Four members of the Orioles’ farm system made the most recent iteration of Keith Law’s top 50 MLB prospects for The Athletic.
Infielder Jackson Holliday earned the illustrious No. 1 spot. Behind him, catcher Samuel Basallo slotted in at No. 12, infielder Coby Mayo at No. 17 and outfielder Heston Kjerstad at No. 47.
With Baltimore comfortably enjoying contender status, Law believes the Orioles are well-positioned to make a major splash at this year’s trade deadline. With Kyle Bradish’s season-ending injury leaving some questions at the top of the rotation and some high-end prospects at the club’s disposal, now may be the perfect time to pull the trigger.
“If you just talk about the total value that’s in the system, and that would include the young guys on the big league roster … I still think the Orioles are in as good a position as any club anywhere in baseball to make a trade,” Law said on Glenn Clark Radio June 13.
Law likened the Orioles’ current organizational standing — simultaneously sporting one of the league’s premier records and a top farm system — to that of the Dodgers, a team unafraid to make big-time trades.
Last year, many Orioles fans questioned general manager Mike Elias’ willingness to part with some of his top prospects in order to accelerate the rebuild process. When Elias dealt Joey Ortiz and DL Hall to the Brewers for Corbin Burnes last offseason, many of those concerns were laid to rest, according to Law.
“For a while it was, ‘Hey, are you going to trade any of these prospects at some point?’ Well, you’ve done it,” he said. “I think they’ve gotten over that hump and said, ‘All right, we’re willing to trade some of our best prospects. We love these guys, can’t play them all. Let’s start packaging some of them together to get players who help us for this year.'”
Basallo is one of those prospects Law would be willing to part ways with for the right return. The 6-foot-4 catcher is generally considered the Orioles’ second-ranked prospect, and he has done nothing but produce since signing as a 16-year-old back in 2021. Basallo, now 19, has collected 37 home runs and 151 RBIs in 222 career minor league games.
Batting .284/.338/.464 with 11 homers in 65 games at Double-A Bowie this season, Basallo is beginning to turn heads as a potential future star behind the dish. But Baltimore already has its catcher of the present and future in 26-year-old Adley Rutschman.
Law is as high as anyone on Basallo, but the analyst believes the Orioles should consider leveraging the catcher’s value to go and get a true difference-maker for a World Series push.
“If they put Basallo out there and say, ‘We’re willing to trade him,’ you get anybody,” Law said. “There’s no deal out there where the other team gets Basallo, and obviously some lesser prospects, and says no. I don’t think there’s any trade out there right now where Basallo doesn’t at least make you one of the most competitive offers. … Go get a difference-maker. You’re not getting a fourth starter. You’re getting a [No.] 1 or 2.”
Two arms Law could see as potential trade targets are Garrett Crochet (White Sox) and Jesús Luzardo (Marlins). Both would command a hefty return, but Law likes the value either could offer to a contending Orioles squad. However, Luzardo recently went on the injured list with a back issue and won’t return until at least August.
“Because the Orioles need much more in the rotation than the bullpen, I might think more about a Luzardo, who’s more likely to be able to work deeper into games for the rest of this season,” Law said. “But Crochet [is under club control through 2026], so he’s the more valuable player in a trade.”
For more from Law, listen to the full interview here:
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