03-24-2024 MLB Preview - Flipbook - Page 10
MLB ’24
Sunday, March 24, 2024 10
SEASON PREVIEW
ORIOLES
Under-the-radar love
Five Orioles who could make
a surprising impact in 2024
By Matt Weyrich
T
he Orioles enter the 2024
season with one of the deepest organizational depth
charts in baseball. A blend
of established major leaguers and
up-and-coming prospects has put Baltimore in position to absorb an injury
at any corner of the roster and have
several options to replace them. It takes
much more than five starting pitchers,
eight relievers, nine position players
and a four-man bench to get through
a 162-game season. The Orioles might
have to trim their roster to 26 players
for opening day, but they will be relying
heavily on that organizational depth to
help them get back to playoff baseball
in October. Here are five under-the-radar players who could end up making
significant impacts in 2024.
Right-hander
Wandisson Charles
The Orioles signed Wandisson Charles
to a minor league deal over the 2022-23
offseason, seeing untapped potential in
the hard-throwing righty who flamed out
in the Oakland Athletics’ farm system. He
went on to impress out of the bullpen at
Double-A Bowie, reaching Triple-A for the
first time in his career and knocking on the
door of the big leagues.
Though he never got the call to the
majors, Charles returned to the organization on another minor league deal this
offseason. His triple-digit fastball and
gaudy strikeout numbers make for an
intriguing profile, one that could factor
into the Orioles’ bullpen mix this season.
Still trying to harness his control enough
Connor Norby’s bat should be enough to land an opportunity with the Orioles’ big league club at some point this season.
KENNETH K. LAM/STAFF
to limit walks, Charles has the potential
to be a late-inning option if he can put it
all together.
Right-hander
Chayce McDermott
Amid all the hype surrounding the
Orioles’ position player prospects, Chayce
McDermott reached the highest levels
of the minor leagues last season and put
himself in a position to earn a call-up to
Baltimore at some point this summer. The
right-hander, ranked eighth among Orioles
prospects but their top pitcher by Baseball America, posted a 2.49 ERA with 11.4
strikeouts per nine innings for Norfolk in
2023.
Though manager Brandon Hyde has
already indicated McDermott is headed
to Triple-A to start the year, a strong start
to the minor league season would make
him among the favorites to slide into either
the rotation or a long relief role if a spot
opens. With an impressive fastball-slider
combination and above-average curveball, McDermott has the arsenal that could
allow him to claim a spot in the back end of
the rotation for the long term.
Second baseman-OF
Connor Norby
In most organizations, a 23-year-old
who spent a full season in Triple-A slashTurn to Impact, Page 11