Orioles On the Verge

Why Orioles RHP Levi Wells Might Have The Most Unique Fastball In The Minors The latest entry in Geoff Pontes' series on potential breakout pitching prospects spotlights Orioles righthander Levi Wells.

Does Orioles prospect Levi Wells have one of the most unique fastballs in baseball?

More on why I believe so in my latest for @baseballamerica.com www.baseballamerica.com/stories/why-...

Dan Sanchez I write the stuff here·18 Nov Andy! We've got a celeb in the house! I'm high on Forret for two reasons: he's got enough velocity (93-97) and ride at the top of the zone for the fastball to be a foundational pitch, and the rest of his arsenal is really deep: sinker, gyro slider, sweeper, straight change and kick change, with the latter looking promising. Combine all that with solid command/control and he has the materials to be a #2/3 starter, though he still has some work to do to hone that arsenal into its most effective mix. Durability is a question. Is the back injury behind him or will it nag? Even if he's over it, he hasn't yet reached 100 IP in a season. He's only 22 next year, so plenty of time to build that foundation, but you can't say he can handle a full-season starter workload until you see it. But a healthy season could absolutely vault him into some Top 100 lists IMO.

Baseball America picked Michael Forret as the Orioles breakout prospect candidate for this year. @afkostka.bsky.social asked my thoughts on him in the live chat last week. Here’s what I said (copy in the alt text).

Forret might be the least heralded of the bunch, but he could make a case for being the best starter among that group when it’s all said and done."

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From over the weekend:

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📈

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Yaqui Rivera winter line in LIDOM:

9 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 K
3.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, .172 average against

TT Bowens winter ball update from Mexico:

.275 average with 9 XBH and a .391 OBP in 27 games.

Picture is certainly a word choice lol

Twins 16th ranked prospect according to FanGraphs. Didn’t see him ranked anywhere else.

See Orioles, attendance 📈

Yeah I think that would work too if you prefer. Then you could probably keep Povich. But I’m higher on Jackson

Yeah, need to know more about Okamoto’s defense. Can always just sign Bregman instead! 😂

Bob's Dream Offseason v2.0 To be updated as necessary

oriolesontheverge.substack.com/p/bobs-dream...

As the agita over losing Grayson starts to subside, it's a little easier to appreciate Taylor Ward as a nice player.

His 11.3% BB rate would have ranked 2nd behind O'Hearn (11.6) among Orioles with 200+ PA and his .247 ISO would have been 1st. His 2.9 fWAR would have ranked 2nd behind Gunnar (4.8).

Updated Orioles staff (per sources):

Bench: Donnie Ecker
Hitting: Dustin Lind
Asst. hitting: Brady North
1B: Jason Bourgeois
3B: Buck Britton
INF: Miguel Cairo
Field coordinator/catching: Joe Singley
Bullpen: Hank Conger

Drew French, Mitch Plassmeyer, Ryan Klimek back on pitching side.

Updated Orioles coaching staff (per sources):

Bench: Donnie Ecker
Hitting: Dustin Lind
Asst. hitting: Brady North
1B: Jason Bourgeois
3B: Buck Britton
Infield: Miguel Cairo
Field coordinator/catching: Joe Singley

Drew French, Mitch Plassmeyer, Ryan Klimek back on pitching side.

Grayson Rodriguez Trade Reaction Podcast Episode · On The Verge | An Orioles Prospect Podcast · 11/20/2025 · 54m

Taylor Ward is an Oriole.
Grayson Rodriguez is an Angel.

We react to this week's trade, plus Rule 5 decisions were made.

Apple: bit.ly/4prvaQ9
Spotify: bit.ly/3XBq3ki
YouTube: bit.ly/3LSqCUb

One rival executive said the trade was an indication of how badly president of baseball operations Mike Elias wants to reverse the team’s fortunes, perhaps out of concern for his job security. “It would not shock me if he was the first one to sign a free-agent starter. I actually almost expect it,” the executive said. “This is not a man sitting on his hands saying, ‘Hey, let’s let the market develop.’ They’re going to be extremely active.”

The Tucker stuff feels so divorced from reality I can’t even take it seriously, but here you have actual quotes from actual executives saying Mike is going all out.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/682...

Cease/Imai, May/Ponce/Keller, Helsley/Suarez/Fairbanks

Always the Debridement, Never the Bride YouTube video by Orioles On the Verge

Action packed livestream tonight

www.youtube.com/live/bRIx7V_...

Scouting Reports For Tatsuya Imai, Munetaka Murakami & Kazuma Okamoto For 2026 Baseball America presents scouting reports on a trio of key Japanese free agents set to join MLB in 2026, including righthander Tatsuya Imai.

With the three biggest names coming over from NPB now posted, I wrote up scouting reports on:

Tatsuya Imai
Munetaka Murakami
Kazuma Okamoto www.baseballamerica.com/stories/scou...

Huge congrats to RHP Cameron Foster on being added to the 40-man as well.

After his performance in Triple-A post trade deadline, he felt like a lock to be added.

Huge congrats to Reed Trimble on being added to the 40-man. It's been quite the journey since being selected 65th overall in the 2021 draft.

Put together a healthy season and hit 17 home runs with an .828 OPS in the minors. The best stat: He's 61/61 in SB attempts (career)

Upper-90s heat, big time strikeout ability, awful command, has not surpassed AA through age 26.

The Astros designated Ramón Urías for assignment on Tuesday, clearing a 40-man roster spot for Miguel Ullola. The move protects Ullola from the Rule 5 Draft while alleviating some work for the Astros prior to Friday's non-tender deadline. Urías profiled as a non-tender or trade candidate

With the 2025 Arizona Fall League season complete, let's look back at what stood out for Orioles prospects who went out west.

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40 Man Protection Podcast Episode · On The Verge | An Orioles Prospect Podcast · 11/13/2025 · 1h 6m

The deadline to add Rule 5 eligible players to the 40-man roster is Tuesday. Who, if anyone else, will the Orioles protect?

We discuss:

Apple: bit.ly/4ihnbCV
Spotify: bit.ly/448KeJX
YouTube: bit.ly/448KfO1