The O's much-improved international program hit some high notes recently

It has been true for quite a while now. While catcher Samuel Basallo is the shining star of the Orioles surging and improved international program, he is not the only possible future big league talent on the horizon.

On the MLBPipeline.com Orioles top 30 prospects list right now there is a whopping 13 international players, a high mark since Mike Elias and his staff took over in November of 2018.

Not long after, in January of 2019, Koby Perez was hired as senior director, international scouting. Now with the club for six years, in October of 2023, Perez was promoted to his latest role as vice president, international scouting and operations.

He has presided over four international signing classes. In January of 2021, the O’s signed their first two international amateurs to bonuses of at least a million dollars in Basallo and Maikol Hernandez. They now have five players that have signed for a million or more.

The latest examples that the O’s international program is becoming a bigger force came this month via Baseball America.

BA released its list of the top 31 prospects in the Dominican Summer League for the 2024 season. This is from a league that sports 52 teams with multiple clubs, including the Orioles, having two squads.

That is a lot of players to try and rank and pick the top 31. Of that group, four of 31 are Orioles. No other club has that many in the top 31 with St. Louis and Cleveland next with three each.

In fact, with four players the O’s tied the rest of the AL East. Boston had two on the list while the Yankees and Rays had one player.

In addition, BA this week listed eight teams already showing strong returns from its 2024 signing class. The O’s are one of the eight clubs.

In that listing of the DSL top 31 prospects, O’s right-handed pitcher Esteban Mejia is No. 8 while shortstop Elvin Garcia is No. 13, right-hander Keeler Morfe is No. 14 and outfielder Jordan Sanchez is No. 28.

Mejia, age 17 from the DR, went 0-3 with a 3.25 ERA in the DSL over 27 2/3 innings with 15 walks and 44 strikeouts for a 14.31 K per 9. Opponents hit .182 with a .530 OPS against. His fastball sat in the mid 90s, reaching 98 mph.

Garcia, age 17, is a switch-hitter who played 20 games at short and 13 at third base. In 36 games, he hit .294/.439/.505/.944. He walked 27 times, fanned 25 and stole 12-of-13.

Morfe, age 18 from Caracas, Venezuela, had an ERA of 7.01 in 2023. But this season he went 0-2 with a 2.76 ERA over 32 2/3 innings at two levels. He made seven outings in the DSL and four for Low-A Delmarva, advancing past the Florida Complex League right to full-season ball.

Morfe’s move to Delmarva was real lift and plus for the O’s young international players according to Samuel Vega. Vega is the Orioles' Latin American Field Coordinator since 2022. In late September when the O’s handed out the Minor League awards for this season, Vega was named winner of the Cal Ripken Sr. Player Development award.

“Just being able to start in the DR and skip a level and go right to Delmarva,” Vega said was quite impressive by Morfe, who has touched 100 mph with his fastball. “And then be able to perform at a high level, that’s amazing. I was the one who told him in front of the whole team, so that was an amazing moment. A week later, we were all in the cafeteria in the DR watching him pitch (for the Shorebirds). Guys were excited when he got his first strikeout. It meant a lot for our international program.”

Click here for the Baseball America top 31 DSL prospects (subscription may be required) and here for their top eight clubs in sizing up 2024 international signing classes (subscription may be required).

Sanchez, age 19 from Cuba, did not become eligible to sign with an MLB club until late last October. The O’s got him Dec. 1, 2023 for $450,000 and then in the DSL over 38 games he hit .333/.432/.605/1.037. He was named a mid-season and postseason DSL All-Star by Minor League Baseball and was the Orioles' Minor League Player of the Month for June.

In addition to what we already mentioned here and Vega’s award at the end of the year, the O’s DSL Orange team went 38-18 and made the playoffs, the club’s first DSL playoff team under Elias and first I can ever remember in many years covering this club.

And the Orioles last January officially opened their brand-new, state-of-the-art Dominican Republic facility. 

Here is the list of 13 international players currently ranked in the MLBPipeline.com O's top 30 list:

No. 2 - C Samuel Basallo

No. 8 - RHP Juan Nuñez

No. 9 - LHP Luis DeLeon

No. 10 - OF Stiven Martinez

No. 15 - OF Thomas Sosa

No. 16 - OF Braylin Tavera

No. 20 - IF Joshua Liranzo

No. 21 - IF Leandro Arias

No. 24 - IF Emilio Sanchez

No. 26 - RHP Esteban Mejia

No. 27 - RHP Keeler Morfe

No. 28 - OF Jordan Sanchez

No. 29 - IF Aron Estrada

This top 30 list does not even include Garcia, who was ranked among the top 31 DSL prospects by BA. And in the article where the O's were named one of eight 2024 signing classes cited for early returns already, BA said that Garcia, "could be one of the best shortstops the Orioles have signed out of the Dominican Republic in many years."

Said Vega of the O's international effort producing 13 top 30 prospects already: "It means the world, man. We have some staff members who have been down there for 30 years. For them to see it now, all the hard work every single day, it really means the world to us. But we are really not focused on that. We are trying to just take it one day at a time and get better every single day. If we continue to do that, we will continue to bring guys into the top 30. Kudos to our international scouts as well. They make it easier for us, signing some great players."

Now Basallo has reached Triple-A. He could be the first O's international signing under Elias/Perez to break through to the majors. But he surely won't be the last.

"That is what we work every single day for," said Vega. "I’m sure you guys know about Basallo. We are really excited about his future and working hard to create a few more of those. That’s the goal.”