Orioles Rookie Report: The Kids Will Be Alright

Orioles Rookies Look Ahead to Next Season

Samuel Basallo Has A Lot To Learn

Last time we discussed him in depth, Basallo had 15 games under his belt with the Orioles and displayed strong decision-making and an ability to hit the ball hard. There were issues with him in the lower corners and the upper part of the zone. At the same time, he had issues swinging and missing at off-speed pitches like sliders and changeups.

Now, with nearly 30 games played, some of his weak spots have changed. Most of his problem areas now lie on the bottom half of the zone, especially the inside corner. Basallo still whiffs around 20-30% of the time at the upper half of the zone, but does not strike out often and saw a decrease in his launch angle.

The 21-year-old whiffs at 67% of the balls that he swings at in the inside corner out of the zone. That marks 14 swings and misses out of 21 swings taken. He has a strikeout rate over 25% across the entire lower half of the zone, along with a 30% whiff rate in the low-center region of the zone.

He’s starting to swing a lot outside of the zone, swinging at nearly 50% of all balls thrown in the upper part outside of the zone. That’s eating into his walk rate, which rests at 5.4%, and giving him an elevated chase rate of 38%.

There’s also been little to no improvement against breaking or offspeed pitches. He’s still hitting under .100 on changeups, while still struggling to get under 40% on whiffs against sliders. He is dominating against curveballs, notching a 1.091 slugging percentage and a .273 average against the pitch.

Basallo’s bat speed remains very fast among active players, ranking around the 90th percentile at 75.7 miles an hour. He must adjust his swing and attack angle to get those off-speed pitches.

Dylan Beavers is Going to be Really Good

The 24-year-old outfielder impressed at Triple-A Norfolk this year, going .304/.420/.935 over 94 games with 18 home runs. He also stole 23 bases while walking 68 times and striking out 76 times, nearly a 1:1 ratio. It marked a significant improvement from his average 2024 campaign in Double-A.

Beavers has demonstrated advanced patience at the plate despite being a rookie. His 19% walk rate would rank among the best in MLB if he were eligible, along with his 18% chase rate. At the same time, his whiff percentage of 23% would be above-average.

Unlike Basallo, Beavers mainly lays off outside pitches that fall just off the corners of the zone. He might be too conservative on the corners altogether, however, with three out of the four registering a strikeout rate of 50% or above. The only real area of concern would be the lower right-hand corner, where he whiffs at 46% of pitches.

Beavers dominates against fastballs, hitting .321 with a .536 slugging against two and four-seamers. He also hits well against offspeed pitches, hitting .238 with a .429 slugging percentage. Interestingly, he also struggles with breaking balls more, striking out at a near 50% clip with a 40% whiff rate.

He’s failed to record a single hit against 53 sliders, whiffing 52% of the time. However, he also struggles against curveballs, striking out 40% of the time against 68 curveballs. Given that sliders are common from pitchers alike, this is the biggest challenge he faces in unlocking his full hitting profile.

In addition, his 70% air rate is too high, especially his 39% flyball rate. His batting average would increase substantially if he increased his line-drive rate to 30% and hit more groundballs to the opposite side. Regardless, Beavers has the potential to be a cornerstone in the outfield with the Orioles for a while.