Wednesday, March 12

Welcome to another edition of the Orioles Beat newsletter, which is landing in inboxes on Tuesdays and Saturdays this spring.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- This time last year, Vance Honeycutt and Griff O’Ferrall were college rivals in the ACC -- the former playing at the University of North Carolina, the latter at the University of Virginia. Now, they’re close friends who do pretty much everything together.

The Orioles selected them both on July 14 last year in the MLB Draft. Then, in August, they made their professional debuts for Single-A Delmarva. They were promoted to High-A Aberdeen together. They were roommates during an instructional camp for young O’s players last September -- also when they made a visit to Baltimore and took batting practice together at Camden Yards on Sept. 20.

“I think this relationship is just growing,” said Honeycutt, Baltimore’s No. 5 prospect per MLB Pipeline, who was taken No. 22 overall in last year’s Draft.

Honeycutt and O’Ferrall are now in Minor League camp together this Spring Training, living at the same place. They both came over as extra players and played in their first two Grapefruit League games this past Saturday and Sunday.

Next up: Honeycutt and O’Ferrall will take the Spring Breakout stage together.

The top two players from the Orioles’ 2024 Draft class are among the youngsters participating in Spring Breakout -- a prospect showcase that takes place over four days in Spring Training -- on Saturday night (6:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network) as O’s and Yankees prospects face off at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. (Tickets for the game are still available.)

Last year’s inaugural Spring Breakout showed how exciting it can be to pit some of baseball’s future stars against each other early in their professional careers.

“Obviously, you’re playing against the best talent, so if you hang at that level, then you’re in good shape,” said O’Ferrall, Baltimore’s No. 7 prospect. “I think everyone’s pretty excited, for sure.”

Honeycutt and O’Ferrall will be joined at Spring Breakout by two fellow players from their 2024 Draft class -- catcher/first baseman Ethan Anderson (O’s No. 18 prospect, ‘24 second-rounder) and outfielder Austin Overn (O’s No. 29 prospect, ‘24 third-rounder).

The bond between these Baby Birds goes beyond Honeycutt and O’Ferrall, as Anderson and Overn have followed the same path since joining the Orioles’ organization last summer.

“We do spend some time together around the complex, for sure,” Honeycutt said. “Obviously, the offseason, everyone goes their separate ways, so you kind of miss out on some of those opportunities. But it’s good to see everyone, good to be back with everybody, so it’s been fun.”

The Spring Breakout stage will allow O’s fans to get to know these players better.

Honeycutt’s best tools are his glove (70-grade fielding) and his speed (65-grade running), along with his 60-grade arm. But the 21-year-old former Tar Heel can also slug, as evidenced by the outfielder’s 60-grade power.

Although Honeycutt struggled a bit during his first taste of pro baseball -- a .177/.250/.196 slash line with one double and five RBIs across 13 games for Delmarva and Aberdeen -- he has a lot of potential. He showed up to Spring Training motivated to improve as well after an offseason of working on “simple stuff.”

“A little bit of mechanical adjustments at the plate,” Honeycutt said, “and then, continuing to get bigger, faster and more explosive.”

O’Ferrall can play second base and shortstop. His bat (55-grade hitting) and his speed (55-grade running) are his best tools, and the 22-year-old former Cavalier flashed them during his initial 20-game stint in the Minors, batting .250 with two doubles, eight RBIs and two steals.

Honeycutt has been impressed by his friend/roommate/former college rival over the past eight months, as the two often talk ball even when they’re away from the field.

“He’s a really talented player,” Honeycutt said. “It’s been cool. Definitely just picking his brain on certain parts of the game, and same thing over here.”

The Orioles will get a potential look at their future, with Honeycutt and O’Ferrall likely to be in the starting lineup for Spring Breakout. As for the players, it’s an opportunity to showcase their skills in front of a larger audience.

“I’m excited to come over here, especially with all these young guys that I’ve been playing with on the Minor League complex, and just have some fun and play as hard as we can,” O’Ferrall said. “It’ll be fun.”

The Orioles recently announced that Adam Jones is among those who will be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025. The former All-Star outfielder will be recognized during an on-field ceremony prior to the Aug. 9 game vs. the A’s at Camden Yards.

To celebrate, the O’s are giving away a Jones bobblehead to the first 20,000 fans in attendance. And, of course, the bobble of Jones is holding a pie, as he often used to hit teammates in the face with pies during on-field interviews throughout his career (as well as select fans amid the 2014 American League East championship celebration).

“There’s a lot of pictures, and there’s a lot of info about me with pieing, so it wasn’t that hard to find one to make one,” Jones said of the bobblehead. “They did a really good job. I did see it, and I’m like, ‘Oh, OK.’ So I’m going to get myself a few of them.”

Tickets for the Aug. 9 game are on sale now.

• The O’s are bringing back the all-orange uniforms in 2025, starting on April 12. Read more >>

• Who will make Baltimore’s 26-man roster? Here’s an updated projection. Read more >>

• Adley Rutschman’s standout spring has others in O’s camp taking notice. Read more >>

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