Here are the top performers from the fifth week of AFL action:

Defense is increasingly becoming a young man’s game. From 1957, the year they were first handed out, to 2012, only nine rookies won Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. The same number have captured the game’s top defensive prize since 2013, including six in the past three seasons alone. Red Sox right

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Creed Willems had a chance to play hero, coming to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning and two out, the score tied, 6-6. Instead, he beat one into the ground to end the inning and send Saturday night’s Peoria-Surprise Arizona

The O's top two picks from the 2021 Draft are already big leaguers, with first-rounder Colton Cowser an American League Rookie of the Year Award candidate and second-round pick Connor Norby now with the Marlins (by way of the Trevor Rogers trade). Both of those guys were taken out of

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Jake Cunningham offered one of the best power/speed combinations in the 2023 college class. Nevertheless, he lasted 154 picks in the Draft because a right ankle injury hampered him throughout his junior year at UNC Charlotte and there were some concerns about his ability to make consistent

It felt like everywhere you looked in 2023, rookies were making key contributions. Johan Rojas was covering acres of ground for the Phillies. Corbin Carroll and Brandon Pfaadt were speeding around the bases and making clutch starts respectively for the D-backs. And perhaps most famously, Evan Carter was on the

There is definitely more than one way to build a winning Major League team, and the 12 clubs headed to the postseason in 2024 prove that. On one hand, there are the Tigers and Guardians, the AL Central teams leading the way with 16 and 15 homegrown players on their

We here at MLB Pipeline can never get enough Minor League Baseball. If you're reading this, we're guessing the same can be said for yourself. Now we've made it easy for you to take in four games at a time and up to eight games total, all from the comfort

DENVER -- The Orioles started September with a flurry of roster moves as they hit the heart of the playoff race. The Orioles recalled third baseman Coby Mayo (the club's No. 1 prospect and MLB Pipeline's No. 9 overall), as expected. They also brought up catcher David Bañuelos, who had

Samuel Basallo hit not one, but two balls out of the park Thursday night during the same at-bat and on back-to-back pitches. The first rocket launched by MLB's No. 10 prospect exited Jacksonville's 121 Financial Ballpark outside the yellow poles in right field, and was promptly deemed to be foul.

All farm systems, whether they’re at the top or the bottom of organizational rankings, have differing strengths. We’ve decided to dig deeper into a few of those talent buckets over the next few weeks. This week, we’ll take a look at the top farm systems based on infield prospects. Using

BALTIMORE -- For the second time this year, the Orioles will have the youngest player at the Triple-A level -- and it will again be one of the top prospects in baseball. Samuel Basallo, a 20-year-old catcher/first baseman, is being promoted from Double-A Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk this week. The

BALTIMORE -- All Jackson Holliday needed to break his 0-for-20 skid on Saturday? The arrival of his own personal Golden Tee Golf arcade game, of course. On the same day a Golden Tee machine arrived at Camden Yards -- spotted in a large package that had Holliday’s name on it

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 -- Back in the big leagues for the third time this season, Orioles pitching prospect Cade Povich looked a bit different when he took the mound Saturday at Camden Yards. The 24-year-old left-hander didn’t wear his typical long, baggy pants. He instead wore high black socks. Povich even changed

BALTIMORE -- It was a wild Friday night at Camden Yards, with a high-scoring game that had a little bit of everything. The Orioles and the Red Sox combined for 22 runs and 31 hits, but Baltimore fell, 12-10, as its multiple comeback attempts fell short. The O’s never led,

BALTIMORE -- Coby Mayo recorded his first MLB hit on Wednesday night. However, it wasn’t enough to keep the 22-year-old in the big leagues after a tough start to his Orioles career. On Thursday, Baltimore optioned Mayo (the club’s No. 2 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 10 overall) to Triple-A

BALTIMORE -- Some of the Orioles’ top prospects have graduated to the big leagues. Others were dealt leading up to the Trade Deadline, as Baltimore aimed to bolster its roster for a deep postseason run this October. And yet, the O’s farm system is still filled with plenty of promising

Welcome to Crooked Numbers, a monthly column dedicated to Minor League Baseball on-field oddities and absurdities. The edition, rounding up the month of July, features intra-organizational no-nos, wild romps, unexpected mound dominance and, of course, much more. Keeping track of this type of thing is a team effort, so get

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.

TORONTO -- A veteran jolt and a breath of fresh air. After some tough injury news and bad bounces on the field, the Orioles needed life. They found it on Wednesday night in the trusted bat of Anthony Santander and the promising power of Jackson Holliday. Santander homered twice in

Rookies continue to make substantial contributions in the Majors, it just doesn't happen to be the same crop of them who commanded the spotlight earlier in the season. As a result, nine of the best newcomers vaulted onto the latest edition of MLB Pipeline's Rookie Hot List after not being