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Yet another Top 100 prospect list shines light on the Orioles farm system

By Ryan Wormeli

Yet another Top 100 prospect list praises Orioles farm system originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

Another week, another Top 100 prospect ranking revealed by a national outlet. Another week, another prospect ranking that praised the Orioles’ rapidly improving farm system. Another prospect ranking, another chance to gush about former No. 1 overall pick Adley Rutschman.

Ho hum.

The latest outlet to attempt to order the best players in minor league baseball is MLB Pipeline. Their rankings were released Thursday night and once again the O’s found themselves with five players on the list.

That’s OF/1B Ryan Mountcastle at 77, DL Hall at 70, Heston Kjerstad at 69, Grayson Rodriguez at 27 and Adley Rutschman at No. 2.

These are the same five names in Baseball America’s Top 100 rankings, so it’s fair to call them a consensus best five Orioles prospects heading into 2021.

Mountcastle burst onto the scene after his call-up midway through 2020, instantly becoming perhaps the team’s best hitter. Hall is rated higher by Baseball America and The Athletic but is still talented enough to be 70th for MLB Pipeline.

Heston Kjerstad was the team’s second overall pick in 2020, a surprise at the time. There are other players ranked more highly by MLB Pipeline, but 69th isn’t half bad for a player who has yet to make his professional debut thanks to the coronavirus.

Rodriguez and Rutschman are the team’s consensus best prospects, with a big gap between them and the others. Of course, there’s quite a gap between the two themselves – the difference between No. 2 overall and No. 27 is wider in talent than 27 is with 70, according to MLB Pipeline’s evaluators.

Rutschman continues his reign as the best prospect in the system and one of the three best in baseball. He is the most highly-lauded catching prospect since at least Matt Wieters and probably since Joe Mauer more than 15 years ago.

He remains the face of the Orioles’ rebuild and fans in Baltimore are eagerly awaiting the start of his hopefully stellar career. And if the Rays’ Wander Franco graduates from prospect status this season, then they’ll be awaiting the number one prospect in all of baseball.

Willie Mays turns 90 as oldest living Baseball Hall of Famer

By Dalton Johnson
Willie Mays turns 90 as oldest living Baseball Hall of Famer originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonIn an age where baseball is losing legends left and right, one man stands alone: Willie Mays. Ten Baseball Hall of Famers, including Hank Aaron and many others from Mays' playing days, have passed away since the start of 2020. Mays remains, as the oldest living Hall of Famer after turning 90 years old on Thursday. Mays being the oldest living Hall of Famer is just another example of his greatness at any age. His unmatched baseball career began in 1948 for the Birmingham Black Barons before joining the New York Giants at 20 years old in 1951 and hitting 20 home runs as the NL Rookie of the Year. His career then was halted by serving two years for the United States Army in the Korean War before returning to the Giants in 1954. He won his first NL MVP that season at 23 years old, hitting .345 with 45 home runs, 13 triples, 33 doubles, 110 RBI and 119 runs scored. Mays hit .315 and averaged 39 home runs, 25 stolen bases, 109 RBI and 118 runs scored between 1955 and 1964 for the Giants, but didn't win a single MVP in that span. He won his second MVP at 34 years old in 1965 when he hit .317 with a career-high 52 home runs, 112 RBI and 118 runs scored. On Thursday morning, MLB tweeted out a happy birthday message from a long list of current stars, as well as Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr., Cal Ripken Jr. and Joe Torre. The video began with Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts and ended with San Francisco Giants All-Star catcher Buster Posey.Mays' impact breaks rivalries and extends to all ages. His greatness has been felt from Day 1 to turning 90. There's only one Willie Mays, now and forever.
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