Mayo continues sizzling spring with no-doubt clout

NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As soon as Coby Mayo connected with the hanging slider from Braves left-hander Aaron Bummer on Saturday, it was obvious where the well-struck ball was headed: the parking lot beyond the left-field wall at CoolToday Park. There was no doubt.

There was doubt from Mayo, however, regarding whether he had just hit his first spring homer.

“I knew it was gone; I didn’t know if it was going to stay fair,” said Mayo, who's ranked as the Orioles’ No. 4 prospect by MLB Pipeline. “Usually when I hit those balls, they hook foul at the last second. So I was hoping it was going to stay fair, but it stayed so straight.”

Of course, it did, because many balls coming off Mayo’s bat in Spring Training have yielded positive results. His big spring continued in Baltimore’s 10-3 win, as the 22-year-old went 2-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored.

Mayo’s afternoon began with an opposite-field two-run double to right off Atlanta left-hander Chris Sale in the second. Four innings later, MLB Pipeline’s No. 30 overall prospect went deep for the first time in 12 Grapefruit League games.

“That was super impressive. The two-strike double down the right-field line off Sale, great piece of hitting,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “He swung the bat well.”

It’s not too surprising that Mayo is 9-for-26 (.346) with five doubles, nine RBIs and a 1.106 OPS in Grapefruit play during his second year at O’s big league camp. The 2020 fourth-round Draft pick is fresh off a ‘23 campaign in which he collected 45 doubles, 29 homers and 99 RBIs to go with a .974 OPS over 140 games between Triple-A Norfolk and Double-A Bowie.

So Mayo’s Minor League teammates have seen him rake plenty. Now, other players are taking notice of the powerful swings from the 6-foot-5 third baseman.

“I haven’t gotten to play with him in the Minors, and this is my first extended look at him, essentially, getting to play alongside him. It’s impressive,” infielder Jordan Westburg said. “We all knew the juice was there. I didn’t realize the hitability is there.

"Right now, it’s really coming out. He looks like he’s made strides since the last time I saw him.”

Kremer continues spring build-up

After going two innings in each of his first two Grapefruit League starts, right-hander Dean Kremer stretched out to four against Atlanta. The 28-year-old allowed two runs on four hits while recording three strikeouts and no walks.

Kremer retired the first seven Braves batters, notching all three of his K’s during that span. In the third, he gave up an RBI double to Ozzie Albies on a playable ball that center fielder Ryan McKenna appeared to have trouble tracking in the sun.

Another Atlanta run scored in the fourth on a double play turned by Kremer, who fielded a sharp grounder off the bat of Travis d’Arnaud.

Although Kremer has a 5.63 ERA in eight innings through three Grapefruit starts, he’s locked into the O’s rotation and is using spring to tune up for the regular season.

“With every outing, you’re trying to go a little bit deeper and deeper into games, where it’s a balance of working on things and also trying to get guys out and lengthening yourself as a starter,” Kremer said.

“It went well today.”

Worth noting

• Westburg made his first spring appearance at second base after previously making four starts at third and two at shortstop. The 25-year-old played 324 of his 488 2/3 innings during his 2023 rookie campaign at second, but he could get more time at third (where he played the other 164 2/3 innings) in ‘24.

“I think he’s getting more comfortable at third base. I know he’s very comfortable at second base,” Hyde said. “It’s nice to give him quite a few looks this spring to get him used to the speed of the game at third base at the big league level.”

• Left-hander Keegan Akin continued his impressive spring, giving up one hit and recording one strikeout in a scoreless fifth inning. The 28-year-old hasn’t allowed a run in five innings over four Grapefruit appearances.

• No. 10 prospect Cade Povich allowed only one unearned run over three terrific innings of relief. The 23-year-old left-hander gave up two hits and issued one walk while striking out four and lowering his Grapefruit ERA to 1.29 (one earned run in seven innings). His next assignment will come on Thursday, when he’ll start the Orioles’ Spring Breakout game.