Young catcher Samuel Basallo gets on a tear at Aberdeen (O's win in Oakland)

It’s time to take a moment to appreciate the heater that young catcher Samuel Basallo is on these days for High-A Aberdeen. Basallo is now a Top 100 prospect and in March in our second MASNSports.com rankings of Orioles international prospects, he was ranked No. 1 after coming in second on the list in 2022.

Basallo, who turned 19 last Sunday, was signed by the club for $1.3 million, their top bonus from the class of 2021. He then produced a .762 OPS in his first two pro seasons, playing 41 games in the Dominican Summer League in 2021 and 43 last year in the Florida Complex League. 

From scouts, Basallo gets strong grades for both his big power and for his strong arm.

“He is going to mis-hit some homers, he is that strong,” said Koby Perez, the Orioles senior director of international scouting in a March interview for our international rankings series. “He may feel he popped it up or didn’t get it all, but it will go over some of these fences. His arm is also well above average, looks elite at times. He is still working on his blocking and overall concentration, but he should catch a whole lot this year and continue to grow at the position.”

Basallo started this year as the O’s No. 15 prospect via Baseball America and is now their No. 5 prospect in the team top 30 ranking and No. 48 in their Top 100. On the MLBPipeline.com list he moved from No. 12 preseason to No. 5 now in the team ranking and is No. 50 on their top 100 list. He’s flown up both boards.

And he reached a goal by becoming the O’s No. 5 prospect. When I interviewed him in March, that is what he was pointing toward.

“When the (preseason) list came out, my agent actually sent it to me, so I am aware of the rankings. I feel really proud of that because of all the hard work I have been putting in and you know trying to be the best baseball player that I can be. But to tell you the truth I want to try to finish this year being in the top five of that list,” Basallo told me in that interview with the help of Orioles translator Brandon Quinones.

At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, there is a chance Basallo (pronounced Ba-sigh-O) could outgrow the catching position, although the Orioles have a big guy now back there doing pretty well. One scout in March put it as 60-40 or 65-35 he stays as a catcher. If he has to abandon a catcher’s mitt at some point down the road he could end up at first base or in a corner outfield spot. But even at his size, he is considered quite athletic and flexible.

Basallo was having a very strong 2023 year with Low Single-A Delmarva and after 83 games moved to Aberdeen Aug. 1. With the Shorebirds, in his first time at full season ball, he hit .299/.384/.503/.887 with 19 doubles, four triples, 12 homers and 60 RBIs. Very impressive numbers in the Carolina League compiled at age 18. 

But like many before him, Basallo did not start hitting out of the gate with the IronBirds. In fact he went 2-for-26 (.077) his first seven games. And then that changed big time as he went 14-for-28 (.500) the next seven games with four doubles, two homers and nine RBIs.

He was 0-for-2 to begin last night’s game at home with Wilmington and then hit a triple to center field and scored in the last of the sixth. He went 1-for-3 with two walks and the lefty hitter is now batting .298/.394/.509/.903 in 15 games with Aberdeen.  

By the way, Aberdeen scored four runs in the last of the ninth Friday night to walk-off Wilmington 7-6. Frederick Bencosme's two-out, two-run single tied it 6-6 and Creed Willems' long single to the warning track in right field won it for Aberdeen.

Here is a link to the profile written here in March on Basallo where he talked about his youth in baseball in the Dominican Republic and a lot more. Click here for a look at a recent Basallo homer.

O's win series opener: The Orioles beat Oakland 9-4 last night, taking a 7-2 lead after four innings, to improve to 75-47 and maintain a two-game lead over Tampa Bay, which won in 10 innings at the Los Angeles Angels.

Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman combined to go 6-for-9 and Henderson hit homer No. 20 and drove in three runs. The Birds had 16 hits and went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

Their nine runs matched their total for three games in San Diego.

The Orioles are now 39-24 on the road, 4-1 versus Oakland, 16-5 in road series openers and 21-12 since the All-Star game.