For the second straight season, the Orioles have promoted a player in his age-19 season to Triple-A. In early September, after Samuel Basallo accrues about a week’s worth of Triple-A plate appearances, he’ll join an illustrious club — one that Jackson Holliday became a member of a year ago.

Basallo will soon become only the sixth top prospect since 2006 to reach Triple-A by his age-19 season and total at least 25 plate appearances there, according to FanGraphs. Before they became big leaguers and household names, Bryce Harper, Ronald Acuña Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Ozzie Albies achieved what Basallo is about to and what Holliday did last year.

Basallo, the Orioles’ No. 3 prospect, was officially promoted to Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday, continuing the catcher’s impressive rise through Baltimore’s farm system. About 16 months ago, the Dominican Republic native was beginning his first year of full-season ball with Low-A Delmarva. This week, he’ll begin his pursuit of a big-league call-up, which could realistically come next season. Each player on this list either debuted in the majors the year they reached Triple-A or the following one.

Since 2006, the year in which FanGraphs’ data begins, 19-year-old Harper was the first player to achieve the feat when in 2012 he played 21 games in Triple-A before joining the Washington Nationals. Harper and Holliday are the only players on this list to be drafted, each with the No. 1 selection — the former in 2010, the latter in 2022.

Basallo’s timeline is similar to those of his international counterparts. Acuña, Guerrero and Albies were also signed as international free agents and zoomed through the minors.

In 2017, Acuña hit .325 with an .896 OPS in his age-19 season to reach Triple-A, and the outfielder made his MLB debut with the Atlanta Braves the following year. Guerrero crushed Double- and Triple-A pitching to the tune of a 1.073 OPS in 2018 to earn his promotion to Triple-A. The Toronto Blue Jays called him up the next season. In Albies’ age-19 season, the shortstop hit .292 with a .778 OPS between the minors’ top two levels before debuting for the Braves the following year.

Three other low-level prospects — Yeyson Yrizarri, Robert Perez Jr. and Luis Vázquez — also achieved the feat, but they were not inside their teams’ top 10 prospect lists at the time and all returned to the lower minors in subsequent seasons.

The Orioles signed 16-year-old Basallo for a then-franchise-record $1.3 million international signing bonus in January 2021 — the headliner of the first major investment by the Mike Elias regime after decades of the organization largely passing over the Latin American market. In 2023, Basallo jumped from Low-A to Double-A in his first year of full-season ball. His 1.131 OPS in High-A was by far the best of any player in his age-18 season at the level since at least 2006 — ahead of Mike Trout (.821 in 2014) and Guerrero (.944 in 2017).

This year, Basallo overcame multiple injuries to hit .289 with an .820 OPS in 106 games, tallying 22 doubles, 16 homers and 55 RBIs. He split time between catcher and first base, and while the organization says it believes in his defense, his elite production at the plate could move him out from behind it. Basallo turned 20 earlier this month, but age seasons in baseball are determined by how old the player is on July 1. Thus 2024 is his age-19 campaign.

Baseball America ranks Basallo as the sport’s No. 17 prospect, and MLB Pipeline has him at No. 11. But FanGraphs’ top 100 list is even more bullish on Basallo, ranking the backstop at No. 3 — behind only Holliday and Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero. Holliday and Caminero are both expected to graduate from such status in the coming weeks, potentially giving the Orioles another No. 1 prospect by at least one major list’s estimation.

Elias perhaps had the opportunity to trade Basallo at the deadline, but he instead held on to his prized power hitter. In July, Elias said he views Basallo as a future “middle-of-the-order bat” — one that could slot in as a first baseman/designated hitter or as a catcher, forming a duo with Adley Rutschman.

“This kid is a pretty special talent,” Elias said.

But Basallo isn’t the only talented player in Baltimore’s farm system. That’s why each week, The Baltimore Sun breaks down five of the top performers in the Orioles’ prospect ranks and hands out some superlatives for those who didn’t make that cut.

1. Aberdeen C/1B Creed Willems: The No. 3 catcher in the Orioles’ system, Willems returned from a hamstring injury earlier this month and picked up where he left off at High-A. Over his past 13 games, the 2021 eighth-round draft pick slashed .275/.420/.475 — good for an .895 OPS. Willems, who Baseball America ranks No. 27 in Baltimore’s organization list, has 13 homers and a .788 OPS this year for the IronBirds.

2. Bowie RHP Cameron Weston: Weston’s 2.70 ERA across 90 frames between Aberdeen and Bowie ranks first among Orioles minor league pitchers with at least 65 innings pitched. Last week, the 2022 eighth-round draft pick delivered one of his best starts of the season, tossing five scoreless innings and striking out six while throwing a career-high 75 pitches. Weston didn’t open the season in Baltimore’s top 30, but his impressive campaign has since earned him a spot at No. 26.

3. Delmarva OF Austin Overn: Overn is one of four 2024 draftees to appear inside Baltimore’s top 30, coming in at No. 28 after the Orioles drafted him in the third round. The speedster has opened his professional career as expected, slashing .314/.435/.457 — good for an .892 OPS — in his first 10 games. Last week, the Southern California standout stole three bases in his first game and smacked four hits in his last.

4. Bowie OF Enrique Bradfield Jr.: Overn’s combination of speed and defensive ability make him an intriguing prospect, but the Orioles have one who scouts rate even better in both those tools. Earlier this month, Bradfield, the club’s 2023 first-round pick, was promoted to Double-A after putting up solid, but not spectacular, numbers in High-A. In 11 games with the Baysox, the speedster has proven that was the right move, hitting .318 with an .878 OPS, walking more times (eight) than he’s struck out (seven) and swiping six bases.

5. Norfolk RHP Brandon Young: Young was seen as a potential option to start for the Orioles on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” if the club wanted to continue giving its starting pitchers extra rest. Baltimore instead went with Dean Kremer on regular rest, keeping Young with Norfolk to start Saturday and tie his career-high with 10 strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. The 2020 undrafted free agent is becoming a frequent fixture in this space, headlining it two weeks ago after Elias said Young was on the general manager’s “radar screen” for a big league call-up. The 26-year-old sports a 3.57 ERA and an impressive 31.3% strikeout rate between Bowie and Norfolk this year, a bounce-back one after missing most of the previous two because of injury.

Top prospect not featured so far: Coby Mayo, the Orioles’ No. 2 prospect and the 12th-best in baseball, returned to the field last week after Baltimore demoted him to Triple-A. The 22-year-old picked up where he left off, going 6 for 21 with a homer and a triple. Mayo played four games at third base and two at first as he continues to work on his defense.

International acquisition of the week: In his age-19 season, Leandro Arias began the year in rookie ball and is now putting up solid numbers in High-A. The Orioles signed Arias, a middle infielder ranked No. 23 on Baltimore’s farm, for $600,000 out of the Dominican Republic in January 2022. In two weeks with the IronBirds, Arias is hitting .297 with a .747 OPS.

Time to give a shoutout to: Ryan Stafford was the second of four catchers Baltimore drafted in July, selecting the Cal Poly standout in the fifth round. In his first two weeks of professional ball, the 21-year-old is slashing .387/.512/.419 — good for a .931 OPS — with eight walks for Delmarva. He recorded his first three-hit game and smacked his first extra-base hit Sunday.

Short-season snippets: The season for Baltimore’s rookie ball clubs ended Saturday when the Dominican Summer League Orioles Orange team lost in the third and deciding game of the quarterfinals. That DSL club ended the regular season 38-18 and was led by Jordan Sanchez (.333 average, 1.037 OPS) and Stiven Martínez (.278 average, .883 OPS). The Orioles signed Sanchez, 18, out of Cuba in December, while Martínez, the organization’s No. 20 prospect in his age-16 season, signed for $950,000 out of the Dominican Republic.

Farm files

• Nick Avila, a 27-year-old right-hander the Orioles claimed off waivers in June, was released by the club Monday after designating him for assignment last week. Avila, who made his MLB debut with the San Francisco Giants earlier this season, struggled in three outings with Norfolk, allowing nine hits and 10 runs in 1 1/3 innings.

• The first 2024 draftee to reach High-A is the last one the Orioles selected. Right-hander Evan Yates, the club’s 20th-round pick, made his professional debut Saturday, striking out five in two innings for the IronBirds. The Cal State Fullerton standout pitched this summer for the Frederick Keys in MLB’s Draft League.

Jackson Holliday, the No. 2 prospect in baseball, is on his way to Baltimore to potentially rejoin the Orioles, two sources with direct knowledge confirmed to The Baltimore Sun.

The team has yet to announce a roster move, and it’s unclear when he could rejoin the club. The Orioles play Wednesday afternoon at Camden Yards before heading to Cleveland to face the Guardians for a four-game series beginning Thursday. Holliday was not in the lineup for Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday night.

Holliday, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 draft, is hitting .271 with a .908 OPS in Triple-A this season. If he’s recalled, it will be his second stint in the major leagues after the 20-year-old struggled in his first MLB action, going just 2 for 34 with 18 strikeouts before being demoted.

The Baltimore Banner was first to report Holliday was on his way to Baltimore.

This story will be updated.

About four hours before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline, the Orioles acquired left-hander Trevor Rogers from the Miami Marlins for prospects Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers. Rogers will join a rotation that also added right-hander Zach Eflin, whom the Orioles acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.

Rogers, 26, had a 4.53 ERA and 1.528 WHIP with the National League-worst Marlins this season. In his first year of arbitration, Rogers is under control through the 2026 season — likely a significant reason the Orioles needed to give up both Norby and Stowers to acquire him.

Rogers, the 13th overall draft pick in 2017, broke out in 2021 with the Marlins to make his first and only All-Star team and finish second in NL Rookie of the Year voting after posting a 2.64 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 133 innings. But he has yet to recapture that success since, recording a 4.92 ERA and 1.494 WHIP with fewer strikeouts than innings since 2022.

Rogers pitched only 18 innings last season because of a left biceps strain and a partial tear in his right lat. He struggled to begin this season but has been better recently with a 3.48 ERA over his past 10 starts. He owns a career 4.23 ERA across 80 starts.

“We think that he’s going to be a really good fit toward the middle, back part of this rotation,” general manager Mike Elias said on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network broadcast during the Orioles’ 6-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. “Fits in well with the group. He’s got a real live, sneaky arm, a lot of extension. He gets a lot of ground balls, and I think that from the left side is something we haven’t had in this rotation for a while.”

Rogers now gives the Orioles a rotation with five experienced arms, but he isn’t as flashy or dominant as other names on the market, including left-handers Blake Snell and Garrett Crochet. Ace Corbin Burnes will continue to headline the group, while Grayson Rodriguez, Eflin, Rogers and Dean Kremer round it out.

It remains to be seen whether Rogers or Kremer would slot in as the Orioles’ No. 4 starter in a playoff series, but this move appears to be more about getting to the playoffs in a healthy spot and looking to the future.

“We still have two months to play, too,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “So you’re hoping you stay healthy for the next two months, but we’ve had a few starters go down already this year. We’re always looking for depth and looking for guys that can help you. Hopefully, Trevor can.”

While Eflin and Rogers are not traditional top-of-the-rotation arms, they bolster a group that was in need of help. Burnes has been as advertised in his first year in Baltimore after Elias made the biggest trade of his tenure by acquiring the ace from the Milwaukee Brewers in February. And Rodriguez has been a solid No. 2 in his sophomore campaign.

But season-ending elbow injuries to starters Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells left holes in the Orioles’ rotation that Eflin and Rogers fill.

“I’m excited,” Hyde said. “Still have some time left, so it’s not the end. We’ll see what happens. To have [Eflin] the experience he brings, you saw what a pro he was [Monday]. With Rogers, incredible rookie year. And I know he’s had some injury stuff, but the last couple months have been really good. So hopefully those guys can both help us down the stretch.”

Orioles players barely knew the trade’s full details when they walked into Camden Yards’ clubhouse Tuesday afternoon. First baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who wasn’t traded at the deadline despite rumors he could be on the move, said he’s looking forward to watching Rogers pitch for the Orioles. His debut will likely come in Cleveland during the Orioles’ four-game series versus the American League-best Guardians.

“I think it’s a good addition to the team,” Mountcastle said. “You know, definitely gonna miss the guys we got rid of but, yeah, we’re excited.”

Cedric Mullins needed to ask lockermate Heston Kjerstad, whose locker is where Austin Hays’ was before the outfielder was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, to find out who the Orioles gave up for Rogers.

Mullins’ name was on the trade market, but the Orioles kept the center fielder who has hit better in recent weeks after he slumped in May.

“I’m just now finding out about the full details,” Mullins said. “All around solid. Stowers and Norby are going to get the opportunity that they’ve struggled to get here. … It’s always nice to see guys that you’ve been around get their shot.”

Norby, 24, and Stowers, 26, have both spent time in the major leagues with the Orioles and have proved they are too good for Triple-A. Norby, a second baseman who can play corner outfield, is a career .296 hitter with an .877 OPS in 227 Triple-A games. Stowers, an outfielder who can play all three spots, has hit .253 with an .870 OPS in 243 career Triple-A contests.

However, Baltimore’s position player depth made opportunities in the majors difficult to find for the pair. With Jackson Holliday likely the future at second base and Kjerstad and Colton Cowser already performing in the major leagues, Norby and Stowers found themselves on the outside looking in. Stowers debuted with the Orioles in 2022 and appeared briefly in each of the past three seasons. Norby made his MLB debut in June when Jorge Mateo was injured and rejoined the team last week when Mateo suffered another ailment.

“Part of the game, the unfortunate part of saying goodbye to people sometimes,” Hyde said. “I was just talking to Connor about being excited for him to get a really good opportunity. Hopefully have a great opportunity there to play and showcase himself as a major league player and Kyle in the same boat — guys that have really put really good numbers up and Triple-A and looking for an opportunity, and hopefully they get one in Miami.”

Stowers was once seen as part of the future in Baltimore after the Orioles selected him with their third pick in the 2019 draft — after Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson. Norby, who Baseball America ranked as the No. 7 prospect in the Orioles’ farm system, was drafted in 2021’s second round after Baltimore selected Cowser with its first pick.

“Many emotions right now but thank you to Baltimore for giving me a chance to grow and show what I can do,” Norby posted on social media. “I love this city, these fans, my teammates and coaches, and I loved every second of being an Oriole. My family and I are forever grateful Birdland.”

Cowser, along with many players in the Orioles’ clubhouse, came up through the minors with Norby and Stowers.

“Those are two of my better friends in this organization,” Cowser said. “On one hand I’m upset to see them go, but on the other hand, I’m really excited for them to get an opportunity. They’re gonna be great big leaguers, and they’re really good people and really good ballplayers.”

Kjerstad’s name was also in trade rumors. He’s had to grapple with the possibility that he’s traded to another team, and he’s come up with an interesting analogy to understand the deadline.

“It’s a transaction,” he said. “It’s like when you go to dinner and you buy a steak. You’re trading the steakhouse a $100 bill for the steak and you feel like you’re getting a good value, steakhouse says they’re getting a good value. So, that’s the way it is with teams.”

After the trade, the Orioles selected the contract of utility player Terrin Vavra, replacing Norby on the 40-man and active rosters. The 27-year-old Vavra, who made the Orioles’ opening day roster in 2023, is slashing .269/.377/.423 — good for an .800 OPS — in 31 games with Triple-A Norfolk this season.

The lack of playing time might be surprising for a prospect of Kjerstad’s caliber — ranked No. 36 by Baseball America — but it wasn’t really. The Orioles are one of baseball’s best teams, and getting Kjerstad into the lineup would normally require taking out a proven big leaguer.

In an interview with The Baltimore Sun, Orioles general manager Mike Elias said he knew when he called up Kjerstad three weeks ago that playing time would be hard to come by and that sending him back down was a possibility.

“We have a really tough lineup to crack here right now, which is good,” Elias said Monday. “It was long enough without Heston getting regular playing time. We knew that was likely. This wasn’t a surprise. But after a certain amount of time goes by, you want to rotate things.”

Elias often describes his job as Baltimore’s top executive as a “balancing act.” With a team on pace to win 105 games and the top farm system in the sport, he must weigh winning in the present against developing prospects, maximizing their value and winning in the future — a task he said is “tricky.”

That tightrope is a credit to Elias and his front office. The Orioles developed this farm system and this American League-leading club largely because of the measured philosophy he and others brought to Baltimore from the Houston Astros. However, they’ve built such a surplus that they can simply swap one outfield prospect for another, as Kyle Stowers was recalled Monday to replace Kjerstad.

Stowers will likely receive similarly limited playing time, and in three weeks, a new prospect could be in Baltimore. Jackson Holliday, the consensus top prospect in baseball, corner infielder Coby Mayo, second baseman/corner outfielder Connor Norby and now Kjerstad are all in Triple-A Norfolk putting up impressive numbers.

“The bottom line is we’re neck and neck for first place in the American League East,” Elias said. “We’re trying to have the best record that we can. First and foremost is winning the games up here. It’s hard to leapfrog the guys that are in our starting lineup right now.”

For Kjerstad, a left-handed hitter, to start regularly against righties, he would’ve needed to play over one of the following players: Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O’Hearn, Anthony Santander, Colton Cowser or Cedric Mullins. Three members of that group (Mountcastle, Santander and Mullins) are proven big leaguers. Three of them (Mountcastle, O’Hearn and Cowser) entered Monday with an OPS over .800. And all of them except O’Hearn are better defenders at their positions than Kjerstad is in the corner outfield.

Elias said the decision to send down Kjerstad, who posted a 1.176 OPS in Triple-A before he was recalled, was to prevent an extended period of inactivity from harming his development.

“We were just concerned about him not getting regular at-bats,” Elias said. “With people healthy and performing, that’s the case, but then there are a lot of players in Triple-A that are really knocking on the door and kind of putting themselves in position to get called up and wanting to reward that.”

As Elias looks at the past three weeks with Kjerstad on the roster, he doesn’t see any opportunities the club missed to get him more playing time. The Orioles did, after all, go 11-6 in those 17 games. Kjerstad went 2 for 14 with two walks and six strikeouts this year after posting a .748 OPS following his September call-up last year.

“We’re at a spot right now — knock on wood — where we’ve got a lot of really good players up and running. It’s already a challenge for (manager) Brandon (Hyde) to keep everyone’s name in the lineup on a basis that’s even semi-regular,” Elias said. “With that role being a bench role right now, it’s how long do you want Heston Kjerstad doing that as opposed to getting regular at-bats in Triple-A? … I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of him. I definitely don’t want that to be the case.”

It might seem like this conundrum will never end for the Orioles. The same thing could happen to Stowers now, or Kjerstad when he’s recalled, or to Mayo and Norby when they’re promoted. But it’s more likely that Baltimore isn’t as fortunate in the injury department moving forward as it’s been the past few years or the club moves on from veteran outfielders Santander, Mullins and Austin Hays in 2025 or 2026 to make room for the youngsters.

“This is a problem that’s not going to last forever,” Elias said. “And it’s a lot better than the alternative problem. We’re just kind of doing the best we can in real time. It’s tough on the players that are going up and down, we know that. … We’re doing our best to balance all these factors.”

One difference between Kjerstad and the prospects who came before him might be his defense. Before Kjerstad, Elias had promoted six top 100 prospects he also drafted. All of them — Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Joey Ortiz, Colton Cowser, Jordan Westburg and Jackson Holliday — are either above-average or elite defensive players.

With a lack of public defensive metrics in the minors, it’s difficult to assess Kjerstad’s performance in the field. He was considered a bat-first prospect when he was drafted No. 2 overall by the Orioles in 2020, and Baseball America grades his speed and fielding tools as his two worst.

Elias spoke glowingly of Kjerstad’s defense, but his manager’s actions might speak more loudly. Last year, Kjerstad was entrusted with just 21 2/3 innings in the field across the 17 games for which he was on the roster. This year, he played only 32 innings, including a start in Camden Yards’ abnormally large left field Saturday during which he made a sliding grab, but failed to make a difficult one on the warning track.

“I’m someone that’s a high guy on Heston’s defense, and I have been since the draft,” Elias said. “He’s a really good straightaway runner, he’s got an above-average throwing arm, he’s got a lot of outfield experience and I think he showed yesterday that he’s got speed to cover a big outfield.”

Of course, Elias has no choice other than to speak positively about a prospect’s defense. He would want other front offices to think Kjerstad is a quality defender, too, in case one comes calling for the 25-year-old slugger in return for a pitcher who could help the Orioles win now.

Through that lens, Elias also must juggle the value of his best assets — his blue-chip prospects — and ensure they don’t depreciate alongside the goal of developing those players and defending the club’s AL East title. Elias recently traded away two former top 100 prospects in DL Hall and Ortiz for ace Corbin Burnes. Both of them made multiple stops in Baltimore in reduced roles — Hall a reliever, Ortiz a bench infielder — and it did not appear to hamper their stocks.

“I think (Ortiz) is a clear example of somebody where it doesn’t seem like there was any damage to him not getting an extended stretch of opportunity here at the major league level,” Elias said. “We try to keep an eye on what’s best for us in the moment, but also what’s best for the player because it benefits them and it also benefits us to develop them as optimally as possible.

“We’re trying to strike a delicate balance with all these things.”

Burnes, 29, is a three-time All-Star who immediately becomes Baltimore’s most accomplished starting pitcher. The right-hander broke out in 2021 to capture the NL Cy Young, leading the majors with a 2.43 earned-run average. He’s racked up at least 28 starts and 200 strikeouts in each of the past three seasons, but his relationship with the Brewers fractured over tense arbitration hearings. Burnes is under contract through the 2024 season, after which he’ll be a free agent.

The Orioles overtook the Tampa Bay Rays and staved off the entire American League during the second half of last season largely because of their excellent starting pitching. But the young rotation fell flat in the postseason, as Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer each underperformed their expectations and combined to allow 13 runs in eight innings during Baltimore’s three-game sweep at the hands of the Texas Rangers in a Division Series.

Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said after the playoff failure that any criticism of the team’s shortcomings should fall on his shoulders. He took a major step Thursday in improving what was perceived as his club’s largest one.

It’s unclear exactly where Burnes will slot in Baltimore’s rotation after Bradish spent 2023 as one of the AL’s best starters, finishing fourth in Cy Young voting. But it’s almost certain he will start one of the club’s first two games in conjunction with Bradish. Rodriguez and left-hander John Means are locks to be in the rotation (assuming health), giving the Orioles a formidable quartet with two pitchers in Burnes and Bradish who have finished top-four in Cy Young voting, a southpaw in Means who has thrown a no-hitter and made an All-Star team and a youngster in Rodriguez who was a year ago one of the sport’s top pitching prospects.

That would leave three pitchers competing for the rotation’s final spot: Kremer, Tyler Wells and Cole Irvin. Kremer would likely have an inside track to remain after going 13-5 with a 4.12 ERA last season. Elias said Wells’ role won’t be determined until at least spring training, though he has experience in short relief. Irvin, who is out of minor league options but was tendered a contract for his first arbitration year, could be a long reliever if he’s not in the rotation.

Acquiring a starting pitcher via trade was presumed to be more likely for the Orioles because of the club’s stockpile of top prospects and the franchise’s reluctance to spend big on a free agent. Most of the top starting pitchers on the free-agent market have received multiyear contracts worth at least $20 million per year.

The addition of Burnes is a change of direction from Elias’ strategy the past two offseasons, when he signed veteran innings-eaters Jordan Lyles and Kyle Gibson. Those two right-handers served valuable roles on their respective teams, but they were low-ceiling options, while Burnes elevates the rotation and the Orioles’ chances to repeat as AL East champions.

The draft pick the Orioles are sending to Milwaukee is their 2024 Competitive Balance Round A pick, No. 34 overall. The Orioles also have picks Nos. 22 and 32, the latter of which they received as an incentive for Gunnar Henderson winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 2023.

Hall, 25, was the Orioles’ 2017 first-round pick. The left-hander from Georgia struggled to stay healthy throughout his minor league career, but showed plenty of upside when on the mound. He made 29 appearances for the Orioles, with all but one coming out of the bullpen. He pitched in 17 games for the Tides last season and 22 in 2022. Baseball America ranked him the 93rd overall prospect heading into 2024.

Ortiz, 25, made his big-league debut for the Orioles last season, hitting .212 over 15 games after posting a strong campaign with Triple-A champion Norfolk (.321, nine homers, 58 RBIs in 88 games). Though he was unranked by Baseball America, MLB Pipeline ranked him 63rd on its list. The versatile infielder was blocked at nearly every position by other Orioles prospects and stars in their organization.

The Orioles are promoting left-hander Cade Povich, ranked by Baseball America as the organization’s second-best pitching prospect, to the Norfolk Tides, a source with direct knowledge of the move told The Baltimore Sun late Wednesday evening.

Povich, Baltimore’s 10th-best prospect, was the biggest minor leaguer in the Jorge López trade last summer, with the Orioles shipping their closer to the Minnesota Twins for the young southpaw and three other pitchers. One of those arms is Yennier Cano, who over the past year has transformed from an inaccurate reliever into an All-Star.

Povich has displayed his elite swing-and-miss stuff with Double-A Bowie this season. In 81 1/3 innings, the 23-year-old has a 4.87 ERA with 118 strikeouts versus 37 walks.

No pitcher in the organization has more strikeouts than Povich this season. His 33.4% strikeout rate in Double-A is slightly higher than the 33.1% rate Grayson Rodriguez posted during his stint with the Tides  earlier this season. Rodriguez was Baltimore’s top-ranked pitching prospect two weeks ago, but he’s since graduated from such status after rejoining the Orioles and starting twice for them in the second half.

While Povich’s strikeout numbers are encouraging, he hasn’t been as dominant in preventing batters to reach base. With a 10.5% walk rate and 8.2 hits per nine innings, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound pitcher has a 1.36 WHIP.

He allowed four or more runs in three straight starts this spring, but has yet to do so in his past seven, during which he’s held batters to a .208 average and compiled a 3.93 ERA. Povich has struck out at least 10 batters in three of his 18 starts, including a career-high 13 in June.

The Baltimore Orioles’ top pitching prospect will be recalled from Triple-A to start Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, manager Brandon Hyde said Sunday. The corresponding move will be announced later.

Hyde said he was “very pleased” with the progress Rodriguez made with Norfolk after he was demoted in late May. The 23-year-old struggled with a 7.35 earned-run average in his first 10 big league starts, but he returned to dominant form with the Triple-A Tides.

In seven starts with the Tides since his demotion, Rodriguez posted a 1.69 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 37 1/3 innings — similarly impressive numbers to the ones he put up throughout his minor league career.

His orders when he was sent down were to improve the command on his mid-to-high 90s-mph fastball. Hyde said he’s achieved that.

“The reports have been awesome with how the command has improved,” Hyde said before Sunday’s victory versus the Miami Marlins. “The stuff has always been there, it’s just all about command with him. He’s throwing the ball extremely well with command down in Triple-A, and we’re excited for him to start” Monday.

Whether he remains in the Orioles’ rotation for the remainder of the season remains to be seen, but Hyde made clear what the club’s hope is for the young fireballer.

“I think we’re in the mindset of winning games right now, and hopefully he sticks in the rotation for the rest of the summer,” Hyde said.

From the very beginning, Rodriguez’s rookie campaign hasn’t gone as expected. The 6-foot-5 right-hander was expected to open the season in Baltimore’s rotation, but he struggled in spring training and was beaten out by Tyler Wells, who was the Orioles’ top starting pitcher through the first half.

But it took less than a week for Rodriguez to make his MLB debut, as an injury to starter Kyle Bradish made way for the Orioles’ No. 3 prospect, whom Baseball America ranks as the 15th-best prospect in the sport. He was solid in April with a 4.07 ERA but was battered in May, allowing 35 hits and 27 runs in 21 innings to balloon his ERA above 7.00 and his WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) to 1.743.

Three of his May starts were perplexingly bad, causing Rodriguez and the Orioles to suspect he was tipping his pitches. He made a change to his mechanics out of the stretch position and had a successful start against the Toronto Blue Jays, but he then allowed nine runs in 3 1/3 innings against the Texas Rangers in late May. He was demoted the next day.

Back in Triple-A, a level Rodriguez dominated last year, he struck out 10-plus batters in three of his seven starts. In his past 15 innings, he’s allowed just eight hits and four walks.

“I think the message was pretty clear on when he went down, the reasons why and what we felt like he needed to work on,” Hyde said. “I think out of the gate down there wasn’t as smooth, but these last few starts there have been really good. They’ve done a nice job of kind of applying what we talked about up here before he went down, so we feel comfortable where he is right now, and hopefully, he can impact us positively the rest of the year.”

His first assignment is challenging. The only MLB team as hot as the Orioles, who are on an eight-game winning streak, are the National League West-leading Dodgers, who extended their winning streak to six games Saturday.

While Rodriguez’s status as a top prospect, his tantalizing potential and his recent success in Triple-A all earned him another shot in the big leagues, it results in Cole Irvin, who has recently been a consistent starter, moving to the bullpen.

Irvin’s poor performance early in the season is why Rodriguez remained in the rotation, and the left-hander replaced Rodriguez when the rookie was optioned to Triple-A. In his five starts since, Irvin has posted a 2.66 ERA, including back-to-back one-run outings in Baltimore wins.

Baltimore’s top pitching prospect was promoted to the Orioles and will make his major league debut Wednesday in his home state of Texas against the Rangers, the club announced. He’ll wear No. 30.

Rodriguez, a consensus top 10 prospect in baseball, was expected to make the Orioles’ rotation to open the season, but he instead began the year in Triple-A Norfolk after struggling in spring training.

In a corresponding move, the Orioles placed starting pitcher Kyle Bradish on the 15-day injured list with a bruised right foot. Bradish took a 104 mph line drive off his foot during his start Monday. The right-hander threw one warmup pitch before exiting the game in the second inning.

While Tyler Wells’ five-inning relief outing led the Orioles to a 2-0 win Monday and saved an already-fatigued bullpen, it didn’t change the calculus that the Orioles would need a different starting pitcher for the series against the Rangers now that Wells, originally scheduled to start Tuesday, couldn’t start. Kyle Gibson was pushed up to start Tuesday (on regular rest) instead of Wednesday, and now Rodriguez will get the ball Wednesday against Jacob deGrom, a two-time Cy Young Award winner with the New York Mets who signed a five-year, $185 million deal with Texas this offseason.

Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias repeatedly said this offseason that he wanted the 6-foot-5 right-hander to break camp in the majors. But when spring training ended, and the team announced that Rodriguez would go back down to Norfolk, Elias said Rodriguez hadn’t earned a spot in an Orioles rotation hoping to make a push for the playoffs. Wells was instead given the No. 5 spot in the rotation.

Rodriguez, the Orioles’ first-round draft pick in 2018, allowed 17 hits and 12 earned runs while walking seven and striking out 19 in 15 1/3 innings this spring. He displayed the pitch repertoire — “elite” stuff that is major league ready, according to veteran catcher James McCann — but he struggled with his command and had one blowup inning in each of his final three starts.

“I think he needs to look like himself and get some longer outings,” Elias said when asked what he wants to see out of Rodriguez in Triple-A. “[He] was not ready to jump into a major league rotation, not getting past the fourth inning. We know what he’s capable of. I wasn’t expecting this. We were hoping that he would show up as a better version of himself than I think we got here. We just had five other guys that were more ready at this point in time. I know what he’s capable of, I think he’s going to show it again very quickly. As soon as he does, we’re going to be all over it.”

Rodriguez, a Houston native, started opening day for Norfolk last week and had another up-and-down outing. He surrendered four hits and three runs (two earned) in four innings with twice as many walks (four) as strikeouts (two). The four walks were more than Rodriguez had in any start last season when he dominated the minor leagues.

In 69 2/3 innings in Triple-A last year, Rodriguez posted a 2.20 ERA and 97 strikeouts. In his minor league career, Rodriguez has allowed just 5.6 hits per nine innings with an eye-popping 35.9% strikeout rate.

As he logged one dominant start after another last season, it looked likely that he would receive his big league call-up as the organization did with catcher Adley Rutschman, outfielder Kyle Stowers, infielder Gunnar Henderson and left-handed pitcher DL Hall. But Rodriguez suffered a lat muscle strain while pitching for Norfolk on June 1 and missed three months.

Orioles at Rangers

Wednesday, 2:05 p.m.

TV: MASN2

Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM