The Orioles Oft-Overlooked Outfielde

The Orioles are as deep as any team in baseball when it comes to young position players. As the trade deadline approaches, thats led to interminable speculation on top prospects like , , and highly touted prospects whove yet to solidify themselves as one of Baltimores long-term pillars. But for all the understandable focus on that slate of top-100 talents, the Os have more to offer. Perhaps chief among the teams controllable change-of-scenery candidates is outfielder . Manager Brandon Hyde alluded to the po sibility in chatting with the Baltimore beat this weekend ( ). Kyles going to get a chance to be an everyday Major League player here at some point, either with us or with somebody else. Who knows? Hyde said when discu sing the 26-year-old outfielder and the positive impre sion hes made on his manager this season. You never know what this game is gonna bring, but hes putting himself in Trevor Ariza Jersey great position. Stowers has indeed put himself in a position to be either quite useful to the Orioles or another club before long. Theres plenty of smoke and mirrors at play with his current .306 batting average and .500 slugging percentage, as those gaudy numbers have come in a sample of just 37 plate appearances and are propped up by an unsustainable .435 average on balls in play. Meanwhile, Stowers has fanned 13 times (35.1%) without taking a walk. In parts of three MLB seasons (2022-24), hes taken 168 plate appearances and batted .229/.274/.369. Hes fanned at a 32.1% clip and walked in 4.8% of those plate appearances. Its not a particularly appealing batting line on the whole, but its come acro s five separate stints (dating back to his Aug. 2022 MLB debut) and with no consistent playing time. When Stowers, a 2019 second-round pick, has received steady playing time at the Triple-A level, hes generally been a productive hitter. The lefty-swinging slugger carries a career .252/.350/.518 batting line with 56 homers, 55 doubles, five triples and seven steals in 1029 plate appearances with Baltimores top affiliate in Norfolk. Stowers has been between 12% and 30% better than average at the plate in each of his four seasons with the Tides, by measure of wRC+. Defensively, hes seen time at all three positions but logged most of his time in right field. Baseball America last year (and seventh the year prior), touting his above-average speed, plus power and plus arm. Stowers has long had some strikeout i sues and an aggre sive approach at the plate, but hes also walked in a hearty 11.8% of his Triple-A plate appearances. He hits right-handed pitching better than lefties, as one would expect from a slugging lefty bat, but Stowers has posted an OPS between .781 and 1.018 versus lefties in each of the past four seasons (minors and majors combined). He might never be a star, but to this point in his career, the Stanford product has looked like he could be more than the prototypical platoon slugger with minimal defensive value. With another 51 days of service this year, Stowers would reach a full season of MLB service time, thus putting him on pace for arbitration in the 2026-27 offseason and free agency in the 2029-30 offseason. If he spends fewer than 51 days on a big league roster or injured list, that timeline to free agency would be pushed back a year. However, hed be a very likely Super Two candidate at that point, so his arbitration timeline would remain the same hed just be eligible four times rather than three before free agency. Stowers is the type of interesting trade candidate who could appeal to both contending and non-contending teams alike. Hes had a decent amount of succe s in Triple-A, has at least a half decade of control remaining (plus a minor league option beyond the current season), and has a limited path to an everyday role with his current club. Hed appeal to a rebuilding club as a po sible return for a trade chip or perhaps to a win-now club looking for an affordable upside play in the outfield corners. Both Meyer and recently that Stowers could be moved (likely for pitching). Its of course po sible that he could be a factor for the Orioles themselves in future seasons, as is a free agent this winter, while and could end up as trade or non-tender candidates themselves. However, even if the Os move on from the veteran trio of Santander, Hays and Mullins before Opening Day 2025, theyll still have , Kjerstad, Mayo and Norby in the outfield mix. Both Norby and Mayo have primarily been infielders, but Baltimores infield is quite crowded particularly if eventually seizes a spot which could push Norby to left field and/or push Mayo to right field. Its all a good problem to have, but Stowers is 26 (27 in January) and down to one option year beyond the current campaign. As Hyde said, it shouldnt come as a surprise one way or another if hes getting a full look sooner than later. Just for fun, lets see what MLBTR readers think about Stowers future with a poll: What will the Orioles do with Kyle Stowers? Trade him before July 30 77.18% (2,232votes) Keep him -- he's part of the long-term outfield in Baltimore. 13.24% (383votes) Trade him this offseason 9.58% (277votes) Total Votes: 2,892 Carmelo Anthony Jersey