With Spring Training underway for the Baltimore Orioles, the franchise will be hoping to reach the postseason once again in 2025.
The Orioles had an active offseason, but there is still some concern that they didn’t get an ace pitcher to replace Corbin Burnes. While this might not affect the team throughout the long season with the depth in their rotation, it could hurt come October.
Regardless of whether they get an ace or not between now and the postseason, Baltimore is going to rely on their lineup like they have in recent years.
The young core of the Orioles has established itself as one of the best batting orders in all of baseball. Led by 23-year-old Gunnar Henderson, the team can hit for both power and average.
There aren’t many holes or easy outs in this lineup heading into 2025, with the unit shaping up to be special once again. What might be the most impressive for the organization is some of the talent that is still working their way into roles in the Majors.
Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com recently spoke about the top 100 prospects in baseball. For the Orioles, he spoke about infielder Coby Mayo and drew comparisons to some great sluggers like Troy Glaus and Pete Alonso.
Comparisons to players like Glaus and Alonso are some very high praise for the talented young slugger of the Orioles.
In the minor leagues, he has flashed that elite power-hitting ability so far. In 92 games in the minors last year, he slashed .293/.372/.592 with 25 home runs and 73 RBI.
Due to injuries during the season, Mayo got his first chance to make an impression in the Majors in 2024. While it was a small sample size, things didn’t go well for the 23-year-old.
In 17 games, he slashed .098/.196/.098 without an extra-base hit. The numbers that he put up with Baltimore aren’t indicative of the type of hitter that he is, and he will be surely looking to do much better next time around. However, when that opportunity comes again is yet to be seen.
Currently, the Orioles don’t have a place
to play Mayo on an everyday basis. With him being such a young player, they likely wouldn’t want him sitting on the bench or in just a platoon role, making his path to the Majors a challenging one to figure out.
However, once he does establish himself in the Big Leagues, he’s got the potential to be one of the best power hitters in the game.