Orioles invite Diaz, Mountcastle to camp

With the Orioles in full rebuild mode, fans will get a glimpse of some of the future this spring. 
Yusniel Díaz and Ryan Mountcastle, the system's top two prospects, are among 18 non-roster players invited to Major League Spring Training, the team announced Friday. Joining them in Sarasota, Florida, will be 12th-ranked Ryan McKenna, No. 16 Dean Kremer and No. 26 Zach Pop.

Diaz was the headliner in last summer's blockbuster trade that sent All-Star Manny Machado to the Dodgers for five prospects. After coming over from Los Angeles, MLB.com's No. 52 overall prospect played the final 38 games of the season with Double-A Bowie, hitting .23/.329/.403 with five homers and 15 RBIs. Between the Texas and Eastern leagues, Diaz -- who was a Futures Game selection with the Dodgers -- batted .285 with an .841 OPS. 

After a short stay with the Baysox at the end of 2017, Mountcastle spent all of last season at the Double-A level and produced a strong offensive season. The 2015 first-round pick posted a .297/.341/.464 slash line with 13 homers in 102 games. Despite two stints on the disabled list, his numbers never faltered and he was named a midseason All-Star, a Futures Game selection and received an MiLB.com Organization All-Star nod for the fourth consecutive year. 
"The maturity as a young hitter that he showed this year was outstanding," Orioles director of player development Brian Graham told MiLB.com in October. "He competed extremely well, his recognition of pitches was much better this year. He recognized off-speed pitches, breaking balls, showed power."

McKenna, a fellow Organization All-Star, found his stroke with an .848 OPS and a career-high 11 dingers between Class A Advanced Frederick and Bowie. 
Two other pieces in the Machado trade, Kremer and Pop will look for time on the mound with the big club in Florida after making strong debuts with the Orioles last summer. Kremer, a 23-year-old right-hander, led the Minors with 178 strikeouts and went 4-2 with a 2.58 ERA and 1.21 WHIP over 45 1/3 innings down the stretch with Bowie, while Pop picked up one win and had a 2.53 ERA in 14 relief appearances for the Baysox.