For Orioles top 30 catching prospect Creed Willems, some mental skills work this year help his physical talents play and show more often.

One can help the other and for Willems in 2024, it did.

The lefty-hitting catcher, who turned 21 in June, played 98 games this past season, the first 82 with High-A Aberdeen and the last 16 with Double-A Chesapeake. He missed about a month starting July 9 due to a left hamstring issue. He then played well for Surprise in the Arizona Fall League. It was a solid season that sets him up to make a run at Triple-A maybe in the second half of next year if he can handle Double-A pitchers and his own hurlers when back behind the plate.

He is ranked as the club’s No. 22 prospect by MLBPipeline.com and No. 25 via Baseball America.

“I thought it went really well. Other than the month of May, had a really tough month (with a .612 OPS),” he said in a recent phone interview. “But, worked on what I needed to work on. Pushing through the highs and lows and just keep a steady head. I was really proud of what I did this past year.

For eight players from the Orioles organization, the 2024 Arizona Fall League provided some nice high-level additional experience. Not only did they play on a Surprise Saguaros team that had the best record in the six-team league at 18-10, they played in the AFL championship game.

Salt River beat Surprise 3-2, but players got in extra work the last few weeks that could benefit them down the road.

The Fall League experience was also nice for Surprise manager Roberto Mercado, who managed the Orioles High-A Aberdeen teams in 2022 and 2023 and was skipper this past season at Double-A Bowie.

The Baysox were 62-75 this season. Aberdeen went 147-120 in his two seasons there, advancing to the playoffs in a 2022 season which ended with Mercado being named the O’s Cal Ripken Sr. Player Development Award winner.

A former head coach at New Britian High School in Connecticut, who has several years' experience also coaching in the Cape Cod League, Mercado managed an AFL team featuring prospects from the Orioles, Astros, Guardians, Royals and Rangers.

For some pro baseball players, a long, long season will end tonight in the Arizona Fall League championship game. O’s top 30 prospect Creed Willems is one of that group.

Spring training was a long time ago and so was his Opening Day with High-A Aberdeen April 5. It was a year where he missed several weeks mid-summer with a left hamstring injury. But he also advanced to Double-A Bowie for the season’s final 16 games. He put up a .784 OPS between the IronBirds and Baysox. He’s had a strong 19-game run for Surprise in the AFL, which hosts tonight’s championship game at 8 p.m. ET on MLB Network.

Then he will drive home to Texas and finally get some rest after a solid season for the O’s No. 22 prospect via MLBPipeline.com and No. 25 on Baseball America.

A catcher and lefty hitter, the O’s drafted Willems in round eight of the 2021 MLB Draft. He had a strong college commitment to TCU. But an over-slot $1 million dollar signing bonus sent him on his way to pro ball.

In 19 games for Surprise in the AFL, he’s hit a robust .338/.391/.500/.891 with five doubles, a triple, two homers and 11 RBIs. He played in the Fall Stars game.

With eight players, a manager and a strength coach from the Orioles organization, the Surprise Saguaros are chasing an Arizona Fall League championship.

The six-team AFL will see its regular season end tomorrow. On Friday, the second and third place teams meet in a playoff semi-final game. The winner will advance to meet the No. 1 seed on Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET.

After a loss yesterday, Surprise remains in first place at 16-10 (.615) by one game over Glendale and Salt River (both 16-12, .571) with two to play. These are the likely playoff teams.

Surprise is managed by Roberto Mercado, who managed the O's Double-A Bowie team this year. 

A look at the eight O’s organization players on the Surprise roster:

The Orioles aren’t ignoring their minor league rosters and the building of depth. Their offseason business is spread widely.

Catcher David Bañuelos is staying in the organization on another minor league deal, according to an industry source. The agreement, completed last night, includes an invitation to spring training.

He could have become a minor league free agent five days after the World Series, but the Orioles started negotiations early.

The sides struck their original deal on Dec. 30, 2023. It didn’t take as long in 2024.

Bañuelos hopped on and off the 40-man roster a few times this season. His first and only major league at-bat came on April 16 against the Twins. He flied to right field in the ninth inning.

CINCINNATI – The Orioles won a much anticipated series with the New York Yankees. They took three of four and they moved into first place.

Could they have a letdown as their latest road trip begins in cloudy Cincinnati tonight?

“Not with this group. I think this group comes to play every day," said manager Brandon Hyde this afternoon. "That being said, this a really good Cincinnati Reds team. They gave us everything we could handle and more last year. They are unbelievably athletic and we’re going to face three outstanding arms on the mound.”

Hyde today said there is no update yet on testing done on right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, who recently went on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation.

“Not yet, no. He’s still just kind of letting everything kind of calm down and we’ll hopefully start him back up here pretty soon,” Hyde said.

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