The Baltimore Orioles (71-52) are soaring high as of late and have been on a roll in August, acquiring a record of 11-5 so far this month.
As the calendar turns, MLB rosters will expand, allowing teams to add on some depth at crucial positions and enabling for some of their star players to take a few more days off than usual.
For the Orioles, the starting rotation has been one of the hottest in baseball over the past few months.
Despite starting in the basement of the starting pitching ERA statistic in the initial months of the season, Orioles starters have been on a roll that just won’t stop, which has seen them climb all the way up to eighth in the AL for that split.
The Orioles bullpen, however, could be the organization’s strongest asset now after the acquisition of shutdown lefty reliever Andrew Miller at the MLB trade deadline.
The bullpen, as of now, ranks eighth in MLB in ERA. Look no further than the one-two punch of Darren O’Day and Zach Britton as the main reasons why the Orioles bullpen has been so successful this season.
With that being said, the Orioles really have no need to address their starting rotation or bullpen with personnel changes.
Instead, the club needs to bring in some reinforcements to add a jolt of life to its offense that has sparked at times but has been borderline pedestrian all season for a club that boasts several great hitters throughout its lineup.
Here is a look into three hitting prospects that will be promoted in September.
Francisco Peguero, OF, Triple-A Norfolk
Francisco Peguero could offer some solid outfield depth if any of the regular starters needed a day or two to rest in the month of September.
Peguero has made starts in left field, center field and right field so far this season, so it seems to be that he’ll be comfortable at wherever the O’s need to slot him.
Up to this point in the season, Peguero is batting for a .275 average and is slugging .370, but he has collected just three homers and 31 RBI in 68 games played.
Peguero does possess a solid .302 batting average with runners in scoring position with two outs, an area in which Baltimore has been scuffling all season.
Dariel Alvarez, OF, Triple-A Norfolk
Since being called up in the middle of July to the Triple-A club, Dariel Alvarez has held his own at the plate, hitting for an average of .270 with a .377 slugging percentage, but he has yet to launch a ball over the outfield fence for the Tide.
Still, Alvarez has recorded 12 extra-base hits in those 30 games, including a triple, which shows that he’s got some speed to contribute to the parent club, which surely lacks any speedsters aside from David Lough.
Christian Walker, 1B, Triple-A Norfolk
The only true lock to be called up on this list when rosters expand in September, Christian Walker is having an amazing season and has been turning the heads of fans and people in the organization.
Since being called up alongside Alvarez in the middle of July, Walker has hit for a .284/.370/.450 triple-slash line and has hit four homers in 29 games played.
On the season, the 23-year-old right-handed hitter has tallied 24 long balls and has driven in a whopping 91 baserunners in just 124 games.
It’s easy to see why the Orioles would love to bring him on, given the fact that with third baseman Manny Machado injured for the time being, first baseman Chris Davis would need to slide over to third to fill that hole which would leave first base open.
Sure, you can play Steve Pearce there if need be, but his bat has cooled off considerably since his hot streak in June.
Even if Machado gets back and everyone returns to their normal positions, there’s the chance that Davis still struggles and the Orioles may need Walker to jump right in and provide a jolt to the club.
Stats via Baseball Reference and ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.
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