Orioles Former Top Prospect Thriving at Plate After Changes With Miami Marlins

Ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline, the Baltimore Orioles completed a trade with the Miami Marlins in hopes of improving their starting pitching staff.

They acquired left-handed pitcher Trevor Rogers, an All-Star in 2021 and the runner-up to Jonathan India of the Cincinnati Reds for the National League Rookie of the Year Award, in exchange for
infielder Connor Norby and outfielder Kyle Stowers.

Norby was the player everyone was keeping an eye on as the more highly-touted prospect out of the two. He was a top-100 player in the industry ahead of the 2023 campaign.

In the early going, this looks like a trade that Baltimore is going to be on the wrong end of.

Rogers struggled so much with the Orioles that he was demoted to Triple-A. He has yet to make a return to the Major Leagues, recovering from an offseason injury and working his way back to health.

Norby improved his production compared to what he had accomplished with the Orioles, but Stowers struggled at the start with his new team.

After recording a .306/.297/.500 slash line with Baltimore through 37 plate appearances prior to the trade in 2024, he underwhelmed with the Marlins, producing a .186/.262/.295 slash line through 172 plate appearances.

Do Orioles Regret Trading Away Kyle Stowers to Marlins?

With bottom of the barrel expectations heading into 2025, Miami had no reason not to continue trotting Stowers out as an everyday player to recieve consistent playing time.

Stowers is making the most of the opportunity and has unlocked some of his unrealized potential.

As shared by Josh Wilson of Sports Illustrated, he has seen a massive improvement in OPS and his overhauled batting stance, with 14.34 change in degrees, is paying dividends. 

Through 161 plate appearances, Stowers has a .300/.375/.571 slash line with an impressive 155 OPS+. The lefty has tapped into his power stroke with 10 home runs, including the first ever Opening Day walk-off in franchise history, to go along with four doubles, two triples and 29 RBI.

With multiple career-highs already set this season, it will be interesting to see if Stowers can keep up this production throughout the entirety of the season; he is only 48 plate appearances from what he totaled last year in the Big Leagues.

Baltimore certainly wishes their young players were producing at the level the traded outfielder is with their offense struggling mighitly.