Top prospect Mountcastle could be next star in Baltimore
TRENTON » Ryan Mountcastle has only taken in a few games at Camden Yards since the Orioles made him a first-round pick in 2015, but if he continues on his current trajectory, he’ll be contributing at the majorleague level sooner rather than later.
Ranked as Baltimore’s No. 1 prospect by MLB Pipeline, Mountcastle in the midst of an excellent season with Double-A Bowie, slashing .318/.367/.512 with eight homers, 38 RBIs and careerbest .878 OPS in 58 games.
Mountcastle, 21, attributed those numbers to a more mature approach.
“I’d get maybe a little bit too low on myself if I’d have a bad game or a little bit too high if I was good,” he said earlier this week when he was in Trenton to represent the West in the Eastern League AllStar Game. “I feel good right now. I’m healthy and I feel good defensively and offensively.
“I can just flush it now (if I have a bad (at-bat). Whatever it is, whatever happens, I got to move on, and I know that now.”
Mountcastle, though, has always been an offensive threat. His bat is what got him drafted 36th overall and he’s a career .291 hitter in 353 minor league games.
The questions about Mountcastle are on the defensive side. Some scouts are critical of his throwing arm and the Orioles switched his position from shortstop to third base.
“It’s a lot quicker over at third,” Mountcastle said. “The ball gets to you a lot faster. It’s a lot more footwork orientated. Besides that it’s the same game, you have to field the ball and throw it over to first.”
He may even project at first base or left field in majors, but for now he feels good about his progress at the hot corner.
“Just keep throwing and keep playing my game,” Mountcastle said. “I feel I’ve gotten older, stronger, faster over the years and I feel good over there.”
The Orioles are the worst team in baseball and franchise player Manny Machado is in his final days in orange and black. Baltimore has fielded offers from at least eight contenders for Machado, who will be a free agent at the end of the year.
Projecting Mountcastle as a Machado-replacement probably isn’t fair to him, but a trend of calling up young prospects like the Nationals did with Juan Soto (19 yeas old) or the Braves with Ronald Acuna (20 years old) could tempt the O’s to look at Mountcastle before the end of the season.
Next he’ll represent the Orioles at the Futures Game on Sunday in Washington.
“For them to choose me to be in the Futures Game is a great honor,” Mountcastle said. “I’m glad that I’m a part of it.”
After that he’ll keep everything in prospect.
“Just growing up and being around the game long enough you start to learn you can’t be too high or too low on yourself,” Mountcastle said.