Orioles youngsters making immediate impact with impressive achievements

Jackson has a .337/.356/.520 slash line with a 142 OPS+ through 102 plate appearances. 10 extra-base hits have already been recorded, providing some unexpected pop to the Baltimore lineup. His most recent home run, in a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres on Monday, was hit off of star relief pitcher Adrian Morejon.

One of the most dominant left-handed relief pitchers in baseball, Morejon was an All-Star this year. Entering Monday's contest, he had surrendered only one home run in 62.1 innings of work, which came against AL home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners. Now, that number sits at two courtesy of Jackson.

The hot-hitting right fielder wasn’t the only young Orioles player to make some noise against the Padres that day. Joining Jackson in the fireworks was the team’s No. 1 prospect, Samuel Basallo. Recently called up to make his debut himself, he joined an exclusive club with his performance against San Diego.

Samuel Basallo Nearly Makes Orioles History

As the Baltimore designated hitter, Basallo went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI. As shared by Jake Rill of MLB.com, that made him the second youngest player in Orioles history to record at least two doubles and two RBI in a single game at 21 years and 19 days old. The only player who was younger was Manny Machado, who hit three doubles and had two RBI against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 23, 2013 at 20 years and 321 days old.

After tearing up the minor leagues, Basallo has brought that ridiculously hard swing to the big leagues. He has only a .217/.280/.370 slash line but has already recorded five extra-base hits. His impact has been a positive one with a 0.3 bWAR racked up in only 13 games and 50 plate appearances.

The young catcher is going to receive plenty of opportunities down the stretch to get his feet wet and acclimated himself to the major leagues. With Adley Rutschman on the injured list, Basallo is currently the starting catcher, and that could be the case once Opening Day in 2026 rolls around as well.

After it was announced that Baltimore had signed Basallo to a long-term extension, trade chatter started picking up around Rutschman; those rumors will likely continue flowing all winter, given the unlikelihood that both catchers will be on the roster once next season starts. Jackson hopes to be there along with him and second baseman Jackson Holliday, who reached an impressive milestone of his own.