Exciting Orioles Prospect Could Move Positions to Make MLB Debut

With a loaded roster full of young talent, one of their most coveted prospects could change his position to make his MLB debut early next season.

There are a lot of roster questions that surround the Baltimore Orioles heading into the 2024 season. They are completely loaded with talent across their infield already and some of their top prospects are seemingly ready to make their MLB debuts.

That poses both good and bad scenarios for the franchise.

The good is obvious.

Every team wants excess talent within their organization in case of injury and to boost the overall profile of the roster.

The bad is that some players will be receive less playing time and might not reach their full potential because of the fewer number of reps.

That's something Orioles' general manager, Mike Elias, has to consider when looking at this current roster and the loads of prospects that are on the cusp of debuting.

One of their most coveted prospects is Coby Mayo, the No. 4 overall player in their pipeline. He seems like one of the guys who is ready to play in Major League Baseball after having a good season at their Triple-A affiliate last year.

The issue for Mayo is his primary position of third base is full. Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg and others spent time there in 2023 and that is expected to continue in 2024.

But according to Roch Kubatko of MASN, the 22-year-old could change his focus and actually switch primary positions to get more playing time at the Major League level.

"He's started 30 games there in the minors and it's a way to keep his bat in the lineup. Of course, Mayo also could serve as designated hitter when he debuts, but he just turned 22 years old. Let’s avoid hanging that tag on him at such a young age. I'm curious how the Orioles make room for Mayo when he’s deemed ready, if he hasn't been packaged in a trade. He isn’t playing first base in the minors for no reason," he writes.

A couple things stand out in this analysis by Kubatko.

Mayo could be one of the prized possessions in a trade package that brings Baltimore the elite starter they're looking to land this offseason. He's the No. 27 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline and projects to be playing at a high level for a long time.

If the Orioles do hold onto him, it seems like they have already started to use him at first to be the eventual replacement of Ryan Mountcastle and Ryan O'Hearn at that position.

Either way, Mayo should debut in 2024 and it will give everyone an idea of what type of player he can become.