Here's what stood out in the Baltimore Orioles Spring Breakout game

Written by: Nick Stevens

Major League Baseball doesn’t often deserve credit for doing good things, but the Spring Breakout games are A+ work by MLB. It’s just a spring exhibition, but to see a team full of prospects from all different levels has become a fun way to get jacked up for the upcoming minor league season.

There wasn’t a working radar gun on the broadcast and no Statcast data because it was played at Ed Smith Stadium, so it’s hard to get super deep into the takeaways here, but there was still some real excitement on Saturday night.

The star of the night was 20-year-old IF prospect Leandro Arias. Arias (19th ranked prospect in the Orioles system per our list) didn’t start the contest but he was able to finish it with a walk-off single, his second hit of the game.

RHP Keeler Morfe got the start for the Orioles in this one and it was not the sort of outing he was hoping for. After striking out George Lombard, the second-ranked prospect in the Yankees system, with a 99 mph fastball, the wheels proceeded to come off for Morfe.

At just 18, Saturday night’s contest was without a doubt the biggest stage Morfe has ever pitched on and it showed. He also faced a lineup that is going to primarily make up New York’s Triple-A roster. He was pumping 98-99 mph and the secondary offerings look very good. He will get to Delmarva to begin the 2025 season and continue to grow and develop. Knowing what little bit I do about him, I imagine this experience stays with him for a very long time and drives him pretty hard. He enters the year as our 11th-ranked prospect in the system.

Everyone is well aware of Enrique Bradfield’s speed, but it’s always mind-boggling to see just how much he can impact a game when it’s on display. Bradfield led off the bottom of the first with a base hit, moved to third on a pickoff attempt that went past the first baseman, and then scored on a wild pitch, even with the catcher beating Bradfield to home plate. He took the first inning in his own hands and manufactured his own run to provide a spark to the Orioles dugout after a long top of the first. He ended up with two hits on the night. Bradfield starts the year as the 3rd-ranked prospect on our Orioles Top 50 list.

Fellow outfielder Vance Honeycutt (4th on our Top 50 list) also had an electric moment. Honeycutt tied the game in the bottom of 4th inning with an inside-the-park home run after Yankees OF prospect Spencer Jones did his best Jasson Dominguez impression. A competent outfielder of course makes that catch and Honeycutt is out, but the WHEELS were on display here and I’ll take that in this type of game.

Bradfield and Honeycutt weren’t the only two Orioles outfielders to impress. With Bradfield in left, Honeycutt in center, and Jud Fabian in right, Fabian (6th-ranked Orioles prospect) did what Yankees outfield prospects can’t even dream of and made this play:

RHP Pat Reilly (acquired from Pittsburgh at last year’s deadline for OF Billy Cook), shoved across his first inning of work, a scoreless frame with two punchouts. The fastball is big and lively, but it was his secondaries, including an impressive changeup, that shined. Reilly can touch 100 mph, but does struggle with his control at times. That showed in his second inning of work as he walked two but got out of the inning without giving up a run. His first full season in the Orioles system is one of the more underrated storylines to follow in 2025 as he currently sits 12th on our Top 50 list.

LHP Luis De Leon posted a groundball rate of 68% in 2023 and 60% last season, so what did he do in his outing? Two groundouts and a punchout, of course. De Leon (13th ranked prospect) can run it up into the upper-90s from the left side and has a starter’s toolset that includes a lethal slider. He may not have taken a big step forward last season, but the 21-year-old will be a fun follow in 2025.

I wrote about Austin Overn during the winter as an outfield prospect to not overlook in this system full of talented outfield prospects. (Read that piece here). He was able to keep the Orioles alive and in place to win this one thanks to this beautiful piece of hitting. Overn ranks 24th in the system.

Also have to give a shoutout to last year’s 6th-round pick, SS DJ Layton. It was the first time we’ve been able to see the 18-year-old prospect and he took a 98 mph fastball up the middle and eventually scored on an Austin Overn triple. Layton is 46th on our first 2025 Top 50 list, but clearly will rank much higher with a strong debut season.

Other stats of note:

RHP Levi Wells: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

OF Dylan Beavers: 1/3, RBI, SB.

RHP Nestor German: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

RHP Cameron Weston: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Our full Top 50 Orioles prospects list is available here.