SARASOTA, Fla. -- If Cesar Prieto's Grapefruit League and Orioles debut against the Pirates at LECOM Park on Thursday afternoon was “a dream come true," then imagine how he views what might come next.

And, as he hopes, could be coming quickly.

“High expectations, for sure,” Prieto said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones, after he went 0-for-1 with three defensive innings at second base. “This is a group I want to be with at the Major League level. I feel really good and really accomplished being here today.”

Thursday was Prieto’s first game with the big league club, just over two months removed from becoming one of the Orioles’ more intriguing international signings this cycle. A Major League debut might have to wait at least a year, though perhaps not too far beyond that, considering Prieto is already 22 years old and has a bat that plays. Early impressions have been positive; Prieto surged to become the club’s No. 12 prospect per MLB Pipeline before playing a regular-season game.

“I've always said that sometimes you got to wait for the late bloomer, or sometimes these guys from Cuba come out unexpectedly and you want to be prepared to be able to get them,” international scouting director Koby Perez said at the time of Prieto’s signing in January, “and it played right into our hands in this situation. … He chose us.”

Given his age and track record, Prieto is slated to be the Orioles' first international signee under the Mike Elias regime to reach the Major Leagues. His success -- or his struggles -- could be magnified and serve as an introductory case study into how successful the organization’s emphasis in the international market is.

No, it’s not a fair weight to bear for the 22-year-old. And his trajectory won't serve as the be-all end-all, with players like Samuel Basallo, Maikol Hernandez, Braylin Tavera and Leandro Arias -- more long-term prospects -- preparing in the wings. But Prieto’s pending arrival has, if nothing, continued to breathe excitement into an area of the organization that it hopes is now a strength after years of neglect.

“It just takes time to be able to get these players to commit to us,” Perez said. “We've been working on these players for two or three years now. We promoted that we’re opening an academy, the agents have realized that. We’re in with the Latin American talent, and they've been very receptive to the Orioles. We've been able to get some talented players.”

There’s reason to believe Prieto can be an apt initial torch-bearer.

Bat-to-ball skills are his calling card, and he’s already made contact at a historic level. At the Cuban National Series in 2020-21, Prieto hit .403, setting a record with a 44-game hitting streak. Profiling as a second baseman -- where he recorded an out in just his second defensive at-bat on Thursday before later committing a fielding error -- Prieto’s athleticism would allow him to play around the diamond in a pinch.

Expected to start the year either at High-A Aberdeen or Double-A Bowie, Prieto will play alongside and as part of the O’s burgeoning crop of middle infielders. It could be a short stay as a stop in a winding path that saw him leave the Cuban national team in May, settle in the Tampa, Fla., area and officially sign with Baltimore in January.

“He is an athlete with excellent instincts to master the fundamentals of the game,” said Francys Romero, a journalist with MLB.com/LasMayores.com who helped break news of Prieto’s signing. “He was in the position of having a lot of pressure after his departure from the Cuban team here last May, and he responded better than many thought. He kept training day by day, increased his muscle mass and improved in aspects of his body.” 

By player comp standards, Prieto’s ceiling might be Cubs second baseman Nick Madrigal, who’s hit .328 across summer league, college, the Minors and the Majors. But given his advertised flexibility, Prieto could form into an Aledmys Díaz of sorts, a fellow Cuban international signee who’s a super-utility player for the Astros.

Prieto appears ready for the challenge, with Thursday being just a taste of what’s hopefully to come.

“Since I was a little kid,” Prieto said, “this was a moment I’ve always dreamt of.”

So call Thursday Prieto’s very first act in the O’s public eye. But teammates -- those looking on for his batting practice sessions -- couldn’t help but notice him far earlier.

Asked who stood out during the Orioles’ Minor League camp in early March, Colton Cowser, owner of perhaps the best hitter’s eye in the organization’s surging farm system, rattled off a list of incumbents: Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Adley Rutschman.

Before he ended his train of thought, Cowser named one more.

“And then also Cesar Prieto,” Cowser said. “It just seemed like every ball he was hitting was barreled no matter where it was pitched, just kind of spreading around the field, even ran a couple balls out of the yard.

"He just," Cowser continued, "he can hit."