Neustrom and Dorrian getting extra looks at minicamp

The Orioles opened their second January minicamp yesterday, and the first for hitters, with a modest invite list that featured six of their top 11 prospects per MLBPipeline.com.

Four of the other prospects in the elite 11 are pitchers. The only position player who's absent right now is infielder Connor Norby, a second-round pick in 2021 who will participate in the second hitting camp that opens Tuesday morning.

(Here's a reminder from earlier this week.)

The current gathering is headlined by catcher Adley Rutschman, baseball's No. 1 prospect in the newest Baseball America rankings. Shortstops Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg, outfielders Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad and Kyle Stowers, and Cuban infielder César Prieto also reported to the Ed Smith Stadium complex.

Of particular interest to me are the other two players at minicamp - outfielder Robert Neustrom and infielder Patrick Dorrian.

They aren't found among the top 30 prospects. They're eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 draft.

They're also expected to be invited to spring training if remaining in the organization.

Neustrom, 25, made significant strides last year, the kind a team hopes for in a fifth-round pick, where the Orioles found him in 2018 out of the University of Iowa.

The most impressive part of Neustrom's game in 2019 was the .364 on-base percentage in 207 plate appearances with low Single-A Delmarva. He split last summer almost evenly between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk - 62 games and 261 plate appearances with the Baysox, 64 games and 257 plate appearances with the Tides - and slashed a combined .258/.344/.446. He hit .284/.364/.467 with 15 doubles, three triples and seven home runs with Bowie and .232/.324/.424 with 16 doubles and nine home runs with Norfolk.

Neustrom is a corner outfielder, and it gets kind of crowded there with Austin Hays, Anthony Santander, DJ Stewart and Ryan McKenna on the major league roster and Stowers loudly knocking on the door.

It keeps locking on Yusniel Diaz, but MLBPipeline.com ranks him 12th on its prospect list.

With the constant turnover in personnel - the Orioles used a franchise-record 62 players last season - Neustrom could get his turn in 2022.

The Braves selected Dorrian in the 12th round of the 2014 draft out of Kingston (N.Y.) High School, but he changed his mind about professional baseball, saying he wasn't ready, and enrolled at Herkimer County Community College in New York. He wasn't eligible at a Division I school after Herkimer and enrolled at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla., where as a senior in 2018 he batted .394/.471/.798 with 17 home runs in 49 games.

The first offer he received came from the Pirates and he took it, signing in June 2018. The Orioles acquired him in June 2019 as the player to be named later in the Yefry Ramirez trade.

Dorrian had four doubles and five home runs, including a grand slam, in his first eight games last summer with the Baysox. He batted .246/.362/.475 with 21 doubles, two triples, 22 home runs and 67 RBIs in 473 plate appearances.

The 22 home runs ranked third in the system.

A late September promotion to Norfolk resulted in only two hits and eight strikeouts in 16 at-bats.

Dorrian, 25, played most of his games at third base but also moved across the infield to first. He also has experience at second base and shortstop.

Norfolk's opening day roster in 2022 should include Dorrian unless it becomes too crowded.

In the meantime, the Orioles' staff working the minicamp can begin forming opinions on him.

Manager Brandon Hyde, coaches Tim Cossins, Tony Mansolino and Anthony Sanders, Norfolk manager Buck Britton and a handful of other player development staff are at the complex.