Triple-A Norfolk manager Gary Kendall says Orioles prospect Ryan Mountcastle, who played mostly first base for the Tides in 2019, has shown enough positional versatility to fit on the same big-league roster as Chris Davis — and Kendall expects to see a more mature hitter this spring as well.
Mountcastle, who turns 23 next month, signed as a shortstop after he was drafted No. 36 overall by the Orioles in 2015. He stayed at the position until 2017, when he was forced to move off the position due to a lack of arm strength and range. He played third base for Double-A Bowie to finish out the 2017 season and all of 2018.
In 2019, Mountcastle moved up to Norfolk along with Kendall, who managed Mountcastle in Bowie from 2017-2018. He played 84 games at first base, 26 in left field and nine at third base. Do Mountcastle’s starts in left field, which came toward the end of the year, portend things to come in 2020?
