The infield has proven to be loaded with talent
SARASOTA, Fla. — The Orioles’ first five spring training games have been eventful, featuring their top prospects, a half-inning without umpires and narrowly avoiding a no-hitter.
Baltimore will open the regular season in four weeks, and in that time, the makeup of the roster and breakdown of playing time could change dramatically. But these initial games also offer the chance for insights.
Here are five takeaways from the Orioles’ first five spring training games:
They’re stacked on the infield.
This isn’t exactly breaking news, but the combinations manager Brandon Hyde has been able to deploy through five games have showcased the Orioles’ abundance of talent.
For the first time since Baseball America started ranking organizations’ minor league system in 1984, the publication deemed Baltimore’s No. 1. The Orioles’ collection of infielders played a key role in that honor, with six of their top 10 prospects playing on the dirt.
Here are the combinations of second basemen, shortstops and third basemen the Orioles have started and ended their first five exhibitions with:
Game 1: Adam Frazier, Joey Ortiz, Coby Mayo to Terrin Vavra, Jackson Holliday, César Prieto
Game 2: Connor Norby, Jordan Westburg, Vavra to Prieto, Holliday, Josh Lester
Game 3: Frazier, Jorge Mateo, Ramón Urías to Norby, Ortiz, Mayo
Game 4: Westburg, Ortiz, Gunnar
Henderson to Prieto, Holliday, Lester
Game 5: Frazier, Mateo, Urías to Norby, Holliday, Mayo
All but Lester are either ranked among Baltimore’s top 30 prospects or guaranteed an opening day roster spot if healthy. The Orioles are talented in the outfield, too, with 2020 No. 2 overall draft pick Heston Kjerstad impressing in what’s at last his first big league spring training, but much of the excitement