Could Basallo be O's next 20-year-old star?
Jake Rill
@JakeDRillThis story was excerpted from Jake Rill's Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
SARASOTA, Fla. -- Most 20-year-old baseball players aren¡¯t yet in the Major Leagues, or even close to getting there. But the Orioles had somebody that young reach the bigs in 2024, when Jackson Holliday (MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 1 overall prospect entering last year) debuted on April 10.
Perhaps Baltimore could soon have a second 20-year-old debut in as many years.
Samuel Basallo (MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 13 overall prospect) is almost on the big league doorstep. The backstop reached Triple-A Norfolk for the first time last August, and he¡¯s expected to return to that level to open the 2025 season.
General manager Mike Elias isn¡¯t ready to set a firm timetable for Basallo¡¯s arrival, but he acknowledged earlier this week at O¡¯s Spring Training camp that players positioned at the highest level of the Minors are often only one call away.
¡°He¡¯s doing exceptionally well in terms of his timeline as a prospect and the age that he¡¯s at and his development,¡± Elias said. ¡°He just got to Triple-A. He¡¯s still learning a lot. We¡¯re still working on his approach at the plate. He¡¯s still learning how to be a Major League catcher. All of those things are going great.
¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s at the point yet where you want to start talking about timelines. But when you¡¯re in Triple-A, and if you¡¯re doing well in Triple-A, that¡¯s your timeline right there.¡±
Basallo, a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, realizes how close he is to becoming the Orioles¡¯ first international signee of the Elias era to get to the Majors, and that¡¯s the top objective for him entering the year.
¡°Of course,¡± Basallo said via team interpreter Brandon Quinones. ¡°Knowing it¡¯s within reach and being able to possibly accomplish one of my dreams, one of my goals -- that¡¯s very exciting.¡±
First, however, Basallo must return to Norfolk and take another step forward. He put up big numbers last season at Double-A Bowie, where he hit .289 with 22 doubles, 16 home runs and 55 RBIs in 106 games. But he struggled in a smaller sample at Triple-A, slashing .222/.267/.370 with three doubles, three homers and 10 RBIs in 21 games.
There were positives beyond the numbers, though, as Basallo faced tougher competition.
¡°Maybe it didn¡¯t go exactly how I wanted it to go,¡± Basallo said. ¡°Pitchers attack you with what they do well in Triple-A. So I think, overall, it was a great learning experience.¡±
This year¡¯s Spring Training will be that as well. Basallo is in big league camp for the second time. However, he was a limited participant last year because of a stress fracture in his right elbow that limited him to four at-bats over three Grapefruit League games and prevented him from catching until late April.
Manager Brandon Hyde quickly named Basallo among the young players he¡¯s most eager to get a closer look at this spring. And it hasn¡¯t taken long for the skipper to be wowed by the loud batting practice sessions taken by Basallo on the backfields at the Ed Smith Stadium complex.
¡°It¡¯s impressive how the ball comes off his bat,¡± Hyde said.
Basallo has been surrounded by experienced catchers during drills. He¡¯s working alongside two-time All-Star Adley Rutschman and new backup Gary S¨¢nchez, a 10-year MLB veteran. There¡¯s also first-year bench coach Robinson Chirinos, a former big league backstop who played the final season of his 11-year MLB career with the O¡¯s in 2022.
Chirinos and Basallo were in communication even before they were in Sarasota together.
¡°It¡¯s been a lot more of personal conversations. Nothing too technical yet. It has to do more with mentality and things like that,¡± Basallo said. ¡°But I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll get into defensive conversations and different conversations at some point about baseball.¡±
¡°Everybody knows around here [that] he¡¯s a talented player, and I think he¡¯s going to be an impact player in this organization soon,¡± Chirinos said. ¡°We¡¯re excited. He¡¯s close.¡±
Rutschman and S¨¢nchez should have plenty of knowledge to pass along, too, that will help Basallo as he makes his push for the Majors in 2025.
¡°I think it will be a great experience getting to work with them and learn from them each and every day,¡± Basallo said. ¡°I¡¯m very excited to get out there and pick their brains and see what they have for me.¡±