Is Baltimore Orioles Prospect Samuel Basallo Going Anywhere?

With the trade deadline looming, the Baltimore Orioles are suddenly playing dime-store baseball – as in a 5-and-10 record since July 9. Will the American League East leaders pull off a blockbuster trade in hopes of getting to the World Series for the first time in 41 years?

The Orioles lead all of Major League Baseball with 163 home runs, have a deep lineup but have five pitchers on the injured list. Four — former all-stars John Means and Felix Bautista along with Tyler Wells and Kyle Bradish — have had Tommy John Surgery. Will the Orioles once again dip into their plentiful farm system to get an established starter or reliever?

General Manager Mike Elias dealt two prospects to acquire ace Corbin Burnes last winter and three more this past weekend for veteran starter Zach Eflin. He didn’t part with the organization’s elite prospects Jackson Holliday, Samuel Basallo, Coby Mayo and Enrique Bradfield Jr., nor 2024 rookies Connor Norby, Heston Kjerstad, Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg.

Of all those youngsters, including most everyone’s consensus No. 1 prospect in the game Holliday, the player whose star could eventually outshine them all is Basallo.

Elias is aware. “There’s a catch-up process to learning how to call a game behind the plate,” he told the Baltimore Banner earlier this season. “He’s doing that, but his bat is even more advanced. I think that’s going to be an interesting theme this year. He’s a very, very special talent. He’s one of the very best minor league players in all of baseball right now.”

The powerful Dominican catcher played in the Futures Game on July 13 — one month before he will turn age 20. He already has 44 homers and 177 RBI in 281 pro games. He is built like current Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez. His swing launches baseballs at a similar high, far and often rate.

No less savvy an organization than the Los Angeles Dodgers sent away Alvarez just two months after giving him a $2 million signing bonus out of Cuba in 2016. They dealt him to Houston for relief pitcher Josh Fields. The right-hander bounced up and down to the minors and had an 8-2 record with four saves in 124 outings for the Dodgers through 2018 and was done at age 32.

A Tall Order At Catcher

At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Basallo is two inches taller and 40 pounds heavier than when he signed for $1.3 million at age 16 in 2021. He appears to be outgrowing his position. Catchers standing 6-4 are rather rare, though Ryan Jeffers of Minnesota, Jonah Heim of Texas and Tyler Stephenson of Cincinnati are making their mark.

Sandy Alomar Jr., had a 20-year career as a 6-foot-5 catcher. He already had polished skills behind the plate when he was the 1990 AL Rookie of the Year for the Cleveland Indians. Though he had a .273 career average with decent power, it was his ability to call a game, block pitches in the dirt and be a true catcher that made him valuable.

Basallo currently does little of that consistently, though not for lack of trying. After hurting his once-elite throwing arm last winter, he has split the 2024 season between catcher, first base and designated hitter. He continues to rehab his right elbow from a stress fracture and works daily to improve his pitch-framing and ball-blocking skills.

At Akron last week, he toppled over after misjudging a foul pop-up but snaring it. Then he sprung up and threw a strike to second base to nail a baserunner who properly tried to advance when he saw Basallo tumble. It was inexperience and raw talent on display all at once.

“I want to stay at catcher. It motivates me to hear people say I can’t stay as a catcher. I want to prove them wrong," he said.

Felipe Alou Jr., who managed Basallo in 2023, said the youngster’s determination is a great attribute that also occasionally gets in the way.

“He demands a lot of himself,” Alou told Steve Malewski of MASNsports.com earlier this year. “He is a kid that is constantly trying to get better. At times he can get frustrated as he wants to be the best player on the field.

“We remind him that there are going to be some failures in this game. That is the only way you get better at 18, 19. He knows the superstars in this game are always working and constantly trying things and that is what makes him what he is. What makes him special.”

Basallo Baltimore-Bound?

Not yet, even if the Orioles do not trade him.

His career definitely is on the move, however. It is likely he will reluctantly move to another position. Baltimore already has an all-star catcher in Adley Rutschman. First base has already been thrown into Basallo’s mix. His skills could even end up in right field as he can indeed run and throw, though nobody in the organization has publicly mentioned such a switch.

The lefty swinger has continued to bash baseballs over fences in the Double-A Eastern League. In 83 games, he has 13 homers, 15 doubles and a .263 average.

That’s down from his 2023 totals across three levels of 20 homers, 26 doubles and a .313 average in 114 games – when the big fella also flashed some speed with 7 triples and 12 stolen bases.

Basallo is indeed a player on the move – upward. Orioles fans hope it is only onward to Baltimore.