Orioles’ trades strengthen organizational pitching depth

It’s been a week since the Orioles made one of their biggest trades in recent history, sending catcher Adley Rutschman to Boston along with another catcher, Jake Rogers. In return, the Orioles received catcher Carlos Narváez and three highly rated prospects — starting pitchers Anthony Eyanson and Kyson Witherspoon, and outfielder Enndy Azocar.

The Orioles also re-acquired another top prospect, right-handed starter Michael Forret, from Tampa Bay in exchange for reliever Tyler Wells.

They also traded outfielder Taylor Ward for three right-handed pitchers, including Alex Hoppe, who has already pitched for the Orioles.

The moves not only remade the major league team, but they also helped restock the minors leagues and changed the way the Orioles are developing prospects under president of baseball operations Mike Elias.

Elias has always shied away from selecting pitchers in the early rounds of the draft, and that was true in 2026, as well. He picked two left-handed hitting outfielders, Eric Booth Jr. and Ty Head, with the first two selections before taking his first pitcher, Kansas’ Dominic Voegele, with the third pick.

Booth and Head will start their professional careers for Single-A Delmarva on Tuesday. They’re not yet ranked in MLB Pipeline’s top 30 prospects, but the players acquired in the Rutschman and Wells trades are.

Earlier this year, the Orioles’ minor league system was rated No. 13 by MLB Pipeline. With the additions of Booth, Head and the trade acquisitions, it will likely boost the Orioles’ system. FanGraphs has moved the Orioles to the second-best of all 30 minor league systems.

For the years that Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, Coby Mayo and Jordan Westburg were developing, the Orioles’ minor league system was a consistent No. 1 among multiple outlets.

They did have two pitchers, DL Hall and Grayson Rodriguez, rated highly, but they were drafted before Elias arrived in November 2018.

The current top 30 is different. While Booth and Head haven’t been added, 14 of the top 30 are pitchers, and that’s unusual.

Both Eyanson, who’s No. 1, and Witherspoon, No. 7, pitched for their new organization on Saturday.

Eyanson pitched five innings for Double-A Chesapeake, giving up two runs on four hits with a walk and nine strikeouts. Witherspoon allowed one run on five hits in 4 1/3 innings with five walks and three strikeouts for High-A Frederick.

Left-hander Joseph Dzierwa, who could be the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year, is ranked fourth, a year after he was a second-round draftee.

Forret, who was the 14^th-round pick in 2023, was traded to the Rays as part of a package of recent draft choices for starting pitcher Shane Baz, is No. 6, and at Triple-A Norfolk.

Boston Bateman, the headline prospect among the six acquired from San Diego in last July’s trade for Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano,, is No. 10. He’s also at Frederick.

Luis De León, a top international signee, has moved up to Norfolk. He’s No. 11.

Trey Gibson, last year’s top organizational pitcher, is ranked No. 12. Gibson has thrown 33 innings in the major leagues, and unless he tops 50 this year, will remain a rookie.

Left-hander Caden Hunter, who has a 1.44 ERA at Delmarva, Frederick and Chesapeake in his first season in pro ball, is No. 15.

Other interesting prospects are right-handers Nestor German at No. 17 and JT Quinn at No. 27, who’s being promoted to Chesapeake.

There are so many worthy prospects that Juaron Watts-Brown, who was dealt to the Orioles from Toronto last July in exchange for reliever Seranthony Domínguez, has dropped off the top 30. Watts-Brown and German are both at Norfolk.

Not all these prospects will pitch for the Orioles, but for the first time in the Elias era, they’ve accumulated enough so that some can be traded to fill positional needs without hurting depth.

Early in Elias’ drafts, he accumulated shortstop prospects, and two of his 2019 picks, Joey Ortiz and Darrel Hernaiz, were traded for pitching. Ortiz went to Milwaukee for Corbin Burnes and Hernaiz to the Athletics for Cole Irvin.

It’s possible that some of the Triple-A pitchers could get a shot in the majors, particularly if the Orioles fall out of the playoff picture.

While having a stronger group of pitchers in the minor leagues isn’t going to satisfy an angry fanbase disappointed by this year’s performance, there are at least some who should help the Orioles over the next several years.

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