Josh Michael: Three Orioles prospects whose stock fell this season

Last week, I highlighted three Orioles prospects that saw their stock rise the most in 2018. This week, I will flip the script and highlight three prospects that saw their stock drop the most.

As I did last week, I want to remind you that this is not a list of three prospects that had the worst seasons or the three worst prospects in the system. It's three guys who performed well below expectations and saw their stock drop.

I will begin with a guy that was on the Orioles' top-five prospects list per some outlets just a year ago, is right-hander Cody Sedlock. The 23-year old had so much promise after being drafted in the first round in the 2016 and drew some comparisons to Zach Britton with that heavy sinker of his. Unfortunately, starting last season, Sedlock has dealt with some injuries and can't seem to string together a healthy stretch. He is now no longer in the top 30 Orioles prospects list per MLBPipeline.com after being near the top of the list prior to last season.

When he was on the mound this year, which was only for a total of 37 innings among three affiliates, Sedlock struggled on the whole. He posted a 5.11 ERA with a 1.51 WHIP over 13 games (nine starts). I do feel that hope is not lost on Sedlock just yet. Hopefully, he can have a healthy offseason, have a normal workout schedule and come into 2019 healthy.

Sedlock has dealt with some injuries, and the injury bug continued to haunt the next guy on my list, right-hander Hunter Harvey. The guy simply can't stay on the mound. MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko mentioned yesterday that Harvey had to be shut down again due to elbow discomfort in the fall instructional league.

It's been one injury after another for Harvey, with Tommy John included on that list, and when he was on the mound this year, and his 2018 wasn't very pretty for the most part. Over nine starts for the Double-A Bowie Baysox, Harvey went 1-2 with a 5.57 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP over 32 1/3 innings. Only 23, he still has tons of potential, but if he can't stay healthy enough to get on the mound, that potential means nothing.

Last on my list is another right-hander who also dropped out of the MLBPipeline.com top 30, and that's Matthias Dietz. The 22-year old struggled in his first two years in the organization, posting nearly a 5.00 ERA in each season after being selected in the second round of the 2016 draft. He actually appeared to turn a corner to begin this season as he posted a 6-2 record with a 3.56 ERA over 13 starts with the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds.

His performance earned him a promotion to advanced Single-A Frederick and that's where things took a turn for the worse. Over 11 games (nine starts) with the Keys, Dietz posted a monstrous 7.98 ERA and a 2.06 WHIP over 38 1/3 innings. He totally lost his command as he walked 39 and hit nine batters.

I know it's not as fun to read about players who struggled, but the stock of these three dropped the most during 2018 in my opinion.

Josh Michael blogs about the Orioles for Baby Birdland. Follow him on Twitter: @BabyBirdland. His opinions on the Orioles will appear here as part of MASNsports.com's longstanding initiative of welcoming guest bloggers to our pages. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.