Mac Horvath acknowledged that he doesn’t know a lot concerning the Orioles.
In the week since being chosen by them within the second spherical of the 2023 MLB draft, he’s had extra urgent issues than studying the ins and outs of Baltimore baseball historical past.
There is one factor concerning the Orioles he does know, although.
“They’re pulling up a lot of young guys,” Horvath mentioned throughout his introductory information convention at Camden Yards on Monday. “I think that kind of speaks to how good they are at developing talent.”
The Orioles chosen Horvath, an outfielder out of North Carolina, with the 53rd decide after drafting Vanderbilt outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. within the first spherical. Baltimore signed each gamers Monday. Horvath, who will flip 22 on Saturday, mentioned his first cease as an Oriole might be on the membership’s facility in Sarasota, Florida.
Orioles director of draft operations Brad Ciolek mentioned Horvath’s total athletic profile stood out most. After hitting beneath .270 in his first two years with the Tar Heels, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound junior hit .305 with a whopping .711 slugging proportion.
“As far as the production this year offensively with North Carolina, over 20 doubles, 20 home runs, 20 stolen bases,” Ciolek mentioned final week. “That just kind of goes to show you the kind of athlete we’re getting here.”
Horvath, who Baseball America ranked because the 67th-best prospect within the draft pool, mentioned he anticipated to be chosen on Day 1, not figuring out whether or not he’d be taken within the second spherical or within the Competitive Balance Round B.
“It was just a huge relief for my family and a lot of excitement when my name got called,” he mentioned.
In his first two seasons at UNC, Horvath solely performed third base, however this spring he began 32 video games at third, 20 in proper area and eight in middle. He principally performed outfield within the extremely aggressive wood-bat Cape Cod Baseball League in the summertime, and Ciolek mentioned Horvath will play each middle area and third base to “capitalize on his athleticism.”
“Honestly, I feel like I’m an outfielder,” Horvath mentioned. “I feel comfortable out there and confident, but obviously playing third base for the last three years now, I also feel very comfortable there as well.”
Horvath mentioned he’s “super excited” to get began along with his skilled profession, particularly becoming a member of a farm system that Baseball America ranks as the perfect within the sport with eight gamers inside its prime 100.
“Looking at what they’ve done, just bringing up all these young guys,” he mentioned. “And they have even more guys knocking on the door getting up here.”
Each week, The Baltimore Sun breaks down 5 of the highest performers in Baltimore’s prospect ranks and fingers out some superlatives for many who didn’t make that lower.
1. Double-A Bowie outfielder John Rhodes
Similar to the most important leagues, the minors took a slight break final week, not taking part in till Friday. It’s exhausting to have a greater weekend than the one Rhodes had. The 22-year-old outfielder hit three house runs Friday and had game-tying and walk-off singles Sunday. The 2021 third-round decide was struggling in July after posting a .985 OPS in June. Rhodes hit .189 with a .555 OPS in 25 video games with Bowie to finish final season, however he’s posted a .784 OPS by way of 64 video games this yr.
2. Double-A Bowie shortstop Jackson Holliday
He was no Rhodes, however in his first Double-A motion, Holliday greater than held his personal. The 19-year-old went 6-for-12 with a double and two walks, enhancing his total numbers between Low-A, High-A and Double-A to a .338 batting common with a .996 OPS. The 2022 No. 1 total decide has zoomed by way of the minors and up prospect rankings, now rating atop MLB Pipeline’s record and No. 2 on Baseball America’s.
3. Triple-A Norfolk infielder Connor Norby
Norby opened the season as considered one of eight Orioles gamers on Baseball America’s prime 100 record, however after struggling to start the yr, he’s fallen off the rankings and is now exterior Baltimore’s prime 10 prospects. Through April, the 23-year-old infielder had a .306 on-base proportion with simply two house runs in 24 video games. In 60 video games since, the 2021 second-round decide has hit .297 with 19 doubles and 11 doubles to spice up his total slash line to .287/.344/.473 — good for an .817 OPS. This previous weekend, Norby went 5-for-12 with two house runs.
4. Double-A Bowie right-hander Alex Pham
Pham, a Nineteenth-round decide in 2021, posted a 2.45 ERA with a 36.7% strikeout fee in High-A to earn his promotion to Bowie a month in the past. He’s maintained that success in his 4 outings since, permitting simply two runs in 17 innings. He pitched 4 no-hit scoreless innings Saturday, strolling two and hanging out one.
5. High-A Aberdeen catcher-first baseman Creed Willems
A yr in the past, Willems was hitting .145 with a .460 OPS in Low-A. But he ended the yr robust and carried that over into 2023, posting a 1.056 OPS with Delmarva to earn a promotion to High-A. With Aberdeen, the 20-year-old has hit seven house runs in 33 video games, together with a two-run blast Friday in a sport he had 5 RBIs.
The prime prospect not featured to date
It’s uncommon for Joey Ortiz to be on this spot within the minor league report. The infielder has both been within the main leagues, totally on Baltimore’s bench, or dominating in Triple-A to earn a spot as one of many 5 highlighted gamers above. Ortiz had a mean weekend — for his requirements as somebody with a profession .952 OPS in Triple-A — going 4-for-12 with a double, a triple and two RBIs. Ortiz, the Orioles’ No. 5 prospect nonetheless within the minors, is slashing .333/.389/.554 in 208 plate appearances with the Tides this yr.
International acquisition of the week
Deivy Cruz, a pitcher the Orioles signed out of the Dominican Republic in January 2021, pitched 4 scoreless innings for Low-A Delmarva on Sunday. The 5-foot-11, 154-pound lefty hasn’t allowed a run in his previous three outings, spanning 13 innings. For the season, Cruz, 19, is 7-1 with a 3.82 ERA in 61 1/3 innings.
Time to provide a shoutout to …
In his first 41 video games this season, Low-A Delmarva shortstop Carter Young was hitting .185 with a .580 OPS. Young, drafted by the Orioles final summer season out of Vanderbilt, has since hit .299 with a .775 OPS with 10 multi-hit video games in 28 contests. Last week, the 22-year-old went 4-for-12 with a double, two walks and two RBIs.
Short-season snippets
Thomas Sosa, an outfielder the Orioles signed out of the Dominican Republic in January 2022, had the perfect week of any participant on Baltimore’s Florida Complex League crew over the previous week. He went 5-for-16 with a house run, a triple and 4 RBIs. … Right-hander Raúl Rangel, a 20-year-old Venezuelan who was a part of Mike Elias’ first worldwide signing class in 2019, pitched 4 scoreless innings within the FCL with three strikeouts Thursday. … In the Dominican Summer League, left-hander Noelin Cuevas, who signed with the Orioles out of the Dominican Republic in December 2021, struck out 9 in 5 scoreless innings Friday.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com