Samuel Basallo ended his year swinging it pretty well with AAA Norfolk

For Orioles young catching prospect Samuel Basallo, a 2024 season that began with him rehabbing a stress fracture in his right elbow and spending time as a DH ended with him healthy, hitting well and advancing to Triple-A for the first time in his career.

Basallo spent most of this year with Double-A Bowie over 106 games but in late August moved to Triple-A Norfolk and played his final 21 games for the Tides.

He was named by Minor League Baseball as the Top MLB Prospect in the Double-A Eastern League. He played in the Futures Game in July and is now ranked as the O’s No. 2 prospect in the team top 30 and No. 13 in the national top 100 at season’s end by both Baseball America and MLBPipepline.com.

Not bad for the youngster from the Dominican Republic, who was signed to a $1.3 million bonus in January of 2021. He flew up prospect rankings in 2023 and by the end of the year was a top 50 prospect. So he was a marked man all this year and still put up a .790 OPS between Bowie and Norfolk. He is the first Baysox to be named Top Prospect in the league by Minor League Baseball since Adley Rutschman in 2021.

This was his age 19 season by the way, and he did not turn 20 until Aug. 13.

Over 127 games between the two clubs, Basallo hit .278/.341/.449/.790 with 25 doubles, 19 homers and 65 RBIs.

Basallo produced an .820 OPS with Bowie with 16 homers, 55 RBIs. He hit just .222 with the Tides but batted .297 with an .810 OPS his last 11 games, after going 7-for-44 his first 10 games.

“My first week and a half in Norfolk, it didn’t go the way I wanted. But that might be expected for someone changing levels,” said Basallo in a late-year interview through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “Sure enough, not long after I started to feel more comfortable in the batter’s box and I felt more comfortable overall. Really happy with how I finished the season there and really pleased with the results.”

Basallo said he is not sure yet whether he will play any winter ball possibly in the Dominican Winter League.

“I think that decision ultimately comes down to the Orioles and what they want me to do. One thing for sure is I will focus on getting my body physically right and continue working the overall aspects of my game at every level and everything I can get better at," he said.

And while he missed a game or two mid summer with minor issues like an ankle issue and a lower body contusion, nothing forced him to miss much time.

“I finished this year healthy for the most part. I left a few games here and there but as a whole I did finish the season healthy and feeling good. That was one of my goals coming into the season. My arm, thankfully, didn’t bother me the rest of the season after I started the season with that injury. It feels good to play through the whole season healthy," said Basallo.

And now he's closing in on making the O's roster for the first time. The 2025 season should be the year.

“I’m really excited knowing that I am one step away. I’m going to come into spring training ready to go and working hard. See what decision they ultimately make. If I start out at Norfolk, go there and keep working hard. To know that I am really close feels great. Really excited about that,” he said.

Basallo's OPS by each minor league level:

.748 - Dominican Summer League
.774 - Florida Complex League
.887 - Low-A ball
1.131 - High-A ball
.832 - Double-A
.637 - Triple-A 

Basallo graduates: The young man recently became yet another graduate of the Orioles' educational program for their international players. He is now a high school graduate.

In February, the O’s hosted their first-ever high school graduation as part of their international program. That graduation took place at the club’s new state-of-the-art Dominican Republic Baseball Academy, which opened its doors earlier this year.

The program had 12 graduates then and now Basallo is one of 24. The O's began this program in 2020 and Basallo first began his studies through the program in 2022.

“It feels really good to graduate,” Basallo said. “It has been a dream of mine and my family as well. To be able to accomplish that is really important. It means a lot."

I wrote more on this topic with Basallo right here.