SARASOTA, Fla. — The Orioles enter the 2024 season with one of the deepest organizational depth charts in baseball. A blend of established major leaguers and up-and-coming prospects has put Baltimore in position to absorb an injury at any corner of the roster and have several options to replace them.
It takes much more than five starting pitchers, eight relievers, nine position players and a four-man bench to get through a 162-game season. The Orioles might have to trim their roster to 26 players for opening day, but they will be relying heavily on that organizational depth to help them get back to playoff baseball in October.
Here are five under-the-radar players who could end up making significant impacts in 2024.
Right-hander Wandisson Charles
The Orioles signed Wandisson Charles to a minor league deal over the 2022-23 offseason, seeing untapped potential in the hard-throwing righty who flamed out in the Oakland Athletics’ farm system. He went on to impress out of the bullpen at Double-A Bowie, reaching Triple-A for the first time in his career and knocking on the door of the big leagues.
Though he never got the call to the majors, Charles returned to the organization on another minor league deal this offseason. His triple-digit fastball and gaudy strikeout numbers make for an intriguing profile, one that could factor into the Orioles’ bullpen mix this season. Still trying to harness his control enough to limit walks, Charles has the potential to be a late-inning option if he can put it all together.
Right-hander Chayce McDermott
Amid all the hype surrounding the Orioles’ position player prospects, Chayce McDermott reached the highest levels of the minor leagues last season and put himself in a position to earn a call-up to Baltimore at some point this summer. The right-hander, ranked eighth among Orioles prospects but their top pitcher by Baseball America, posted a 2.49 ERA with 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings for Norfolk in 2023.
Though manager Brandon Hyde has already indicated McDermott is headed to Triple-A to start the year, a strong start to the minor league season would make him among the favorites to slide into either the rotation or a long relief role if a spot opens. With an impressive fastball-slider combination and above-average curveball, McDermott has the arsenal that could allow him to claim a spot in the back end of the rotation for the long term.
Second baseman-outfielder Connor Norby
In most organizations, a 23-year-old who spent a full season in Triple-A slashing .290/.359/.483 with 21 home runs and 10 stolen bases would be a strong candidate for a starting job the following spring. That’s not the case for Connor Norby, who is seemingly blocked at every position even after learning to play corner outfield in recent seasons.
Despite no clear path right now, Baltimore’s 2021 second-round pick can hit. His bat should be enough to land an opportunity with the Orioles’ big league club at some point this season. Yet if the logjam persists, Norby could still make a sizable impact for them another way: as a trade chip at the deadline.
Outfielder Kyle Stowers
The 2023 season couldn’t have gone worse for Kyle Stowers. After making the opening day roster out of camp, Stowers struggled mightily out of the gate and appeared in just 14 games before being sent down to Triple-A. He battled several injuries, including a fractured nose when he was hit in the face by a pitch.
However, Stowers has made a strong case in early spring to land back on the MLB roster once again as the Orioles’ fourth outfielder. The knock on him over the past two years has been his ability to hit against left-handed pitchers, but so far this spring he’s taken three of them deep. If the Orioles send one or both of Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad to Norfolk to get everyday at-bats, Stowers could get a second chance to stick in Baltimore.
Right-hander Albert Suárez
A 34-year-old journeyman who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2017, Albert Suárez joined the Orioles on a minor league deal last fall after pitching in Asia for four years. The Orioles showed Suárez some changes to his mechanics and they’ve resulted in a fastball that now regularly touches 97 mph, faster than he’s ever thrown in his career.
Suárez is building up his arm for a starter’s workload this season, giving the Orioles a new depth option with major league experience for the rotation. Another player expected to begin the year in Triple-A, Suárez is hoping to be the latest Orioles pitcher to unlock a new iteration of himself under the guidance of the club’s coaching staff.