Andrew Stetka: Orioles' call-ups leave much to be desired

As I've watched a number of players get the call-up across baseball over the last few days, one thing continues to weigh heavily on my mind. The Orioles don't have anyone in the farm system that really excites you. Sure, there are a few players who may end up being contributors one day. But none of these players really get you excited in the way that we've seen across the league. The Orioles could use a spark from the minors right now as they push to make the playoffs, but they aren't getting that from their own farm system.

There are a number of positions where the Orioles could use a boost. They proved that last week by going out and acquiring two outfielders. But the one position I continue to worry about in the future is one where so many other teams seem to have an answer: shortstop. Sure, J.J. Hardy is holding down the fort right now, and doing a fine job of it as well. But what happens after next season, when in all likelihood, the Orioles part ways with Hardy? He'll be entering his age 35 season and unless he triggers a vesting option worth $14 million and somehow finds a fountain of youth, it could be the end.

The simple answer to many would be to move Manny Machado over to short, but that leaves you with another large hole on the left side of the infield. I'm also not convinced the O's want to push Machado over to shortstop for the long term. By the way, the elephant in the room here is that Machado is a free agent one year after Hardy. You could very well be talking about a stopgap.

It seems every team these days has a stud shortstop prospect they can call up and get production from. We've seen a lot of them over the last few seasons - Francisco Lindor in Cleveland, Carlos Correa in Houston, Corey Seager with the Dodgers, Xander Boegarts in Boston, Trevor Story in Colorado and Addison Russell with the Cubs. Even Dansby Swanson has joined the fast track to the big leagues this season with the Braves. There are also a number of players being called up who, like Machado, started out as a shortstop and have worked out wonderfully at other positions. The Orioles have no one even in this stratosphere to bring up now.

In no way am I trying to run Hardy out of town early (plus my wife would not be happy as she admires his handsome good looks and slick glove work). He's been a very productive player in Baltimore, and I don't attempt to downplay what he's done in orange and black. But I also don't pretend that he's getting any younger. The lack of depth in the Orioles organization as a whole has been a storyline for some time now. Much of the attention is paid to the pitching staff or outfield spots, but shortstop is just as much of an issue as any of them. Perhaps it's poor drafting or poor development. It's more likely a combination of the two. Either way, it's something the O's will have to rectify quickly if they want to stay competitive over the next few years.

Andrew Stetka blogs about the Orioles for Eutaw Street Report. Follow him on Twitter: @AStetka. His thoughts on the O's appear here as part of MASNsports.com's continuing commitment to welcome guest bloggers to our little corner of cyberspace. 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.