Question: What do you think Coby Mayo’s trade potential is? Could we get a starting pitcher for him? You would think a team would be interested in having a young player rated in the top 20 MLB prospects. It just seems a waste of talent to send him back down to Triple-A. I personally think he has more long-term potential than Jordan Westburg, but the O’s seem to be committed to Jordan. From: John Lantz
Answer: John, a similar question was asked by Roderick Shaw. I think the Orioles would like to hold on to Mayo because it’s likely that he’s going to be needed, perhaps early in the season.
Yes, Mayo would play regularly on many major league teams, but the Orioles shouldn’t trade every player they don’t have an immediate use for.
Ryan O’Hearn will be a free agent after this season, and Ryan Mountcastle has two more years before free agency.
They could change their minds at the trade deadline if there is a starting pitcher they think would improve the team.
As for Jordan Westburg, I think he’s going to be an excellent player for a long time, and if Mayo is that good, he’s a keeper.
Question: I’ve been a lifelong baseball and Orioles fan. I appreciate how difficult the game is. But I’ve never understood the actual percentage of players who get to the majors. How many players never make it past the Single-A level? Past Triple-A? Never make it to arbitration? How few players actually get a free-agent contact no matter how big or small? From: Dan Amspacher from Oregon
Answer: Dan, there’s no easy way to answer this one, but let’s take the 2019 draft, which was considered a fabulous one for the Orioles.
From that draft, six of 41 players have reached the majors: Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Stowers, Joey Ortiz, Darell Hernaiz and Connor Gillispie.
Stowers and Connor Norby, a 2021 draft pick, were traded for left-hander Trevor Rogers. Ortiz was traded to Arizona for Corbin Burnies, and Hernaiz to Oakland for Cole Irvin. Gillispie was taken by Cleveland in the minor league Rule 5 draft and pitched three games for them last year and is now with Miami.
There are still at least two players from that class, catcher Maverick Handley and reliever Kade Strowd, who have a decent chance of playing in the majors. That would make eight out of 41 to play in the majors, which would be extraordinary, and I’m not even counting the international players signed by the Orioles this year.
The overwhelming majority don’t play in the majors, and success stories like Rutschman and Henderson in the same draft class are few and far between.
Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.