Friday, August 14

Welcome to another edition of the Orioles Beat newsletter. The O’s conclude their three-city road trip this weekend, as they’re set to open a four-game set against the American League East-leading Rays at Tropicana Field tonight.

MINNEAPOLIS -- A new name has emerged atop the Orioles’ Top 30 Prospects list.

MLB Pipeline released its updated rankings on Thursday night, with outfielder Eric Booth Jr. named the No. 1 prospect in Baltimore’s system. The 18-year-old, who was selected by the O’s with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, is also the No. 40 prospect in baseball.

Though the Orioles don’t typically send high school players to an affiliate the same year they are drafted, that wasn’t the case with Booth, who made his professional debut for Single-A Delmarva on Tuesday. He collected a hit in each of his first two games, including an RBI single in his first appearance for the Shorebirds.

“We like a lot about Booth," Baltimore vice president of domestic scouting Will Robertson said after the Draft. "He has a huge engine, as we call it. He's super powerful, both running the bases and moving the bat. That leads to impact outcomes, both defensively in center field and offensively with the power-speed combination. Super young for his class, and has always hit everywhere he's gone.”

Booth is one of four O’s prospects on the updated Top 100 Prospects list, as he’s joined by right-hander Anthony Eyanson (No. 49) and lefties Joseph Dzierwa (No. 90) and Caden Hunter (No. 98). Eyanson was acquired from the Red Sox in the Adley Rutschman trade on Aug. 3, while Dzierwa and Hunter were both 2025 Draft picks (taken in the second and sixth rounds, respectively).

Here’s a breakdown of the Orioles’ farm system following MLB Pipeline’s update.

Here’s a look at the Orioles’ top prospects:

1. Eric Booth Jr., OF (MLB No. 40)

2. Anthony Eyanson, RHP (MLB No. 49)

3. Joseph Dzierwa, LHP (MLB No. 90)

4. Caden Hunter, LHP (MLB No. 98)

5. Ike Irish, OF/1B

Complete Top 30 list »

Biggest jump/fall

Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the preseason list:

Jump: Caden Hunter, LHP (Preseason: NR | Midseason: No. 4)

A sixth-round pick in the 2025 Draft out of the University of Southern California, Hunter has climbed from Single-A Delmarva to High-A Frederick to Double-A Chesapeake this season, recording a 2.04 ERA over 19 combined outings (17 starts). The southpaw had an impressive run in High-A, where he posted a 1.60 ERA in 10 games (nine starts).

Hunter also has 128 strikeouts and a 1.02 WHIP over 84 total innings in his first pro season.

Fall: Esteban Mejia, RHP (Preseason: No. 8 | Midseason: No. 26)
It’s been a tough 2026 season for Mejia, who has a 9.74 ERA through 18 starts for Single-A Delmarva. The 19-year-old Dominican right-hander has struggled with his command -- issuing 64 walks and recording a 2.39 WHIP over 44 1/3 innings -- despite his high-octane fastball.

New to the list

Here are the players added to the Top 30 from outside the organization:

No. 1: Eric Booth Jr., OF (Draft, first round)

No. 2: Anthony Eyanson, RHP (Trade with Red Sox on Aug. 3)

No. 9: Enddy Azocar, OF (Trade with Red Sox on Aug. 3)
No. 10: Michael Forret, RHP (Trade with Rays on Aug. 3)
No. 12: Kyson Witherspoon, RHP (Trade with Red Sox on Aug. 3)
No. 15: Ty Head, OF (Draft, second round)
No. 24: Jhomnardo Reyes, OF (Trade with Twins on July 31)

No. 25: Harold Rivas, OF (Trade with Red Sox on Aug. 3)

No. 29: Kevin Roberts Jr., OF (Draft, fourth round)

Best tools

Players are graded on a traditional 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.

Hit: 55 -- Ike Irish (Eric Booth Jr, Nate George)

Power: 55 -- Ike Irish (Wehiwa Aloy, Enddy Azocar)

Run: 80 -- Enrique Bradfield Jr.

Arm: 65 -- Creed Willems

Defense: 70 -- Enrique Bradfield Jr.

Fastball: 70 -- Esteban Mejia

Curveball: 55 -- Kyson Witherspoon (Anthony Eyanson, Trey Gibson, Nester German)

Slider: 65 -- Anthony Eyanson

Changeup: 60 -- Joseph Dzierwa

Control: 60 -- Joseph Dzierwa

The Orioles (58-63) are entering a crucial stretch of their season, as their next 10 games come against the top two teams in the AL -- the Rays and Yankees, a pair of AL East rivals. After a four-game series at Tropicana Field this weekend, the O’s return home for a pair of three-game sets against the Yankees and Rays at Camden Yards.

Baltimore is hoping for better results than it had the most recent time it played in St. Petersburg, as Tampa Bay swept a three-game series from May 18-20. But the Orioles returned the favor, sweeping a three-game set against the Rays at home from May 25-27.

The O’s have not been as competitive vs. the Yankees, who have won five of the seven meetings between the two clubs this season. That included a four-game sweep by New York at Yankee Stadium from May 1-4.

If the Orioles are going to have a chance to make a late push into the postseason as a Wild Card team, they likely can’t lose too many of these next 10 games, or else they could fall off.

“We're going to [St. Petersburg]; they're a good team. I think if we just go and play our brand of baseball, I think we can have some success and that can kind of change the momentum. Obviously, there's still a lot of games left, so a big series in [St. Petersburg], I think, can be really good for us. But they're a good team, so we've got to play our best ball." -- outfielder Dylan Beavers, on upcoming series vs. Rays

To subscribe to Orioles Beat, visit this page and mark "Orioles Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Orioles or that they're checked as your favorite team.

View Online

© 2026 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Please review our Privacy Policy.

You (content-newsletters-aaaajcbmj6p6jdf5yftfracdza@mlb.org.slack.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages or purchased a ticket from MLB. 

Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions.

Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.