for De Le\u00f3n and the just-drafted Irish and Aloy.<\/p>\n The Orioles might no longer boast the best farm system in baseball as they did in the early years of the rebuild. But there\u2019s no reason to think their talent pipeline is slowing down.<\/p>\n Alonso feeling the love from Orioles fans in his latest visit to Baltimore – School of Roch<\/a><\/p>\n Pete Alonso seems to be exactly the kind of clubhouse leader the O\u2019s were badly lacking in 2025. I like that about him. And also that he hits lots of dingers.<\/p>\n Starting to learn more about how O\u2019s new skipper might handle certain game situations – Steve Melewski<\/a><\/p>\n For those who were frustrated by Brandon Hyde\u2019s slavish devotion to lefty-righty matchups, good news: Craig Albernaz appears a bit more willing to let young lefty hitters face lefty pitchers.<\/p>\n