Where does new prospect Juaron Watts-Brown rank in Orioles' farm system?

A third-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of Oklahoma State, the 23-year-old has already reached Double-A with Toronto this year and should continue pitching at that level with Baltimore.

His best performance as a minor leaguer has come at his highest level of competition. Through 11 starts and 51.2 innings with the Double-A Vancouver Canadians, Watts-Brown has a 3.54 ERA and 53 strikeouts; that is a drop off in the strikeout department, owning a career K/9 ratio of 11.5 in the minor leagues.

The righty does have some work to do with his control, issuing 4.5 BB/9 and 26 total at that level. It has been an issue throughout his professional career, with a 4.6 BB/9 ratio in 192 innings. Nonetheless, there is some real talent for the Orioles to mold here, as they did a great job turning an impending free agent in Dominguez into a potential long-term piece for their pitching staff.

Watts-Brown already possesses a four-pitch arsenal, with breaking balls being the featured offerings. His slider sits in the low 80s and is his best pitch right now, with a curveball that can also be a putaway pitch. What will determine if he can stick as a starting pitcher is whether he can continue juicing up his fastball, which currently sits in the low 90s; if he can pump that up into the mid-90s with regularity, his offspeed and breaking pitches will play even better.

Thus far, Watts-Brown is the best or second-best prospect Baltimore has acquired ahead of the deadline; it depends on how Slater de Brun, the No. 37 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, is ranked.
The selection used on de Brun was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for right-handed relief pitcher Bryan Baker.

Left-hander relief pitcher Gregory Soto was traded to the New York Mets in exchange for Welling Aracena, who is the Orioles’ No. 20-ranked prospect, and right-handed pitcher Cameron Foster, who isn’t currently ranked inside the top 30.

Thus far, Baltimore has put an emphasis on stocking up on exciting young arms in their trades. It will be interesting to see if that is something they continue seeking out with several more players who could be on the move ahead of the July 31 deadline.