O's Samuel Basallo gets his highest-ranking yet in a top 100 list

Prospects ranking season is winding down but, in a ranking released yesterday via The Athletic’s Keith Law, O’s catching prosect Samuel Basallo got his highest-ranking yet and an evaluation that was quite favorable on his defense.

I have written here numerous times that the Orioles have been consistently saying that Basallo can stay as a catcher. They see that big arm and flexible body with agility for someone his size and see a solid defensive catcher.

Basallo was ranked No. 3 in the top 100 by Law, behind only Boston’s Roman Anthony and Sebastian Walcott of the Texas Rangers. In his top 100, Coby Mayo was ranked No. 18 and Enrique Bradfield Jr. was No. 82, giving the O's three top 100 prospects.

Law believes Basallo has shown the tools and athleticism to project as an “above-average defender.” His top 100 is here (subscription may be required).

He goes on to write that: “He’s got at least a 70 arm and is athletic enough to become a 55 receiver and blocker, although right now he’s succeeding more on his pure physical ability and needs more polish on the finer points of catching.”

That is a darn fine evaluation of Basallo on defense. At least a 70 arm is saying yeah, that hose is every bit legit and the chance to be a 55 scouting grade defense is above average.

Basallo ended the 2024 season ranked No. 13 in the top 100 by both Baseball America and MLBPipeline.com.

Basallo played most of last season at Double-A and most of the year at age 19. He did not turn 20 until Aug. 13. Over 127 games between Double-A and Triple-A, he hit .278/.341/.449/.790 with 25 doubles, 19 homers and 65 RBIs.

Basallo produced an .820 OPS with Bowie (now Chesapeake) with 16 homers, 55 RBIs. He hit just .222 with Norfolk after moving up late in the year but batted .297 with an .810 OPS his last 11 games, after going 7-for-44 his first 10 games.

Basallo played 28 games at first base on the farm in 2023 and 32 last season. The Orioles have made sure he gets his reps in there. But he caught much more and that is absolutely where it seems the team believes he can play in the majors.

“For me originally, his size was my concern because he’s such a big kid,” said Koby Perez, the O’s vice president of international scouting and operations, on his defense in a recent interview. “And sometimes they continue getting bigger which he did, and the flexibility goes away. In his case it’s the opposite. This guy is super flexible. He can do a full split like a ballerina. He works hard, an amazing worker.

“So that leads me to believe with his arm strength, his flexibility and his determination, leads me to believe he’ll be a real good catcher in the future.”

Perez describes this young man as extremely driven to get better.

“His mindset is I want to be the best player, a Hall of Fame type player is his mindset. We like that. He keeps pushing himself,” he said.

Here is a look at O’s players ranked in various outlets this month:

* Baseball America: Basallo (14), Mayo (29), Heston Kjerstad (81).

* MLBPipeline.com: Basallo (13), Mayo (14).

* Baseball Prospectus: Basallo (11), Mayo (14), Bradfield (46).

* The Athletic: Basallo (3), Mayo (18), Bradfield (82).

I think we all know Basallo's potential with his bat is vast and that his power and exit velocities are loud. For me an underrated aspect of his offense has always been pretty solid plate discipline. From his first pro year in 2021 in the Dominican Summer League he showed then a good walk percentage of 12.3 with a 20.8 K percentage. That was not a big strikeout number for a young kid in his first season starting to learn his swing in pro ball.

In 2023 in High-A he had a walk percentage of 16.5 and 17.4 strikeout rate. Last year at Double-A the walk number was 9.2 and 19.1 for strikeouts. Still what would be above average per MLB rates for each. In his small Triple-A same of 21 games he had a 5.8 walk percentage and 31.4 strikeout rate. Both will even out much better I will fully expect when he logs a bunch of games there this year. 

How will the O's handle having Basallo and Adley Rutschman on the same roster? That is another question for another day. He should get there at some point this year and perhaps be a major or almost full-time contributor next season.