Vance Honeycutt on his 4 home runs in Orioles’ camp: ‘I wasn’t trying to do it’

The Frederick Keys open their season on Friday night at the Hub City Spartanburgers, in their first season as the Orioles’ High-A affiliate since 2019.

The Keys have some of the most interesting prospects in the Orioles’ system.

There’s the new No. 1 prospect, 19-year-old outfielder Nate George, who was the team’s minor league player of the year in 2025, and 22-year-old Ike Irish, last year’s top draft pick, who can play catcher, first base and the outfield.

The No. 4 prospect the Keys will feature is Vance Honeycutt, the No. 1 selection in 2024. Honeycutt, the Orioles’ No. 29 prospect, had an awful season at High-A Aberdeen last year, hitting just .171 with five home runs, 24 RBIs and 178 strikeouts in 101 games.

Honeycutt did display excellent speed with the IronBirds, stealing 32 bases in 39 attempts.

However, during spring training, the 22-year-old outfielder made a great impression on first-year manager Craig Albernaz when he homered in his first four at-bats as an extra player in Grapefruit League games. He only singled in his fifth at-bat.

Honeycutt talked about last year, this year and the future on March 20^th as he prepared for the Spring Breakout game, which matched Oriole prospects against their counterparts from the Boston Red Sox.

The interview has been edited for clarity.

Question: What have you gotten from your time in major league camp this year?

Vance Honeycutt: “It’s been good. Being exposed to the guys has been great. At first, there’s nerves, I guess. Building that level of comfort and familiarity is important. Learning from the coaches is cool. Having success and knowing that your game does play. I think that’s important, too, building some confidence and doing those things, validating your work in the offseason. It’s been good. I’m excited.”

Q: What went wrong last year?

Honeycutt: “Mentally, I went down that rollercoaster and that rabbit hole a little bit. That’s kind of where I’ll leave it.”

Q: Over the years, a lot of good players have struggled at Aberdeen and succeeded elsewhere. Is there something about playing there that was tough?

Honeycutt: “It’s unfavorable at times to hit, but I’m not going to sit here and blame the field, right? I think first year, I went down that rabbit hole and I couldn’t dig myself out of it. I think acknowledging that now is important and being able to laugh at it, being able to joke about it and getting better from it. I learned so many lessons, so that I can take them into this year and the rest of my career.”

Q: Where do you hope to start this year and where do you hope to end up?

Honeycutt: “I can’t control that. I’m not too focused on where I start. Wherever I do, just go out and be myself, go out and play baseball in the capacity that I can. In terms of ending, kind of the same thing. I just want to get closer. I think that as a player, that’s kind of your goal. For me, it’s get closer. Each year, get closer. That’s what I’m focused on. I’m not too worried where I start. Go out there and play like I know I can.”

Q: This organization has aggressively promoted position players. Does that give you more confidence?

Honeycutt: “Maybe, but I can’t control it. I just want to go out and play my brand of baseball, be present, focus on my process and just let that other stuff play out the way it should. If you can control what you can control, then all the cards will lay out the way they should.”

Q: What kind of an adrenaline rush was it hitting all those home runs? ‘

Honeycutt: “It was good. It felt good, validating some of the offseason work. You don’t need success to feel great. I wanted to know some of the stuff I did, did play during a game. It was exciting. I wasn’t trying to do it. I was on the barrel. Good things happen when you’re on the barrel, continuing to do what I can to stay there.”

Note: Double-A Chesapeake placed right-hander Jauron Watts-Brown, the No.14 prospect, on the injured list.

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com