One thing matters more than anything else for the Orioles this season: the progress of the minor-league system. And in that regard, general manager Mike Elias has seen promising results.
In recent farm system evaluations, Baseball America ranked the Orioles No. 8 and MLB Pipeline ranked them No. 13. That's a strong jump from just a year ago, when many ranked the O's collection of minor-league talent in the bottom third of the league. Thanks to the selection of No. 1 overall pick Adley Rutschman and the continued development of pitchers DL Hall and Grayson Rodriguez, the O's have some high-ceiling prospects to get excited about.
Player development and scouting, after all, were chief reasons why Elias was hired in the first place. His experience in helping to construct the Houston Astros' powerhouse provided fans something to dream on, and so far there has been nothing to suggest the Orioles aren't in capable hands.
