The Baltimore Orioles are one of the best teams in baseball with a farm system that uniquely positions them to land almost any player available at the MLB trade deadline. With a pair of All-Star starting pitchers popping up in MLB trade rumors, rivals have started getting extensive looks at the Orioles top prospects.
Baltimore’s farm system is loaded. Earlier this season, scouts shared that they think 4 of the Orioles top prospects could start for the majority of MLB teams immediately. Jackson Holliday remains the best prospect in MLB, but many around the league see Samuel Basallo, Coby Mayo and Connor Norby as future impact players who can contribute to a World Series contender.
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- Tarik Skubal stats (FanGraphs): 2.34 ERA, 10.68 K/9, 1.61 BB/9, 0.73 HR/9, 30% K-rate, 4.5% walk rate, 25.5% K-BB rate, .199 batting average allowed, 0.92 WHIP in 123 innings pitched
The wealth of talent on both the Orioles roster and in the minor leagues gives them a significant edge at the MLB trade deadline. With players like Detroit Tigers’ ace Tarik Skubal and Chicago White Sox’ All-Star Garrett Crochet available for trade this summer, Baltimore is favored to land one of them.
In the days leading up to the July 30 MLB trade deadline, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Tigers have sent one of their top scouts to watch the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate play. The first-hand look is providing Detroit with a chance to see Orioles top prospects Holliday, Coby Mayo, Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers up close.
- Tarik Skubal contract: $2.65 million salary in 2024, arbitration-eligible 2025-’26
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Holliday is the unlikeliest of the group to move, even with his struggles after making his MLB debut. However, Norby could be of great interest to Detroit as he is MLB-ready and Baltimore might be willing to trade one of its top prospects from a position of depth.
One of the other Orioles top prospects to keep an eye on is Basallo. Rated by MLB.com as one of the best prospects in baseball, his path to Baltimore is blocked by Adley Rutschman. So, while the expectation remains that Skubal will remain in Detroit, Baltimore is one of the few teams that have a shot at pulling off a deal.
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