MLB Top Prospects To Battle In Somerset
The Somerset Patriots will welcome the Baltimore Orioles Double-A affiliate Bowie Baysox to TD Bank Ballpark for a six-game series July 25-30 in a battle between baseball’s top prospects.
The Somerset Patriots will welcome the Baltimore Orioles Double-A affiliate Bowie Baysox to TD Bank Ballpark for a six-game series July 25-30 in a battle between baseball’s top prospects.
The Baysox make the trip to Bridgewater featuring a roster riddled with Orioles top prospects, bolstered this week with the promotion of MLB No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday.
The first overall pick by Baltimore in the 2022 MLB Draft, Holliday inked a record $8.19 million contract with the Orioles, the largest signing bonus ever for a high school player. He split his 2022 pro debut season between the rookie-level FCL Orioles and Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds, where Holliday combined to hit .297 with a home run and .911 OPS in 20 games. The 19-year-old shortstop returned to Delmarva to begin the 2023 season, but earned a promotion to High-A Aberdeen after only 14 games, over which he hit .396 with 2 HR. Holliday continued his success in High-A, leading the South Atlantic League in OBP (.452), while placing third in OPS (.940), and fourth in runs (52). Holliday played in the MLB All-Star Futures Game in Seattle on Saturday, and will make his Double-A debut for Bowie this weekend vs. Akron.
The Orioles top prospect will go head-to-head with their American League East rival Yankees top prospect Jasson Dominguez, ranked as MLB No. 42 prospect by MLB Pipeline. The 20-year-old outfielder leads the Patriots in SB (24) and R (55) this season, hitting .204 with 10 HR in 76 games.
In addition to Dominguez, Somerset’s roster is composed of nine players ranked on MLB Pipeline’s top 30 Yankees prospects, including five top ten prospects in the form of Austin Wells (No. 2), Trey Sweeney (No. 5), Richard Fitts (No. 8), and Yoendrys Gomez (No. 9).
Wells, ranked the #81 prospect in baseball, leads the Patriots with 50 RBI on the season despite only playing in 52 of Somerset’s 81 games.
Fitts has been one of the top pitchers in the Eastern League this season, posting a 2.09 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over his last nine starts dating back to 5/24.
Bowie’s roster features six Orioles top 30 prospects, highlighted by No. 7 prospect Coby Mayo. The 21-year-old third baseman currently leads the Eastern League in OPS (1.027), SLG (.603), XBH (49), and TB (173), while placing top five in HR (17), BA (.307), and H (88).
After clinching their second consecutive first-half championship with an Eastern League best 42-26 record, Somerset looks to keep the ball rolling in the second half after a 5-6 start prior to the All-Star break.