Orioles to promote versatile prospect

The Orioles are calling up infield/outfield prospect Connor Norby, experiences Jeff Passan of ESPN on X. Members of the Baltimore beat, together with Jake Rill of MLB.com on X, had beforehand famous that Norby was en path to Toronto with the remainder of the group. 

Norby isn’t but on the membership’s 40-man roster, however the O’s have a emptiness there after just lately shedding Kaleb Ort off waivers to the Astros. They might want to make a transfer to get Norby onto the energetic roster. Infielder Jorge Mateo is in concussion protocol, per Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com, and will maybe wind up on the injured checklist.

It’s a pleasant early birthday current for Norby, who turns 24 on Saturday. His call-up is yet one more step within the march of thrilling prospects whom the Orioles have graduated lately. 

The O’s completed final within the American League East in every full season from 2017 to 2021, shedding 108 video games or extra in three of these seasons. Within the course of, they managed to make use of excessive draft picks to stockpile thrilling kids similar to Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser, Jordan Westburg, Kyle Stowers, Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad, DL Hall and Grayson Rodriguez, all of whom had been taken with a first- or second-round decide.

Norby may be counted in that group as effectively, with the O’s grabbing him within the second spherical of the 2021 draft. He acquired a short skilled debut within the months after that draft choice after which tore via three ranges in 2022. 

Going from Excessive-A to Double-A and Triple-A, he hit 29 residence runs in 547 plate appearances. He additionally drew walks in 10.1% of these journeys to the plate whereas solely getting punched out 20.8% of the time. His mixed slash line of .279/.360/.526 led to a 137 wRC+, or 37% above common total, and he additionally stole 16 bases.

That efficiency was sufficient to get him on the again of some high 100 prospect lists going into 2023. Baseball America gave him the #93 slot, whereas ESPN put him at #92. 

His outcomes final yr had been nonetheless stable however not fairly as overwhelming because the prior season. He spent all of 2023 in Triple-A, stepping into 138 video games. He nonetheless hit 21 residence runs and walked in 9% of his journeys to the plate, however the offensive atmosphere was fairly sturdy in Triple-A final yr, thanks partly to some robo-ump shenanigans. Norby’s .290/.359/.483 batting line produced a 109 wRC+, nonetheless above common however not by an enormous margin, and his 10 steals had been a slight drop-off from the yr earlier than.

He didn’t get as a lot prospect love coming into this yr however has been performing fairly effectively for Norfolk. By means of 51 contests in 2024, he already has 9 residence runs and 7 steals. His 30.7% strikeout price is sort of excessive, however he’s additionally drawing walks at an 11.3% clip. His .286/.374/.510 line interprets to a 127 wRC+ on the yr thus far.

Defensively, Norby got here up as a second baseman, however the O’s have had him spend a bit extra time within the outfield corners for the reason that infield is pretty crowded by the presence of Henderson, Westburg, Holliday, Mateo and others. That offers the membership a little bit of flexibility in how they slot him into the lineup, although the outfield combine is fairly crowded with Cowser, Stowers, Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander and Austin Hays all sharing time there, whereas Ryan O’Hearn is the common within the designated hitter slot and Ryan Mountcastle at first base.

Mateo has been the common second baseman for the O’s these days, in order that place could possibly be open if he’s certainly going to overlook a while as a consequence of a concussion. Norby may slot in there, or the O’s may additionally transfer Westburg from third base, as he has loads of second base expertise, with Ramón Urías taking up on the sizzling nook. That latter situation would go away Norby in a backup function, which wouldn’t be ultimate remedy for a notable prospect, however the O’s have additionally referred to as up guys like Stowers and Kjerstad with out discovering vital enjoying time for them.

Nonetheless it performs out, it continues to spotlight the embarrassment of riches that the Orioles have by way of younger position-player expertise. They’ve so many of those thrilling kids that even discovering enjoying time for all of them is a problem. In the long term, that’s one thing that could possibly be labored out organically. 

Santander is an impending free agent, whereas Mullins, Hays and Mateo are all slated to hit the open market after 2025. That may open up loads of alternatives for the kids in the long term, whereas it’s additionally possible that the O’s use a few of these younger gamers in deadline trades to bolster the pitching workers for a postseason push.

For now, Norby will get the decision to the large leagues for the primary time and begin his service-time clock. Even when he stays up for the remainder of the yr, he received’t be capable to get a yr of service in 2024, which means the earliest he may attain free company is after 2030. 

He may maybe attain Tremendous Two standing if he stays within the majors from now and thru the tip of the 2026 marketing campaign, however it’s additionally potential that he winds up again in Norfolk after Mateo is wholesome. Holliday and Kjerstad are additionally enjoying effectively in Triple-A for the time being and will pressure their approach again to the large leagues down the road. 

There are numerous shifting elements that can influence the long-term plans, however it’s undoubtedly a terrific day for Norby.