With two weeks to go until the All-Star Game, MLB Pipeline’s updated Top Prospect Rankings list has just been released, and it’s undoubtedly an exciting one for O’s fans. Looking back at May’s list, we saw 5 Orioles prospects: DL Hall (No. 83), Colton Cowser (No. 60), Gunnar Henderson (No. 48), Grayson Rodriguez (No. 3) and Adley Rutschman (No. 1). With Rutschman getting the call up in mid-May, he has officially graduated from the prospect list.
When I saw that these updated rankings came out, I had a few thoughts/questions before clicking on the article: 1) Rodriguez is probably still the best pitching prospect in baseball, but the injury is going to knock him down a little bit, but how far? 2) Henderson and Cowser have both been raking in the minors (especially Henderson), will we see big jumps by either of them? 3) Will any of Stowers, Kjerstad or Westburg make an appearance?
In short, I was pleasantly surprised with the answers I got to all three of these questions. G-Rod only dropped one spot, going from No.3 to No.4 despite the injury. Henderson moved up 43 spots all the way to No. 5, Cowser went up 17 spots to No. 43 and Westburg popped up at the end of the list in spot 96. As a little bonus, Hall also rose 15 spots up to number 68 on the updated list. Of course, these spots only mean so much, but I can’t help getting excited when I see these guys continue to climb the rankings.
Let’s look into these 5 names in a little more detail.
No. 96 – Jordan Westburg (2nd, SS, 3rd)
Westburg has done nothing but impress ever since being selected with the 30th overall pick by the Orioles in the 2020 draft. Splitting time between Delmarva, Aberdeen, and Bowie in 2021, Westburg slashed .285/.389/.479 and is currently hitting .276/.349/.534 between Bowie and Norfolk in 2022. Westburg has moved through the O’s farm system rather quickly, and if he continues to hit in AAA like he has so far this season, the O’s will have no choice but to bring him up sooner than later. I’m glad to see that he cracked this list, albeit just barely – I think it’s time he got some recognition for his production in the minors.
No. 68 – DL Hall (LHP):
I’m writing this article just a few hours after DL Hall’s start for the Norfolk Tides: 6IP, 3H, 1R, 2BB, 14K – 98 pitches.
See all 14 strikeouts here
Credit: Youtube – OriolesHighlights
After being drafted 21st overall back in the 2017 Draft, Hall’s only real challenge in the minors has been staying healthy. As he has developed, Hall’s stuff has gotten increasingly electric. His fastball consistently tops 100MPH, and his breaking pitches, particularly his change-up, have improved significantly and are nearly unhittable when on point (like they were today). The O’s have been, and will continue to be, cautious with Hall’s usage until he can stay healthy for a significant amount of time. Hall is pitching to a 4.02 ERA so far this season in the minors, and has 93 strikeouts in only 56 IP. If DL can avoid his namesake and stay off the DL, he is clearly the O’s best pitching prospect outside of G-Rod and should continue to climb up the MLB prospect list.
No. 43 – Colton Cowser (OF):
The more I watch Cowser the more excited I get to eventually see him in an Orioles uniform. Admittedly, I have done some fantasizing about the Cowser, Mullins, Hays (and Kjerstad & Stowers…) future outfield group. I love the way Fangraphs’ pre-draft scouting report describes Cowser: “he tracks pitches with laser-guided precision, is able to make mid-flight adjustments to breaking balls, and he’s adept at hitting pitches on the outer third to the opposite field.” Cowser was probably the most big-league ready hitter in that 2021 draft class, and his numbers in the minors back that up. His minor league career slashline of .298/.431/.443 is pretty exceptional, and I expect his power numbers to tick up as he gains more minor league experience.
No. 5 Gunnar Henderson (3B/SS):
Now this is exciting. Henderson has been on an absolute tear in the Minors this season, slashing .298/.429/.548 while splitting time between Bowie and Norfolk. Still only 21, Henderson might not get the big league call quite as soon as some others on this list, but given how successful he’s been, the O’s will only be able to keep him in the Minors for so long. Henderson has an extremely quick bat, has plus power upside, and is crazy athletic. I’ve seen some comparisons be made to Corey Seager, which I think is a good comp for Henderson; Henderson might even have a touch more upside, but a Corey Seager-level infielder would certainly be a big help to this team. Henderson was previously ranked at 48 when this list came out in May, and seeing him shoot up all the way into the top 5 was certainly a pleasant (and deserved) surprise. With Westburg progressing through the O’s farm system as a shortstop, it will be interesting to see if Henderson makes a permanent move over to third base, which he has proven to be quite capable of playing. Not to mention, the last time a highly touted O’s SS prospect made the move over to 3B in the big leagues, I’d say that turned out fairly well. (I do still miss you, Manny Machado). This morning, Henderson was announced as a participant in this year’s Future’s Game, where we will hopefully get a chance to see him display some of his tools on the big stage.
No. 4 Grayson Rodriguez (RHP):
It was a huge bummer to see Rodriguez go down to injury in early June. The good news is before the injury he did exactly what he should have been doing as the top-ranked pitching prospect in the MLB – absolutely dominating hitters. Before the injury, Rodriguez put up a 5-1 record, a 2.09 ERA, and struck out 80 over 56 innings. G-Rod was striking out 14.1 per nine while only walking 2.4 per nine; it really doesn’t get a whole lot better than that. A fastball in the upper 90s, an incredibly deceptive change-up and a plus slider and curveball give Rodriguez a big-league ready arsenal that O’s fans like myself are clamoring to see in the big leagues. While it won’t come as soon as some of us hoped, Rodriguez’ big-league debut will be on us quickly once he is back at full health. Going into this prospect ranking, part of me expected his injury to push Rodriguez down a little ways, maybe to the 10-15 range, but I’m glad to see that the lat strain isn’t too much of a concern for others.
Outside of these 5 players, I would be remiss to not mention Kyle Stowers and Heston Kjerstad, who finally has his health issues behind him (knock on wood) and has gotten off to a very hot start. I would not be surprised at all to see these two names make an appearance in this prospect list at some point, particularly Kjerstad. He was selected second overall just 2 years ago after all. With the big league club playing some of the best baseball I’ve seen it play in years, along with the great strides we have seen from the O’s top prospects, I’m going to (still somewhat tentatively) say something I haven’t said since 2016. Now is a good time to be an O’s fan.
As a Baltimore native, Zach is an avid Orioles and Ravens fan. After interning for the Baltimore Orioles, he currently works as a Senior Quantitative Risk Analyst for OneMain Financial and is a part-time graduate student studying Data Science at the University of Michigan.