The Orioles prospects who just missed our top 50 list
These seven Orioles prospects were on at least one of our top 50 lists, but missed the final cut.
Written by: Nick Stevens
Beginning the first week of January, we will be rolling out our 2025 pre-season Baltimore Orioles top 50 prospects list for the 2025 season. As usual, we will reveal the full list beginning with #50 and working our way through the list one by one with a 10-15 minute podcast episode per day going more in-depth on each individual prospect.
These episodes will be exclusive to Patrons and won’t be released on our main feed, but we will release the full list in February when pitchers and catchers report to spring training and do a full show on the main podcast feed discussing the list.
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Before our top 50 begins to roll out, I wanted to highlight a few names who just missed the final list. Each prospect discussed below appeared on at least one of our individual lists, but didn’t make the final cut (all three of us submit our individual lists and they are merged together using a points system to create a final top 50).
These names are in no particular order.
OF Nate George
George appeared on one list (Nick’s) and was a tough prospect to rank. Drafted in the 16th round of the 2024 draft out of the Illinois high school ranks, George received a signing bonus of $455,000 and was one of four high school picks by the Orioles last year.
The 18-year-old right-handed hitting outfielder is listed at 6’0” and 200 pounds and is an elite athlete with a decorated high school track career also on his resume (this former track coach approves). The power/speed combo makes him an intriguing prospect in this system with a high ceiling but a ton of questions.
Per Prepbaseballreport.com, George has posted a max EV of 104 mph, runs a 6.39 60-yard dash, and his arm strength in the outfield topped out at 96 mph. From some videos he posted of a live BP session down in Sarasota, George has the look of a physically gifted power hitter with a quick, thunderous swing from the right side. If the hit tool shows up once he gets into FCL games this season and he’s flashing the tools that make him such an intriguing prospect on a regular basis, George will likely move up the list pretty quickly and cement himself as a top 50 prospect.
Catcher Aneudis Mordan
The Orioles are absolutely loaded with quality backstops in the system, Mordan included. The 20-year-old right-handed hitter was originally signed as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2021 and spent 2021 and 2022 in the Dominican Summer League, putting up pretty pedestrian numbers.
Something clicked in 2023 when he came stateside to the FCL. Mordan hit .274 with a .390 OBP and .894 OPS in 38 games, hitting 7 home runs. He had a very respectable 13.5% BB rate, 20% strikeout rate and an impressive wRC+ of 130.
This season with Delmarva, Mordan hit just .220 but posted a 113 wRC+ with 13 home runs and a 12.6% walk rate. He finished the year with 17 games at the High-A level.
Mordan possesses notable pull-side power (and one of the slowest home run trots known to man), can draw a walk and even make a little bit of noise on the basepaths. If he can stick behind the plate, he’s a much more interesting prospect who could have a long career in pro ball, but more questions about his defense need to be answered before he rises up our list. He appeared on one of our three lists (Bob).
OF Braylin Tavera
Tavera was the gem of the 2022 international signing class, with the Orioles dishing out a then franchise-record $1.7 million signing bonus to the Dominican outfielder. Unfortunately, it’s been a quiet start to his career and he’s coming off a disastrous first year in full-season ball.
Tavera was touted as a potential five-tool player after his signing and flashed some of that potential early on. His .730 OPS in the DSL improved to .812 in the FCL, where he also hit 4 home runs, had a fun 23 K-22 BB mark, and stole 13 bags.
This past season in Delmarva, Tavera was plagued by injury (shoulder mainly) and appeared in just 87 games, hitting .173 with a .297 OBP, 1 home run, 50 walks, and 93 strikeouts. The wRC+ was a lowly 65. He did steal 27 bags but was caught 13 times.
While he didn’t show much of anything in 2024, Tavera doesn’t turn 20 until late-February so he’s still a young bat and if there is one positive to highlight, he had a high contact rate, it just didn’t result in base hits. Given his age and shoulder injury that surely zapped a lot out of his swing in 2024, it’s fair to give him one more shot in 2025. He appeared on one of our lists (Bob).
IF Felix Amparo
An international free agent signing out of the DR in 2023, Amparo received a signing bonus just a hair under $350,000. He’s spent his first two seasons in the Dominican Summer League, but the 18-year-old right-handed hitter should make his FCL debut in 2025. If he really stands out in spring, a move up to Delmarva before the start of the FCL season isn’t a crazy thought.
After hitting .257 with a .628 OPS, 73 wRC+, and no home runs in his debut season, Amparo returned to the DSL in 2024 and hit .313 with an .886 OPS, and a 125 wRC+. He significantly cut his strikeout rate down (16 K in 163 AB) and popped 6 home runs.
He’s a smaller infielder (5’8”) who rarely walks (20 walks in 2 seasons), but he’s incredibly difficult to strike out, is showing some home run juice now, and has been a highly successful base stealer through his first two seasons. A defensive home would help answer some questions about his future. He played 1B, 2B, and 3B last season, but the defensive numbers were abysmal at 3B. He seems destined for 2B, but maybe we see him in the OF some in 2025. He was on one of our lists (Zach).
OF Doug Hodo
Hodo very quietly had a solid 2024 campaign that spanned three levels (Delmarva-Aberdeen-Bowie). A 6th round pick out of Texas in 2022, Hodo appeared in just 15 games in 2022 and 49 games in 2023, barely hitting a combined .200 with no home runs during that span. He started 2024 on the Development List, which led him to being a bit of an afterthought. That is until he finally made his 2024 debut.
Hodo hit .244 across three levels with 9 home runs in 112 games. It was limited power with a good number of strikeouts, but he drew 70 walks and stole 51 bases, showcasing the same sort of season in the Arizona Fall League this year.
He’s 24 now, but ended the year with about three weeks worth of games in Double-A. With his defensive abilities, plate discipline, and big time stolen base ability, it’s easy to see a potential fourth-outfield type player. That’s pretty impressive for a player drafted in his range who was severely limited early on in his career due to injuries.
Hodo hit lefties well with an .830 OPS. If he can continue to do the same in Triple-A this upcoming season, He appeared on one list (Nick).
RHP Justin Armbruester
Once a top 30 prospect, Armbruester has seen his stock fall after a rough 2024 in Norfolk. The 26-year-old former 12th round pick out of New Mexico logged 119 innings last season, finishing with a 7.54 ERA and 6.16 FIP. He struck out 23.4% of hitters and walked 12.3%.
Armbruester has shown an ability to command the top of the zone with his 92-95 mph fastball and he would occasionally have a game that resembled 2023 Armbruester who showed much more promise, but ultimately 2024 left us scratching our heads.
Per @TJStats, Armbruester’s four-seamer averaged 92.2 mph with 18.3 inches of induced vertical break, a 29% whiff rate, 106 Stuff+ mark, and a plus-grade (60-65). Overall, Armbruester’s arsenal had a 102 Stuff+ grade. Compared to his 2023 numbers in Triple-A, Armbruester’s four-seamer improved in 2024 and he was getting more extension, up to 6.6-6.7 feet.
He was left off the 40-man roster this winter and left vulnerable to the Rule 5 draft where he went undrafted. He’ll get another opportunity in 2025 where maybe he can carve out a role as a reliever. The fastball serves as a good base and there could be a path for him as a reliever using that pitch in shorter stints while honing one or two of his secondaries. He was on two of our three individual lists.
OF Jake Cunningham
The early return on Jake Cunningham has been frustrating, but he’s shown small glimpses that keep us intrigued. A 5th round pick out of Charlotte in 2023, Cunningham was one of the more athletic draft prospects in his class. An injury in college limited his final stint in Charlotte, but the Orioles were able to buy low on his tools, the same tools that led former Orioles director of draft operations Brad Ciolek (now with the Nationals) to label Cunningham a “toolshed” after the selection.
His pro-draft stint in pro ball resulted in 12 games with Delmarva where the 6’3” right-handed hitting outfielder took his first career home run opposite-field, he robbed a home run in right field, and posted a 119 wRC+ in a limited sample size.
Assuming a full offseason of health and fresh start with Aberdeen in 2024 would allow Cunningham to showcase his true potential, Cunningham was met with more injuries and a tough go of it at the plate. In 71 games, he hit just .208 with a .311 OBP, 91 wRC+, a near 32% strikeout rate, and only 4 home runs. The bright spots were his high walk rate and 20 stolen bases.
He ended the year with a surprising promotion to High-A, where he hit .268 through 20 games. It was mostly singles, but it was a promising end to the season as he appeared healthy and was at least making consistent contact and striking out a bit less.
Cunningham was sent to the Arizona Fall League to make up for his missed time, came out of the gates hot (.391 average with a pair of home runs) as he built on his end of season success in Aberdeen, but played in just 6 games before not playing in another game. There was no public word as to why.
He will get another shot in 2025, assuming it wasn’t a serious injury that shut him down in the AFL, but will need to have a strong, consistent season to remain in the mix, or risk being a 23-year-old outfielder stuck in High-A in a system loaded with quality outfield talent. He appeared on one of our lists (Bob).
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