Why Orioles prospect Coby Mayo left 2021 thinking even better was in store for his full-season debut
Playing at 10-12 pounds above last year's weight, Mayo is stronger and more confident than he was in his breakout campaign. It's showing at Aberdeen.
That professional debut that shot Coby Mayo onto national top prospect lists and made him yet another potential impact bat in an organization whose future is staked on developing those kinds of talents on their own?
He left it just as convinced something special could be in store, only not for the same reasons as everyone else.
Mayo was glad for the opportunity to get nearly three months of games in after a spring training knee injury forced him to spend the first half of the season rehabbing in Florida, and admitted he lost most of the strength from the preceding offseason while recovering.
That’s why Mayo, who believes there were no organizational expectations for him, left a year he finished with a .981 OPS and nine home runs in 216 plate appearances with only one focus.
“I was hitting well, and I think it surprised them a little bit in a way,” Mayo told me. “But, I came into the offseason thinking, ‘If I can really put some weight on in places I need to and create strength in places that I need, then next year, I can come in and be someone they don’t even know I can be.’ ”