It’s a ‘big deal’ as Orioles call up Samuel Basallo, MLB’s top catching prospect

It’s a ‘big deal’ as Orioles call up Samuel Basallo, MLB’s top catching prospect


HOUSTON — Samuel Basallo was 16 years old when he signed with the Orioles out of the Dominican Republic, visualizing one day playing in the major leagues.

Less than five years later, Basallo’s dream has come true.

The Orioles promoted Basallo, baseball’s best catching prospect, to the majors Sunday, the team announced. The 21-year-old slugger has dominated with Triple-A Norfolk this season, posting a .270 batting average with 23 home runs in 76 games for the Tides.

Basallo’s dad, Jairo Fernando Basallo, was the one to break the news to his son.

“I’ve told you to wait, that the moment would arrive when God would know that it would be the moment to fulfill your dream, which you’ve had since you were a kid,” Basallo’s dad said in a video posted by the Orioles on social media. “That’s why I’m calling you now: To welcome you to the show, my son.”

Basallo was at a breakfast spot Saturday morning in Jacksonville, Florida — where the Tides are playing this week — with Norfolk manager Tim Federowicz, and he wasn’t expecting to receive the news the way he did.

“There’s no better feeling than getting that phone call from your family,” Basallo said Sunday in Daikin Park’s visiting clubhouse through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “My dad is very special to me, he means a lot to me. To get that phone call from him and from my family, it means everything.”

Basallo had an eventful debut batting sixth as the designated hitter. He was hit by a pitch in his first at-bat in the second inning, grounded into a double play in the fourth, popped out in foul territory in the sixth, was robbed of a three-run home run in the seventh and smacked a two-run single to right-center field for his first MLB hit in the eighth.

The call-up makes two top prospects debuts in as many days for the Orioles after weeks of waiting. Baltimore promoted outfield prospect Dylan Beavers, the club’s No. 3 prospect, to make his debut Saturday against the Astros.

The space for Beavers and Basallo, the Orioles’ top prospect, was created at the trade deadline when the Orioles parted ways with Cedric Mullins, Ramón Laureano, Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Urías. But the club didn’t promote either prospect immediately after the deadline despite their impressive numbers, instead using castoffs and journeymen to populate the bottom of the lineup.

The reasons the organization waited this long after the deadline to promote Basallo and Beavers are unclear, but one factor could be ensuring they remain rookie-eligible for the 2026 season. Since they were both promoted on Aug. 15 or later, they cannot accrue enough days on the Orioles’ active roster to lose their rookie eligibility (as long as they don’t exceed 130 at-bats this season). That could pay dividends for the organization.

If Basallo or Beavers wins the American League Rookie of the Year Award next season, it would net the Orioles a 2027 draft pick at the end of the first round. That’s the same pick Gunnar Henderson earned for Baltimore when he won the award in 2023.

“Similar to Beavers, here’s a guy who earned a promotion to the big leagues,” Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “Throughout the industry, you see players get to the big leagues because of prospect status or need for a major league team. In this scenario, both these guys have earned their way here.”

Basallo said he did his best over the past few weeks to not focus on when his promotion could come, adding that it helped having Beavers, his roommate in Norfolk, to get through the summer.

“He’s a great guy on and off the field,” Basallo said of Beavers. “Someone who has a good head on him, for sure, and someone who really helped me in Triple-A this year just getting through everything that we’re going through down there.”

Beavers on Saturday spoke glowingly of Basallo’s offensive ability. Basallo, a lefty slugger, posted a .966 OPS and homered in 8.5% of his at-bats in Triple-A this season. He’s a career .283 minor league hitter with a .864 OPS.

“I’ve never seen anyone hit like that — ever,” Beavers said while giggling. “What you see is what I see.”

Orioles designated hitter Samuel Basallo fouls off a pitch in his first big league at-bat Sunday against the Astros in Houston. He was eventually hit by a pitch. (David J. Phillip/AP)

Basallo signed with Baltimore in January 2021 for a then-franchise-record $1.3 million out of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. He was the headliner of the first major international investment by the Mike Elias regime after decades of the organization largely passing over the Latin American market. As far as international prospects go, Basallo thus far has been a home run.

“It’s a big deal for the organization,” Mansolino said. “You kind of think about the lack thereof with our Latin American program when Mike took this thing over, what him and [vice president of international scouting and operations] Koby Perez have built. Sammy Basallo is kind of right now the pinnacle of that for us. … This is the first big Latin American signing that we’ve had that shows up, and it’s a really good one.

“We expect him to be competitive, to do well. Could be hot right away, could not. Either way, over time, he’s going to be a really good major league player.”

Orioles road to the show: Samuel Basallo has arrived. Here’s how he got here.

At 12 years old, Basallo began training like a professional, waking up at 4:30 a.m. for two-a-day workouts at his academy. A few years later, he was connected to the New York Yankees before he was again made available and the Orioles swooped in to sign him.

He wasn’t a highly rated prospect until his historic 2023 season, during which he climbed from Low-A to Double-A in his age-18 campaign. He dominated High-A more than any prospect his age since at least 2006, putting up even better numbers than Mike Trout and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. did. In 2024, Basallo reached Triple-A in his age-19 season, joining an exclusive list of players to do so, including Bryce Harper, Ronald Acuña Jr and Jackson Holliday. Baseball America ranks Basallo as the No. 7 prospect in MLB, putting him in the same tier as Holliday, Henderson and Adley Rutschman.

Basallo’s bat has likely been ready for a test at the big leagues for a while. He was putting up monster numbers in Triple-A in the spring. But his age, combined with his inexperience defensively, played a role in why the Orioles waited to bring Basallo up.

The Orioles will carry three catchers on the roster: Rutschman, Basallo and backup Alex Jackson. Basallo, who can also play first base, will rotate between his two defensive positions and designated hitter, Mansolino said. The club also reinstated outfielder Colton Cowser from the 7-day concussion injured list and optioned outfielders Ryan Noda and Daniel Johnson to Triple-A Norfolk. Zach Eflin was moved to the 60-day IL ahead of his back surgery later this week. Catcher Maverick Handley was also reinstated from the IL and optioned to Norfolk.

“I’m really happy for those guys,” Cowser said of Beavers and Basallo. “I think it’s gonna be a fun month and a half left. It’ll be good for them to get their feet wet in this environment. I’m excited to continue to watch them.”

Basallo was in the No. 6 hole as the Orioles’ DH on Sunday, wearing No. 29. Basallo is expected to be behind the plate Monday, DH again Tuesday and then play first base sometime during the homestand that begins Thursday.

It marked the end of Basallo’s nearly decade-long journey to reach the big leagues. But a new one has begun.

“It started way back when in the academy,” Basallo said. “I think all the hard work, we’re seeing it. I’m finally seeing the fruits of that labor.”

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