Last week at Denver’s Coors Field, a minor league fan favorite roamed the Orioles’ clubhouse, hoping he’d soon be a Baltimore Oriole. Creed Willems, who has become a cult hero to minor league fans since he was selected in the eighth round of the 2021 draft, joined the team’s taxi squad for their series against the Rockies.
Willems saw one of the greatest catches in team history when Colton Cowser ended a game with a home run robbery, and one of the most disappointing when the Orioles lost a lead and the game in the 11th inning to Colorado.
The Orioles have used seven catchers this season, but Willems hasn’t been one of them. They’ve brought others, including one of Willems’ teammates at Triple-A Norfolk, Silas Ardoin, but they hadn’t brought him along.
“It’s something I’m a strong believer in. We’ve had a lot of taxi catchers come up, Triple-A guys. He was the only one that hasn’t come up.” manager Craig Albernaz said. “So, to get him up here, just to observe the big league life and the day-to-day [routine] as a catcher, it’s a low-risk way for Creed to sit in on the meetings, talk with the catchers, talk with the pitchers, talk with [pitching strategy coach Ryan] Klimek and [pitching coach Drew French], talk with [bench coach] Donnie [Ecker], myself.”
Klimek liked what he saw from working with the 23-year-old Willems, whom he saw at spring training.
“Creed’s great. I love him, great kid,” Klimek said. “Love the instincts. We haven’t got the chance to see him, totally work with him in game up here, but excited for that opportunity, if and when it comes.”
Willems is the Orioles No. 28 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, and No. 26 in Baseball America’s rankings.
According to fans in Delmarva, Aberdeen, Frederick, Chesapeake and Norfolk who regard Willems as a cult hero, he needs to get that chance.
“Yeah, I’ve seen it around,” Willems said last week. “But it’s one of those things, I just try to go about my business and do what I need to do and kind of let the rest take care of itself.”
With just two weeks remaining in Norfolk’s season, Willems is hitting .248 with a .739 OPS, 16 home runs and 57 RBIs in 101 games.
He’s mostly caught in the minors, but he’s also played first base. With the Tides this year, Willems has thrown out 18 percent of runners attempting to steal (15 of 82). He’s worked with Norfolk manager Mike Federowicz, a former big league catcher on tooling up his game.
“I think the big one for me has just been game plan,” Willems said. “We had a conversation earlier in the year with Feddy and we kind of talked about some stuff and he mentioned game-planning. And so, really just trying to do my homework, and whenever it comes time for meetings, just being prepared and being able to put in some valuable information for the pitchers.
“I feel like that just kind of allows them to have some weight off of their shoulders if I’ve done my homework. Really just been trying to focus on that, so I think the big thing for me this year has been focusing on that and letting the rest take care of itself.”
Willems stands out in a big league clubhouse—or any clubhouse. He has long, flowing shoulder-length black hair, and at 5-feet-11, 225 pounds, looks like a catcher of yesteryear. Perhaps that’s why fans identify with him.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Willems says about his minor league notoriety. “I try to just be respectful to them. If I have some time, sit and talk, kind of share some information with the younger guys. But just trying to be respectful.”
The Orioles already have three catchers — Samuel Basallo, Carlos Narváez and Yohel Pozo, so it doesn’t seem likely Willems will be making his big league debut in 2026.
He was passed over in last December’s Rule 5 draft despite at least one scout urging his team to draft him.
Willems prepared for big league life last week, attending meetings, warming up pitchers and re-enacting his high school football days in Aledo, Texas, where he was a long snapper.
“Just trying to kind of learn how these other guys have been up here go about their business,” Willems says. “Whether it’s talking to the other catchers or talking to pitchers about how they like to approach it and what they want from their catcher and just trying to learn from that.”
Willems thinks he’s ready for a shot with the Orioles.
“I feel like whenever the time comes, it’s go time,” he said. “But just trying to focus on where my feet are and trying to be present there and not trying to get ahead of myself.
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