In recent years the Orioles minor league system has been viewed as one of the worst in baseball. It was routinely looked down upon by prospect enthusiasts, lacking exciting, top end, impact prospects. \u00a0They also had the habit of trading away emerging prospects at the trade deadline for major leaguers that often made little impact on the pennant chase.<\/p>\n
However, the system is in better shape than it has been in recent memory. Austin Hays, Chance Sisco, and Ryan Mountcastle have legitimate Top 100 prospect potential. Hunter Harvey and DL Hall are the types of arms that could start at the top of a major league rotation. Though improvements are obvious, the Orioles<\/a> still are lacking depth and high upside, lottery ticket type prospects.<\/p>\n One of the reasons that the Orioles<\/a> system is significantly top heavy is their continued refusal to sign international amateur free agents. The Orioles<\/a> have stated that they are philosophically opposed to spending large sums on 16-year-olds. Unfortunately the rest of major league baseball doesn\u2019t agree with the Orioles<\/a> \u201cphilosophy.\u201d This puts them at a significant disadvantage.<\/p>\n With this self imposed handicap getting in the way of the Orioles<\/a> procuring and developing Latin players, the Orioles<\/a> have to be creative when finding young talent. They sign a lot of minor league free agents after they have been cut by other teams. International bonus slot money is traded for slightly older minor leaguers. They also take pride in their acumen in the Rule 5 draft. The Orioles<\/a> might be the only team that has as many Rule 5 draft picks as amateur international free agents in their Top 50 prospects list.<\/p>\n With their top talent likely to graduate from prospect status this season, it is likely that next year’s list will once again be unimpressive.<\/p>\n
\nTier 1:<\/b> Players with high expectations of both making the majors and playing at an All-Star level for a number of years
\nTier 2:<\/b> Players with an above average expectation of making the majors and being a solid contributor
\nTier 3:<\/b> Players with an average expectation of making the majors and being a solid contributor
\nTier 4:<\/b> Players who have the potential of making the majors, or have high likelihood of making the majors but providing minimal impact (e.g. middle reliever, low-ceiling UT guys)
\nTier 5:<\/b> Players who are worth keeping an eye on, but likely to never make a team\u2019s 40-man roster\n<\/div>\n