This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles are learning the balancing act of handling top prospects while the big league club is in win-now mode.

Young players need time to develop in the Minor Leagues. For that to happen, hitters have to get regular at-bats, and pitchers should stay on a routine schedule.

But sometimes, needs arise in the Majors. Many of the players on Baltimore’s 40-man roster, who aren’t on the active 26-man roster, are prospects. Yet, they’re still going to be called upon to plug short-term holes on the bench and/or pitching staff.

We’ve already seen it happen numerous times in 2023. Infielder Joey Ortiz (the O’s No. 7 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 89 overall prospect) was called up for three days during a late-April series in Detroit to provide an extra right-handed-hitting option. Left-hander DL Hall (O’s No. 6 and No. 87 overall) was briefly there, too, serving as the 27th man for an April 29 doubleheader, during which he pitched three relief innings.

Now, Drew Rom (Baltimore’s No. 19 prospect) is in the bullpen as a left-handed long man.

Ortiz went back to being Triple-A Norfolk’s starting shortstop, and Hall returned to the Tides’ rotation. Rom’s future will likely be similar. General manager Mike Elias said as much Tuesday, when Rom was called up.

“If a guy like Rom comes up and helps our bullpen for a while, it doesn't mean that we're no longer developing him as a starting pitcher,” Elias said. “So, we'll just try to balance all that.”

The shuffle may not be limited to players already on the 40-man, either. Elias indicated there are non-roster guys who could be seen in the big leagues soon. That immediately brings two prospects to mind: outfielder Colton Cowser (O’s No. 3 and No. 34 overall) and infielder Jordan Westburg (O’s No. 4 and No. 66 overall).

Cowser and Westburg have been among the best hitters in the International League this season. The burning question from fans has been -- when will they get their first calls to The Show?

Elias pointed out Cowser has played only 58 games at the Triple-A level. But the 23-year-old entered Wednesday slashing .313/.456/.522 with 13 extra-base hits (including five homers) and 24 RBIs through 31 contests.

“Everything that he's doing is really encouraging,” Elias said. “If he keeps this up, he's going to put himself in a position to help this team. But I don't think we're at that moment in time yet, where we can say that he's graduated Triple-A.”

Westburg seemed to be a logical candidate to get called up Tuesday, when Ramón Urías (left-hamstring strain) was placed on the 10-day injured list. Instead, the Orioles brought back both Ryan O’Hearn and Terrin Vavra to serve in backup infield roles.

Like Cowser, though, Westburg’s time is coming. The 24-year-old has a .325/.384/.596 slash line with nine homers and 32 RBIs in 27 games.

“He’s somebody that we’re still monitoring and discussing and paying very close attention to on a nightly basis,” Elias said. “I think, right now, with the opponents we’ve got here coming up, we’re going with this group. But we’re keeping an eye on all those guys, him included.”

Baltimore having over 26 big league-caliber players brings “good problems to sort out” for Elias, who will continue to weigh all factors when determining these prospects’ developmental timelines and choosing who gets a taste of the Majors.

“That part is relatively new for us, kind of in the last calendar year, where that balance is more at the forefront,” Elias said. “I’m very happy that that’s the situation, because that means we’re winning.”