Baseball America Orioles Top 10

[LookinUp]

A few thoughts for @Tony-OH and others in this thread...

1. I'm not sure how often I rep posts. No clue, but Tony knows my interest is very much in the minors forum.

2. Tony's minor league lists are far and away better than any others. I do check into others. None come close to Tony's. They have real information and not just stat-line scouting and best possible outcome predictions.

3. A lot of people here, particularly new people, gravitate to Orioles Talk. I get it, but there's just less exposure in the minors forum. That's why Tony moved the 31-50 list to O's Talk for a while there.

4. I agree that a lot of people care much more about our feckless pursuit of free agency. I don't, but understand that others do.

5. Most importantly, I show my support by continuing my plus membership for the last 15+ years. I highly encourage others to do so. The unfortunate part of the internet is good work like Tony's is readily available for free. I think people should put their money (it's not much) where there mouths and rep points are and actually give a financial appreciation for what you're gaining here.

[ChuckS]

On 11/30/2023 at 2:26 PM, Tony-OH said:

It's not about the rep points, it's just nice to know people appreciate the work you put in. It's just surprising when I see people get a bunch of reactions for just posting info from another source when the same posters couldn't take the time to react to actual hours upon hours of work.

But honestly, I've been thinking of slowing down anyways and after seeing the lack of interest in the lists this year just made me realize that when the team is doing doing good, the focus is much stronger on the big league offseason than on the minors and the prospects. 

I know a few of you care a lot, but I'm not sure people know how much time goes into watching video, reading stuff, and analyzing statistics it takes to try and give people a good understanding of the prospects.

The juice just may not be worth the squeeze any longer. I'll still do the top 30, but will probably just throw a few names out as players to follow next year vs spending all the time researching the 65th prospect. The more I think about the more absurd it seems to be that I actually go that deep when about 10 people give a crap.

 

Reading your prospect rankings every fall is like Christmas morning for several weeks in a row.  

Now, I have to admit I do lose interest around #50 or so.  So if you are looking to scale it back, I would maybe just cut it down.  But it would be a big loss, not to get the content (especially the top 30).  It is highly valued, appreciated, and maybe expected to a certain extent which could account for the moderate number of reactions.  

It is much appreciated and may be the most valuable content this website offers, so to lose it would be a big disappointment (for me at least). 

Edited December 3, 2023 by ChuckS

[Frobby]

BA did a podcast this week with Jon Meoli about the BA Orioles top ten.  I haven’t listened yet but thought I’d post a link.   https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2024-orioles-top-10-prospects-podcast/

[LookinUp]

13 hours ago, Frobby said:

BA did a podcast this week with Jon Meoli about the BA Orioles top ten.  I haven’t listened yet but thought I’d post a link.   https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2024-orioles-top-10-prospects-podcast/

Meoli is always good, but they didn’t spend a ton of time on prospects to be honest. Beavers, Cowser and Kjerstad weren’t even mentioned.

A lot about the ML team, Holliday and DL Hall, who is still a prospect in BA’s eyes. Meoli did mention DeLeon, but nothing about recently drafted pitching. They did talk about McDermott and Povich, with predictably mixed assessments.

I could listen to this stuff forever, but this pod just scratched the surface of what Meoli could discuss.

 

[RZNJ]

BA players who just missed our top 30.

Baltimore Orioles

Kiefer Lord, RHP

BA Grade: 45/High

Track Record: Lord was one of the most fascinating stories in the 2023 draft as a self-taught pitcher who built his arm strength using online videos while at Division III Carleton (Minn.) before transferring to Washington for his junior year. The Orioles, enamored of his drive and aptitude to improve, signed him for slightly below slot at $760,000 as a 2023 third-rounder. He made one appearance in the Florida Complex League before he was shut down for the season.

Scouting Report: Lord’s riding fastball was his best pitch at Washington. It sits in the mid 90s and tops out at 99 mph. It was also his carrying pitch–he threw it more than 70% of the time. The Orioles believe he can be more effective as he mixes in his secondaries more often. His slider is the best of them as an average pitch that was 83-84 mph and up to 86 with good shape at Washington, followed by an upper-70s curveball that he showed the ability to spin.

The Future: Throwing that curveball and adding an effective changeup will be separators for Lord as he tries to stay in a rotation, though the fastball can help him move through the minors quickly. He’ll likely begin at Low-A Delmarva as he pursues a back-end rotation major league future.

Scouting Grades Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 30 | Control: 50 

Keagan Gillies, RHP

BA Grade: 45/High

Track Record: Gillies’ fifth season pitching out of the Tulane bullpen was his best, and the Orioles signed him as a 15th-round graduate student in 2021 for $50,000 based on that success. He missed most of 2022 with injury but was a revelation in 2023, striking out 61 in 40.2 innings with a 0.81 WHIP and a strikeout rate of 39.8% between High-A Aberdeen and Double-A Bowie.

Scouting Report: An imposing 6-foot-8 presence on the mound, Gillies works downhill with an over-the-top delivery and boasts an effective three-pitch mix he uses to work north-south. He averaged 93.5 mph on his fastball, but the pitch plays up with plus traits because of the extension he gets off the mound and the carry on the pitch. He tunnels his above-average mid-80s slider and above-average splitter off the pitch well, elevating the quality of his entire arsenal, meaning hitters have to quickly determine what they’re seeing. The pair of secondaries means Gillies has weapons for both righthanded and lefthanded hitters.

The Future: Gillies is already a reliever and won’t move off that path, but his quality pitch mix and ability to throw strikes could help him have a long career in a major league bullpen. He could return to Double-A Bowie in 2024, but may move quickly and could help the Orioles’ bullpen at some point next year.

Scouting Grades Fastball: 60 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 50 

 

[scarey1999]

2 hours ago, RZNJ said:

BA players who just missed our top 30.

Baltimore Orioles

Kiefer Lord, RHP

BA Grade: 45/High
 

 

I remember not long ago when if you were a 45/45+, that meant you were in the top 10. Sometimes quite easily. 

[Sports Guy]

I wonder where Ortiz fills in on Milwaukee’s list?  I guess Hall too since they still have him as a prospect.

[RZNJ]

24 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

I wonder where Ortiz fills in on Milwaukee’s list?  I guess Hall too since they still have him as a prospect.

Someone quote me so this clown, who has me on ignore, can see this.  Lol

Using their top 100 Hall would slot in at #5 and Ortiz probably at #7.   Brewers have a good system.

[Can_of_corn]

9 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Someone quote me so this clown, who has me on ignore, can see this.  Lol

 

 

[jabba72]

On 11/30/2023 at 11:15 AM, Tony-OH said:

Wait, you got six reactions for posting Baseball America content and I think I got 9 thanks or reactions (3 for the top 30, 5 for 31-50, 1 for 51-75) for putting about three weeks of work into a top 75 prospect list, linking content and doing everything I can to provide fans information. I must be doing something wrong. lol Next year I'll just post BA content and save my time.

Oh well, I think I'm going to start ramping down on the amount of info I provide next year since so few people appreciate what I do. I don't think there was as much interest with the team being now at the major league level. Few seems to care about the 31-75 guys from I can tell. No use wasting my time if so few people care. this time of year was when I normally got a lot of reactions and comments which let me know they appreciate the work..

You can just post BA and Fangraph stuff and save me time.

As for the list, no huge quibbles from me.

 

I always thought you're top 75 lists were overkill and you were just doing it out of the love for making lists or something. If you dont enjoy it, theres no sense in going that far. I read them but cant rep, even though I did have a plus membership a few years back. I enjoy reading your lists but the minor league side doesn't get the trraffic that the O's side likely does, so your lists are always going to be under appreciated for the work you put into them. For me, a top 30 list or even a top 15 if you want to cut back is plenty. I'll read them no matter what you decide to do.