As the Orioles prepare for (hopefully) productive prospect debuts, their own clubhouse shows it can take time
All of the Orioles' tenured players had rocky starts to their major league career. With so much riding on prospects in 2023, the pitfalls of that are right in the Orioles' clubhouse.
This newsletter is as guilty as any newsletter for heaping expectations on young players to perform at higher levels than they should, earlier than they perhaps should, and for good reason.
The Orioles themselves believe this type of challenge improves players, provided they have the talent and mindset to handle it, so the expectations are at least founded in reality.
And yet, it’s worth noting as we sit here in January and project all the homegrown players who could impact the Orioles this year to do so that they’ll be eventually joining a clubhouse with plenty of examples of the amount of time it takes to turn into a legitimate big leaguer.
Whether that means the Orioles’ extended-stay philosophy in Norfolk is the right one, or conversely suggests these players should get to the majors as soon as possible so they can figure out what they need to stick there, is its own question. And perhaps the current established players on the roster and their paths can give some insight on that.