When the Baltimore Orioles were going through their rebuilding process five years ago, the front office made it a priority to retool the farm system through the draft and international free agency.

General Manager and now President of Baseball Operations Mike Elias has built this team back up to a contender through the draft, trades, and international free agents. 

Players such as Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg and Adley Rutschman were drafted by Elias, Samuel Basallo was an international free agent, and players like Kyle Bradish, Taylor Ward and Shane Baz were acquired via trade. 

Elias has built Baltimore into a contender, but many believe that he has more draftees that are ready to make their big league debut in 2026. 

When Baltimore traded longtime outfielder Cedric Mullins to the New York Mets in July 2025, most fans turned their head. However, Baltimore got a sneaky good return in this deal, acquiring three arms with upside in Nunez, Raimon Gomez and Chandler Marsh. 

Nunez is the most impressive arm out the bunch, as he has a mid 90's fastball that pairs well with his cutter and changeup, but Nunez's best pitch is by far his slider. Nunez possesses some really great stuff that projects him as a high leverage reliever. 

Last season in Triple-A Norfolk, Nunez had a 3.45 ERA with 21 strikeouts and an opponent .135 batting average in 15.2 innings. I fully expect to see Nunez get an opportunity at the big league level sometime soon, whether that be in April or in July, Nunez will make his MLB debut this season. 

When Baltimore traded fan favorites Ryan O'Hearn and Ramon Laureano to the San Diego Padres in July 2025, many fans were distraught and quite honestly pissed off. The return wasn't anything too special either, as they failed to retrieve a top three prospect from San Diego's farm system. However, Baltimore acquired some high upside arms, with one of them possibly making their MLB debut for Baltimore in 2026. 

Tyson Neighbors was San Diego's 12th ranked prospect, as his fastball, slider and curveball pitch mix was extremely intriguing. Baltimore took notice of Neighbors' upside and made sure he was included in the package for O'Hearn and Laureano. 

Neighbors appeared in 12 games at Double-A Chesapeake, where he pitched to the tune of a 0.59 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 15.1 innings. Neighbors' best pitch is his curveball, as he tends to use it as a put away pitch. 

At 23 years-old, Neighbors is inching closer to making his big league debut, but has to improve his in zone command first. I believe Neighbors will have an opportunity to contribute to Baltimore's big league roster in the summer time, as he would bring some much needed velocity and swing and miss stuff to a subpar Baltimore bullpen. 

I touched on Trey Gibson in yesterday's article, but this guy possesses so much talent that I wan't to talk about him more. Gibson was an undrafted free agent following the 2023 draft, and signed with Baltimore following an extremely strong Cape Cod league showing. 

Gibson has a pitch mix consisting of a mid 90's fastball, a great slider, curveball and cutter. Gibson uses his cutter and fastball to get ahead of the count, especially against lefties, then uses his slider and curveball as the strikeout pitch. 

At 23 years-old, Gibson is inching closer and closer to being big league ready. Although Baltimore has a ton of depth in their pitching rotation, Gibson could play a significant role in the Summer coming out the bullpen, or being in a long relief role. 

As Baltimore continues to refine their farm system, Gibson has emerged as one of Baltimore's best pitching prospects, even getting top 100 recognition. 

Baltimore will continue searching for ways to elevate their bullpen and pitching rotation, with Nunez, Neighbors and Gibson being all formidable options.