Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2026 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival
1. C Samuel Basallo | 21 | MLB | 2025
Click here to read Grey’s 2026 Fantasy Outlook for Basallo.
In the article, Grey is frustrated by Baltimore’s service-time machinations. Those same concerns caused me to dread writing this list for a few days. I’m not sure why. I used to have little trouble cruising through even the organizations I didn’t love following, but I start feeling like a liar at some point when I’m telling you about a Rockies or Orioles prospect like he’s going to matter someday soon. Then again, they do sneak through sometimes, and Basallo could give you a Hunter Goodman sized boost in the power categories if Baltimore lets him learn on the job. He’s not going to catch everyday with Adley in town, but who knows how much longer Adley will be in town? His production and health are both in downward spirals, and Basallo slugged .589 with 23 home runs in just 76 Triple-A games in 2025. Dang. Managed 27 bombs in 107 games on the year if you combine his minor league dominance with his 31-game big league sample. He’s the rare case where I’ll look past the org setting and cross my fingers he’ll get enough playing time to impact redraft leagues.
2. OF Dylan Beavers | 24 | MLB | 2026
A 6’4” 206 lb left-handed hitter, Beavers bit off a big season in 2025, slashing .304/.420/.515 with 18 home runs and 23 stolen bases in 94 games. He also struck out just 76 times (18.2%) against 68 walks (16.3%). I had his ETA as 2024 two years ago, but here he is, and he’s what I said this August in Prospect News: Beavers, Basallo and A Bubba Walk Into A Bar:
“These days are reserved for the true cheapskates. If a minor leaguer is good enough to stress the pricing mechanisms in place to suppress his salary, the cheapskate team is obligated to keep him on a minor league contract as long as embarrassingly possible. How can you not be romantic about Baltimore promoting Dylan Beavers and Samuel Basallo on back-to-back days just after crossing the invisible barrier between trying to win games and trying to spend as little as possible for as long as possible. Or perhaps it was pure coincidence that they were both ready for the next challenge on the same weekend just in time to preserve their rookie status for 2026. It could happen.”
3. OF Enrique Bradfield Jr. | 24 | AAA | 2026
A three-year starter at Vanderbilt, Bradfield Jr. features 80-grade speed in center field and plus plate skills at the dish, causing the Orioles to take him 17th overall in the 2023 draft. A left-handed hitter at 6’1” 170 lbs, he slashed .269/.393/.386 with two home runs and 26 steals in 50 Double-A games before scuffling for 15 games in Triple-A. His defensive value is so great that he shouldn’t get marooned in Triple-A like some of his org-mates do. When the bat is ready to compete in the majors, he should get the call. That’s SHOULD, of course. We’d be foolish to assume as much with this front office.
4. SS Wehiwa Ahoy | 22 | A | 2029
Baltimore said hello to Ahoy with the 31st pick in the 2025 draft and signed him to the full slot allotment of $3.04 million. Ahoy won the Golden Spikes and SEC Player of the Year Awards then began his career with 20 good games in Low-A, slashing .288/.356/.500 with two home runs and six stolen bases. He’s not a burner or the twitchiest athlete off the bus, but he does everything smoothly on the diamond and cuts corners with good mechanics and instincts. I’m a fan. I also think this pick felt like something of an organizational shift. Sometimes it’s okay to just draft a good baseball player.
5. OF Nate George | 19 | A+ | 2029
The 489th overall pick in the 2024 draft, George signed an over-slot deal and turned heads in 2025, slashing .337/.413/.483 with five home runs and 50 stolen bases in 87 games across three levels. A right-handed hitter at 6’0” 200 pounds, he’s an easy evaluation because you can see his twitch and athleticism at a glance. He’s even solid in centerfield already and could become a rotisserie monster if he actualizes the raw power in games by learning to add more loft.
6. C OF Ike Irish | 22 | A | 2028
The Orioles announced Irish as a catcher when they drafted him 19th overall in 2025, but that doesn’t make a ton of sense considering their organizational depth and Irish’s own ability to handle right field. Plus, the bat is the carrying tool here, so they might as well send him out there and see if it propels him quickly through the minors. He came up empty in his first 20 pro games (.230/.296/.297), and while that came at the end of a long college season and can be mostly dismissed, I don’t want to rank him too aggressively coming off that fumble. Not a genre of prospect I find myself rostering: the corner only power bat without plus speed.
7. RHP Esteban Mejia | 19 | A | 2029
A skinny kid at 6’3” 175 pounds, Mejia makes his arm disappear for a moment before releasing his nasty fastball that touches 102 mph. He pairs that with a 90 mph gyro slider and a 90 mph changeup. Yikes. In 52 innings across two levels, Mejia recorded a 2.94 ERA with 67 strikeouts and 31 walks, allowing just 36 hits (.191 opp avg). If he starts commanding the baseball with any regularity, look out. The floor here is a dynamite reliever. The ceiling is a top-of-the-rotation starter.
8. OF Slater de Brun | 18 | NA | 2030
A speedy left-handed hitter at 5’10” 187 pounds, de Brun features plus contact skills and a selective eye at the plate. He’s also closer to Corbin Carroll than Steven Kwan, as far as twitch and athleticism are concerned, so the Orioles were happy to select him with the 39th pick in this year’s draft and signed him to an over-slot bonus of $4 million. He didn’t debut during the season, so he might fall a bit among his First-Year contemporaries when dynasty leagues sort through their drafts.
9. RHP Michael Forret | 21 | AA | 2026
Unlike most years around here, Baltimore has a stockpile of breakout arms who could jump another rung and help the big league club in 2026. If not for a back injury that kept Forret out until June, he might’ve already sipped a cup of coffee in September. Instead, his 1.58 ERA and 0.82 WHIP in 74 innings across two levels flew kind of under the radar, and Baltimore was in no hurry to move him up, letting him dominate High-A for 59.2 innings across 16 outings before giving him three Double-A starts at season’s end. He was dominant there, too: a 1.88 ERA and 0.91 WHIP. His grades on the public-facing sites feel low to me, perhaps because he’s got so many more pitches than the typical prospect, and he’ll throw all eight of them alongside a mid-90’s four seamer that misses a lot of bats.
10. LHP Luis De Leon | 22 | AA | 2026
Listed at 6’3 168 pounds, De Leon added a little strength in 2025 and pitched at three levels, culminating in a dominant three starts in Double-A that saw him record 24 strikeouts in 16 innings across three starts, resulting in a 1.69 ERA. On the season, he recorded a 3.30 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 87.1 innings, employing a still-improving arsenal of fastball, slider, and changeup. His mechanics go in and out at this point, but he’s tough to square up even when he’s missing his spots and could ascend to another level with a steadier base and more consistent release point.
Thanks for reading!
