Whatever speculation there was about Orioles GM Mike Elias being both a buyer and seller at the trade deadline, he didn’t do any buying, and he didn’t just tinker—the front office broke all our hearts, of course, by trading Adley Rutschman, their franchise catcher and 2019 first-overall pick, to the Red Sox. But they also created roster holes to patch in the short term by trading outfielder Taylor Ward and two trusted arms in starter Dean Kremer and reliever Tyler Wells.
This past week, Eno Sarris
of The Athletic rounded up young players across the game who stand to inherit bigger roles from departed veterans in the wake of the trade deadline. This question is now particularly relevant for Baltimore, which has seen its org chart reshuffled at multiple positions over the last week.
So I thought I’d give it some thought. Below are nine (-ish) Orioles young players with the most to prove, and what a greater runway this season could tell us about them.
Samuel Basallo, C/DH
Let’s start with the biggest beneficiary of the Rutschman trade, full stop. The 21-year-old Basallo was already getting regular at-bats as Baltimore’s DH before having to miss time with a shoulder injury, but Rutschman’s departure hands him the starting catcher job outright. Basallo’s 2025 Triple-A season (.270/.377/.589, 23 home runs in 76 games) was one of the most impressive in the minors at any level, and while his MLB debut was a rough introduction (.165/.229/.330 in 31 games) and a shoulder issue has nagged him in 2026, the hit tool and raw power are both plus-plus. He’s looked ready, especially in the month of May, where he averaged .338 and OPS’d .973.
Coby Mayo, 3B/1B
No sugarcoating it: Mayo has been the toughest watch on this list in 2026. A .201 batting average, a .271 OBP, and a strikeout rate north of 33% are not what the Orioles need from a presumed power bat in the middle of the lineup. But on the flip side: Mayo is still just 24, the raw power (15 home runs in 89 games) is still worth remarking on, and he’s progressing. Over Mayo’s last 15 games, the big bopper has a .268/.302/.610 slashline (look at that power!). Mayo always seems to be a few adjustments away from tapping into 30-homer thump, but he really seems to be knocking on the door right now. If he can bust through it’ll help us know whether he figures in the Orioles’ infield plans, or as future trade bait.
Colton Cowser, OF
Cowser is the most “seasoned” player on this list and, in a way, the cautionary tale for the others: a former first-rounder who’s now several thousand big-league plate appearances in and still searching for consistency. Cowser had an excellent rookie season in ’24, hitting .242 with 24 home runs in 153 games, and earning runner-up Rookie of the Year honors. But since, there’s been a lot of excuses and not a lot of great performances. Whatever the reason, Cowser’s career line — .214/.302/.386 with a .688 OPS and 48 home runs in 372 games — is not what the O’s thought they were getting when they signed the high-contact sweet-swinging outfielder from UT.
Jackson Holliday, 2B
Another former first-rounder (and No. 1 overall) whose hitting hasn’t fully caught up to the hype. But Holliday still has the youth, the pedigree, the plate discipline, and the defensive versatility, and it’s easier to see him reaching his All-Star caliber potential. The issue has always been how quickly the performance catches the profile. Holliday missed some time early this season with a badly timed hand injury, and he’s been kind of buried in the conversation behind other pressing matters (including why the team played so badly in the first half), but he’s still doing what he’s paid to do. There are some good signs: for instance, in the month of July Holliday hit .368 and OPS’d .921.
Blaze Alexander, IF
Acquired from Arizona in the offseason, Alexander has been one of the most pleasant surprises on the whole roster. Out of nowhere, the 27-year-old hit .312 with 4 home runs and 31 runs in 36 games before, alas, going down with a fractured hand. He’s also filled in capably at nearly every position beside catcher, first, and pitcher. The ceiling here isn’t superstar, but if Alexander recovers quickly from a fractured hand, it could be everyday infielder. How the team uses Alexander down the stretch is a really interesting question, at least to me.
Brandon Young, SP
Speaking of surprises on the roster, Brandon Young has quietly been one of the better stories on the pitching staff. A guy left off the Opening Day roster and now perhaps their best starter, Young has an 8-3 record, a 3.43 ERA, and a strong strikeout-to-walk profile across a full workload. At 27, he’s older than most “prospect” conversations, but the success this season been sustained, thanks in part to a new splitter pitch, and the Orioles are totally winning a lot of his starts. His ceiling looks like a mid-rotation starter—can he hit this?
Cade Povich, SP
Povich, part of the return for Jorge López a few years back, has bounced between flashes of real promise (a 2.19 ERA in a recent stretch, a 19:8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his most extended big-league look) and injury (a shoulder issue that’s cost him time in 2026) or frustration. When healthy, Povich has shown the swing-and-miss stuff of a mid-rotation-or-better left-hander. The the real variable on his ceiling right now is the same one it’s always been: control. However, this week, Povich turned in a real big-boy start, silencing the Angels over six scoreless innings. With the rotation thinned out, could this be the runway Povich needs to run?
Grant Wolfram, RP
The best-kept secret on this list. Acquired in April 2025 after Milwaukee squeezed him off its roster, the 29-year-old lefty has been outstanding in relief: a 3.47 ERA with a strikeout rate in the 98th percentile of all big-league pitchers over his first stretch of appearances this season. Relievers are volatile by nature, so Wolfram’s ceiling seems likely “high-leverage bullpen piece” rather than rotation arm. But for a player who was nearly out of a job a year ago, that’s a dramatic outcome.
Norfolk Guys (Trey Gibson, Levi Wells, Luis De León)
OK, I’m cheating with this bundle of three pitching prospects currently in Triple-A. But there are a few promising arms down in Norfolk, and the Orioles’ ransacking of the MLB bullpen could be a career-maker for any of these. First is Trey Gibson, who already made his big-league debut back in May: he got rocked in a spot start in early July (eight runs in 2.2 innings) and was optioned back to Norfolk, where he’s since stabilized (3.55 ERA, 38:19 K:BB over his last nine starts).
Levi Wells is another interesting name: his fastball will touch triple digits and his cutter/sweeper/curveball mix is arguably the best “stuff” package in Norfolk’s rotation. However, he doesn’t miss as many bats as the raw grades suggest, raising doubts about his ceiling and effectiveness. Wells has been sidelined since May after undergoing core muscle surgery.
Luis De León is the freshest riser of the bunch: a lanky lefty with a heavy 70-grade fastball and a plus slider who barely allowed a homer all last season and dominated the Arizona Fall League before being bumped up to Norfolk in late July after a strong Double-A run (100 strikeouts in 81 innings). De León is now described as one step from his own debut. He’s the one with real prospect juice—mid-rotation-starter potential if the below-average control improves.
Gibson, as the org’s presumptive No. 1 prospect with a mid-90s heater and two above-average breaking balls, is the most likely of this group to be back in Baltimore this fall, and he still carries the highest ceiling: a mid-rotation starter with swing-and-miss stuff, a power-reliever floor if the command doesn’t sharpen.
What do you make of this list, Birdland? Are there any current Orioles you think are knocking on the door to a bigger role? Or whom you’re most excited to watch down the stretch?
