2021 Orioles Prospect Power Rankings (Top 50)

[Sports Guy]

2 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

He is definitely trending up. The more I've watched him at Delmarva the more I really think he may be something special. I just really like his ABs and for young inexperienced hitter, he really doesn't get fooled all that much. He has BIG time power that comes from a violent, but smooth swing.

Defensively he's got plenty of arm for the hot corner but still needs to work on his foot work on his throws. My biggest concern for him over there is his height. There are not many long time, 6-5 third basemans in MLB history. Kris Bryant is 6-5 and has played some third base, but they also used him in the outfield and first base. Alec Bohm is 6-5 but has been well below average defensively so far in the big leagues and may need to move to first base, 

Scott Rolen was 6-4 and played an effective 3B across his entire career, as well as Mike Lowell, but those guys are few and far between. Obviously Cal Ripken was 6-4 and some say 6-5 and ended up playing 3B effectively after moving there later in his career.

I haven't seen enough of him defensively to say he'll need to move so he certainly should play there everyday for now. 

Either way, I love the K-BB ratio combined with the huge power and the good arm combo. He's not going to win a ton of sprint races, but he's not base clogger so if he needed to move to the right field he would probably be fine speed wise. 

He has impressed me. He's the one guy on Delmarva that looks like a "can't miss guy" and he's the youngest. Not to say I don't like others there, but Mayo right now really has stood out to me.

 

The good news, even if he does have to switch positions, that bat plays anywhere.  

[RZNJ]

I am no hitting expert, BUT the hip rotation is impressive! 

Big kid looks like he generates a ton of power.

[Tony-OH]

6 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

I am no hitting expert, BUT the hip rotation is impressive! 

Big kid looks like he generates a ton of power.

That actually is a very good thing to point out and I agree. His hips just explode through the ball and he has some of the best rotation in the organization. 

[bobmc]

9 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

That actually is a very good thing to point out and I agree. His hips just explode through the ball and he has some of the best rotation in the organization. 

I'm curious what you see in Creed Willems thus far.  You have him at 20.  Is he just catching?

[Tony-OH]

42 minutes ago, bobmc said:

I'm curious what you see in Creed Willems thus far.  You have him at 20.  Is he just catching?

I'm going purely off his scouting reports from the draft and his signing bonus. I've seen a few swings on video but not enough to make any kind of assessment. He's only caught 2 games so far but has caught 2 or 3 runners attempting to steal. I look forward to seeing him next year in Delmarva.

[bobmc]

25 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I'm going purely off his scouting reports from the draft and his signing bonus. I've seen a few swings on video but not enough to make any kind of assessment. He's only caught 2 games so far but has caught 2 or 3 runners attempting to steal. I look forward to seeing him next year in Delmarva.

Ok thanks!

 

[RZNJ]

24 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I'm going purely off his scouting reports from the draft and his signing bonus. I've seen a few swings on video but not enough to make any kind of assessment. He's only caught 2 games so far but has caught 2 or 3 runners attempting to steal. I look forward to seeing him next year in Delmarva.

You think he starts the season there?   Even Mayo had to put some time in at the FCL.     Willems isn't going to have many AB's by the end of the season from the looks of it.

[Tony-OH]

6 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

You think he starts the season there?   Even Mayo had to put some time in at the FCL.     Willems isn't going to have many AB's by the end of the season from the looks of it.

I think he will depend on a few things, but as a $1 million dollar bonus player at 19 years old, I would think he'd have an opportunity to start there next year. He's a high quality make up kid so unless he was totally dominated next spring, I can seen him getting 400 PAs next year there.

[LookinUp]

I think by this time next year Mayo will be considered a similar or better overall prospect to Henderson. Part of that is my opinion that Henderson is/was slightly overrated as a hitter. I love his power, but am not sure he'll barrel as much as we hope. I think Mayo's bat might be better.

But it's premature and guys change, particularly over offseasons.

[Tony-OH]

9 minutes ago, LookinUp said:

I think by this time next year Mayo will be considered a similar or better overall prospect to Henderson. Part of that is my opinion that Henderson is/was slightly overrated as a hitter. I love his power, but am not sure he'll barrel as much as we hope. I think Mayo's bat might be better.

But it's premature and guys change, particularly over offseasons.

Maybe, maybe not. Mayo has shown much better played discipline than Henderson showed and he put up much better FCL numbers than Henderson. We have to remember that Mayo, had he had a real senior year, may have gone much higher. 

I know Henderson is playing SS but I think he's a 3B long term so they may end up playing the same position unless Mayo has to move off the hot corner (not anytime soon).

Obviously Henderson's lack of plate discipline has exposed him a bit in High A and we haven't seen Mayo long enough in Low-A to get a real good assessment of his hitting ability so it may be a bit premature to move him over Henderson, but I have to admit, Mayo just gets me excite when I watch him play and although I like Henderson, his fielding woes and struggles at High-A have dimmed his star a bit.

[RZNJ]

I think/hope Henderson is in the process of making adjustments.  The both have a lot of power.  It appears Mayo might be better, at this point, at recognizing different pitches and making more consistent contact. Very early to say even that. 

[Sports Guy]

2 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Maybe, maybe not. Mayo has shown much better played discipline than Henderson showed and he put up much better FCL numbers than Henderson. We have to remember that Mayo, had he had a real senior year, may have gone much higher. 

I know Henderson is playing SS but I think he's a 3B long term so they may end up playing the same position unless Mayo has to move off the hot corner (not anytime soon).

Obviously Henderson's lack of plate discipline has exposed him a bit in High A and we haven't seen Mayo long enough in Low-A to get a real good assessment of his hitting ability so it may be a bit premature to move him over Henderson, but I have to admit, Mayo just gets me excite when I watch him play and although I like Henderson, his fielding woes and struggles at High-A have dimmed his star a bit.

It wouldn’t be surprising to me if Henderson dropped off some top 100 lists.  He isn’t on them By a lot and if he continues to struggle, he could get passed by. 

[LookinUp]

Agree with most of you, but Henderson is in a higher level and showed very nicely in the lower level too. 

My hope with Henderson and most of the guys who have struggled this year is that they're struggling because they're being introduced to new concepts and are thinking instead of playing naturally. That's something that should go away in time, I'd hope.

[Jammer7]

I think Henderson should be just fine. He needs to make some adjustments in his approach in some situations, and he may not be a SS for long, but he is a talent. He may not be the quick-rising superstar that some hoped for when he was tearing up Delmarva, but he is still a very good prospect with legit power and arm tools. Aberdeen is notoriously a difficult park to hit for power, just saying. His intangibles are excellent, and that will help him process what he is going through. The struggle will make him stronger, and a better player long term. He is 20 yoa in High A. 

[luismatos4prez]

I don't think there's a lot of prospects who strike out 30%+ of the time in the minors and turn into successful big league hitters. I'm bearish on Stowers for that reason.

Yet, I think Adam Hall (who also Ks a lot) has been demoted too far in your power rankings. He's still a Top 30 guy for me, I think he'll bounce back next year, though he will likely not get added to the 40 man roster like I would've guessed before the year.

Joey Ortiz would be Top 25 for me. He was really impressive this year before he got hurt.

Zach Watson is an organizational guy to me. Barely Top 50. He's 24 and his minor league OBP is under .300.