Good morning, Camden Chatters.<\/p>\n
Spring training is winding down and the Orioles are inching toward their season-opening roster. And with the World Baseball Classic now finished, that roster is looking close to complete, as the Orioles\u2019 WBC-participating players have rejoined the team for the final stretch of Grapefruit League games. The last to return to camp was Gunnar Henderson, fresh off a stint with Team USA in which he performed great but was painfully under-utilized. That won\u2019t be a problem for him with the Orioles.<\/p>\n
With Gunnar back in the fold, the Orioles unveiled a very Opening Day-ish kind of lineup<\/a> in the first of their two split-squad games yesterday. That group fared decently against Yankees ace Max Fried, with nearly every starter reaching base at least once, but one change I\u2019d like to see before the actual Opening Day is Samuel Basallo being included in that lineup. Basallo proved why in the second split-squad game, powering two home runs off the Pirates as part of a 3-for-3 day. Samuel is OPS\u2019ing 1.225 this spring. I think he\u2019s ready for the season to start.<\/p>\n Orioles starting pitchers, too, continue to look sharp this spring. Dean Kremer held the Yankees to one run in 4.1 innings, striking out eight, and Trevor Rogers struck out seven Pirates in 5.1 innings in the late game. In six days, Rogers will take the mound for the Opening Day assignment against the Twins. It\u2019s gonna be fun.<\/p>\n What\u2019s also gonna be fun is tonight\u2019s Spring Breakout game, featuring a team of Orioles prospects taking on Red Sox prospects in Sarasota. The Birds\u2019 squad consists of most of the club\u2019s top prospects who aren\u2019t in big league camp, including Enrique Bradfield Jr., Nate George, Trey Gibson, Aron Estrada, Ike Irish, and Wehiwa Aloy. The game will air on MASN. And the big league Orioles will be in action a half hour later, again playing the Yankees, with a local broadcast on WBAL Radio. So if you\u2019d like, you can get more than your fill of spring training action tonight.<\/p>\n Basallo keeps bashing in exhibition games, homers twice and goes 3-for-3 in Orioles\u2019 5-2 win – School of Roch<\/a><\/p>\n Asked about his hitting success, Basallo said he\u2019s trying not to hit like \u201ca crazy chicken.\u201d I mean, that\u2019s just good strategy.<\/p>\n Jac Caglianone, Shane Baz and other breakout MLB candidates for 2026 – The Athletic<\/a><\/p>\n Keith Law is practically glowing about the Orioles, saying he\u2019s \u201cpretty bullish\u201d about their 2026 outlook and including both Baz and Coby Mayo on his list of breakout candidates. Not bad for a noted Orioles hater!<\/p>\n To be \u2018an elite Grant Wolfram,\u2019 the Orioles reliever studies video of himself at his best – The Baltimore Banner<\/a><\/p>\n Grant Wolfram already has an elite name. Maybe someday he\u2019ll have the performance to match.<\/p>\n