The last particularly interesting topic for the Baltimore Orioles’ 2025 season was the question of when we might see Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers at the big league level so, yeah, that’s that.
That doesn’t mean there’s nothing interesting to take from the rest of the season. Seeing how Basallo and Beavers actually play is interesting. With this duo joining the “core five” Orioles (Colton Cowser, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Adley Rutschman and Jordan Westburg) and former top prospect Coby Mayo in the bigs, the cavalry is finally all together. While other players in the system could still rise, Basallo is the last of the truly big-time prospects the Orioles continuously produced since their “tanking” era.
(Two things here. Technically the group isn’t ALL together, as Heston Kjerstad isn’t currently with the club. Whether he’ll still prove to be part of this core group remains to be determined. And I recognize that Basallo wasn’t actually a tanking prize as an international free agent. But he has risen with this group of players, so we associate him with them. Carry on.)
This, in an odd way, is the moment we’ve been waiting for. This is what we were promised. Like the Astros and Cubs before them, the Orioles were going to be purposefully very bad for a few years in order to put together a roster full of tremendous young players they could win with for years to come. It was a tough pill to swallow … but it worked! We’re here. This is the group.
Of course, this group has to prove that it can be better than groups that had a lot of help from Dan Duquette-era holdovers in 2023 and 2024.
At the moment, only Henderson and Westburg are playing at a consistently high enough level to be confident that they will be difference-makers in 2026 if healthy. Holliday has shown the type of flashes that make you believe he could reach that level next year, but it requires you to not spend too much time thinking his current .693 OPS. What Cowser and Rutschman will provide is … uncertain, to say the least. Mayo still needs to prove himself at the major league level.
That’s obviously the biggest part of what we’ll be watching for the rest of this season. The performance of these eight players might give us clues about what the Orioles will be in 2026. The Orioles’ path back to being a World Series contender needs to include four or five of these guys being high-level offensive players next season, not two. They’ll need to find another legit bat or two this offseason in addition, but the math only works if this group takes a collective step forward.
And specifically, the Orioles need one of their power-hitting threats to become a legit, middle-of-the-order thumper. There was hope Kjerstad might be that guy at some point. Mayo and Basallo both have the profile. After finishing second in baseball in home runs last year, the Orioles have slipped totally out of the top 10 this year. They need more consistent power.
The Orioles need more consistent everything, really. They’re 17th in runs scored, 22nd in average, 25th in on-base percentage and 14th in slugging. For as much as we’ll talk about the pitching in the offseason, this has been as big a part of the Orioles’ story in 2025. This, more or less, is the group. There are no surefire reinforcements coming. These guys have to live up to their potential and/or return to their better form.
I am fascinated by the question of how the Orioles will ultimately use Basallo. The bat appears to be most important. If he can catch enough to be considered a “backup catcher,” that’s a plus. But they need his bat first and foremost. If he’s a primary DH, that’s OK … as long as he does what we expect with the bat. Beavers couldn’t be in a much better spot. There are multiple outfield jobs to be had next year. He has played both corner spots in his first two big league games. A starting job in 2026 is his to lose.
I’m excited to watch these guys for the next few weeks. And I’m hopeful that the entire group of now eight core players shows the types of encouraging signs that make us believe the Orioles will be ready to take a step forward next year.
Photo Credits: Colin Murphy and Kenya Allen/PressBox