Baltimore Orioles Have New Top Overall Prospect After Latest MLB Update

The Baltimore Orioles have seen most of their top young talent make their way to the MLB, but still have some star prospects waiting to make the jump.

MLB Pipeline recently released their initial Top 100 prospects ranking for the 2025 season and the Orioles had two players listed.

It was the usual suspects, Samuel Basallo and Coby Mayo. The interesting thing, though, is that their positions on the list were flipped. With this update, Basallo became the top prospect in the farm system and No. 13 overall in baseball. Mayo was right behind him at No. 14.

While it is essentially just splitting hairs between the two, it is still an interesting shift.

Basallo has quickly become a star in the making, shooting up rankings over the past couple of years. He was signed for a $1.3 million bonus, so it isn't a complete shock, but just how promising he has become might be.

The 20-year-old really started his ascension in 2023 after he posted a .313/.402/.551 slash line with 10 home runs and 12 stolen bases. His swing is a thing of beauty and he feels almost like a lock to become a legitimate slugger at the next level.

He is by far the best catching prospect in baseball, but with Adley Rutschman in Baltimore, he has shifted to learning first base.

Basallo is way ahead of schedule and could theoretically be on the MLB roster by the end of the year. He is already at Triple-A, but did struggle in his first few games there. There is no reason to rush him, though.

The Orioles infield already has plenty of talent, but does have players like Ryan Mountcastle and Ryan O'Hearn that will become free agents soon.

It's a similar situation with Mayo, who made his debut last season. He struggled mightily at the plate and is not guaranteed at-bats in the Majors immediately to start the year.

He went just 4-for-41 at the plate to start his MLB career, but there also isn't much to worry about yet. The 23-year-old still obliterated Triple-A pitching last year and just needs to find his swing at the next level.

Mayo posted a .293/.372/.592 slash line with 25 home runs and 73 RBI in 93 games in the minors last year.

There have been a lot of people trying to get Baltimore to trade one of them, given that they are very similar and could get in each other's way at the next level.

As of now, the Orioles have been adamant about keeping both of them around.