When a team is selecting at the top of the MLB draft – and the Orioles had top five picks every year from 2019 through 2022 – they expect to get talent that might even be a five-tool player.
Jackson Holliday, the overall No. 1 pick in 2022, was that type of prosect. Baseball America gave him pre-draft plus tool grades across the board on the 20-80 scouting scale. Holliday graded out with a 60-grade hit tool, 55 for power, 60 for running, 55 for fielding and 60 for arm.
That is a strong package of skills, and that is what you want and expect to get at the top of the draft. But in the last two years, the Orioles selected No. 17 in 2023 and No. 22 in 2024 with their top draft picks.
You seldom can get a five-tool talent at that point in the draft. And while the Orioles are high on Vanderbilt outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr., their top pick in 2023, and University of North Carolina outfielder Vance Honeycutt, their top selection last summer, both have one or two tools that get below average grades. But they come with other tools that are plus and maybe even get elite grades from scouts.
As scouts would say, there is a lot of upside with Bradfield and Honeycutt. But some warts do come along with that.
Honeycutt is a “toolsy player,” another scout term. They might say he is “tooled up” because his pre-draft grades included a 55 for power, 65 for running, 70 for fielding and 60 for arm strength. Keith Law, in The Athletic, sees 70-80 grade defense and 70 power. That is impressive. But Honeycutt’s hit tool gets 40 grades (below average) because he strikes out too much.
While Honeycutt hit a school-record 28 homers last season at North Carolina, and his 65 home runs is a career-mark for the school, he also struck out 27 percent of the time last year. In a very small, late-season sample with eight games at Single-A Delmarva and five at High-A Aberdeen for the Orioles, Honeycutt went a combined 9-for-51 with 24 strikeouts. Way too much swing and miss.
But his tools are intriguing. He could be an elite defender who could mash 30 or more homers one day in the majors – if he can make more consistent contact.
Late last year, Honeycutt was ranked as the Orioles’ No. 3 prospect by MLBPipeline.com. In recently updated O’s team lists, he is No. 4 from Baseball America and No. 6 in The Athletic.
If the O’s can get Honeycutt to make even small contact improvements, the upside could be huge. Big bat, big glove, plus speed. But the package of skills comes with one big issue.
In the case of Bradfield, the wart, if you will, is a lack of power. Plus, he could use more arm strength.
In pre-draft assessments before the O’s selected him in July of 2023, Bradfield was given a 55 hit grade but just 30 for power. With that comes 80 for running — that is elite, top-of-the-scale speed — and 80 for fielding. He got a 40 for arm strength.
But the O’s have a top defender here – he won a Minor League Gold Glove after last season – with elite speed. His 74 stolen bases in 2024 ranked No. 2 in all of the minor leagues.
Bradfield also has hit just 4 homers in 483 career minor league at-bats. While Honeycutt needs to cut down on his strikeouts, Bradfield needs to improve his pop.
The Orioles have used a strategy that teams picking outside the top 10 of the draft have used for years. Let’s select the player with several plus tools and maybe even one or two elite tools, but who also might come with a glaring weakness. Let’s improve that part and see if we can develop a solid-to-better-than-everyday big league player.
The Orioles have two elite defenders in Honeycutt and Bradfield and some loud tools with both. But each has a weakness. If they can maintain their plus tools and improve the weaknesses, the O’s could have two future talents for their outfield.