The second half of the O's top 20 international prospects list

Dominican-born infielder and Cuban outfielder head up the next players on the list

Earlier this week we presented the top 10 O’s international prospects and now today check out players ranked from No. 11 through No. 20. Tomorrow I will wrap up this four-part series with a few thoughts on the 2025 list. Thanks for checking this out!

No. 11 – Infielder Josh Liranzo

Signed for $500,000 out of the Dominican in January of 2023, Liranzo is ranked as the club’s No. 21 prospect by MLBPipeline.com and No. 25 via Baseball America.

His older brother, Thayron, now with Detroit, is rated in the top 100 as No. 69 by BA and No. 81 by MLBPipeline.

The O’s Liranzo, 18, and a right-handed hitter, produced an OPS of .793 in 2023 in the Dominican Summer League. Last year in 31 games in the Florida Complex League, he batted .220/.349/.264/.613 with four doubles and five RBIs.

He dealt with ankle issues which hampered his season but the O’s feel he has big potential. Last season he played 17 games at third base and six at shortstop. He could begin this season back in the FCL with a chance to move to Low-A Delmarva.

No. 12 – Outfielder Jordan Sanchez

Sanchez, a lefty-hitting outfielder with big exit velocities, was signed for $450,000 on Dec. 1, 2023 out of Matanzas, Cuba. He put up big numbers at age 18 in his first pro season in 2024 in 38 games in the Dominican Summer League.

He hit .333/.432/.605/1.037 with six homers and 37 RBIs. He is ranked No. 23 by Baseball America and No. 25 by MLBPipeline and BA also rated him as the No. 28 prospect in the DSL. BA grades his tools as 50 across the board save for a 55 for power.

One strategy the O’s have used with their international bonus pool is to hold some money back for late in the process to get a late bloomer. Or in this case a player that defected and became eligible for any MLB club to sign late in the signing period. They had some dollars remaining and got a solid player at the wire of the 2023 signing season.

No. 13 – Infielder Jose Pena

Pena was the top signing in the Orioles international class from 2025 and will play pro ball for the first time this year. He was signed for $1 million dollars on Jan. 15, which was the sixth-highest bonus the Mike Elias front office has handed out to an international amateur.

With an Aug. 16 birthday, Pena is one of the youngest members of the 2025 international class and will play much of this year at age 16. The O’s see a potential five-tool talent with nice bat speed.

A righty hitter that is ranked as the club’s No. 28 prospect by Baseball America, the outlet gave Pena a 70-grade run tool and 50s for hitting, fielding and arm with 40-grade power.

No. 14 – Catcher Miguel Rodriguez

Rodriguez, signed for $125,000 out of Maracay, Venezuela in January of 2023, is the second of three catchers on our top 20. And Aneudis Mordan, who hit 13 homers in 2024, did not make it this year after coming in at No. 17 last year. The O’s have some young international catchers worth tracking this season.

Rodriguez missed our last top 20 a year ago, but was a player to note just off the list after producing a .874 OPS in the 2023 DSL. Then he had a strong showing in the Florida Complex League and made a late-year move last August to the United States to play for Low-A Delmarva, where he should start this year.

Over 49 FCL games and 19 for the Shorebirds, he hit .274/.387/.381/.768 with nine doubles, four homers, 33 runs and 24 RBIs at age 18.

This young man makes really good swing decisions with strong contact rates and does very little chasing and that places him well ahead of his peers. He walked 30 times with 27 strikeouts. As a catcher he is smart, a good receiver and communicator showing average arm strength right now.

No. 15 – Infielder Frederick Bencosme

Bencosme, now age 22, has been a fixture on this list, ranked among the O’s top 20 all four years of this project. He was No. 11 in 2022, No. 2 to Samuel Basallo in 2023 and No. 8 last year.

The lefty batter has played at one affiliate all season for two straight years with High-A Aberdeen in 2023 and with Double-A Bowie (now Chesapeake) last year. We don’t see that much anymore.

Bencosme is no longer a BA or MLBPipeline top 30 prospect but was ranked No. 30 by Baseball America this time last year. He is proof that not all international prospects were signed for big bucks. The Orioles got him for only $10,000 on Aug. 14, 2020 out of Moca, Dominican Republic.

With Double-A Bowie in 2024 over 125 games, he hit .240/.318/.348/.666 with 18 doubles, three triples, eight homers, 28 steals, 64 runs and 45 RBIs. He has always had solid plate discipline and produced a 9.7 walk percentage with a 16.3 strikeout percentage. He is an average runner and solid fielder.

Bencosme, who is eligible for the 2025 Rule 5 draft, played 79 games at shortstop last year and 44 at second base. It seems likely he begins this season back at Double-A.

No. 16 – Catcher Adriander Mejia

Mejia, signed for $65,000 out of Guarenas, Venezuela in January of 2023, is back on this list after debuting at No. 20 last year.

He had a solid 2024 playing 50 games in the Dominican Summer League at age 17 and is now 18. He hit .291/.419/.392/.811 with six doubles, two triples, two homers and 34 RBIs. He walked 33 times and fanned just 15 producing a 128 wRC+. He had 16.7 walk percentage and a fantastic K percent of just 7.6 showing really solid swing decisions. One scout said he showed a 55 grade arm last year and made some gains on defense too in 2024.

He made improvements in his second straight season in the DSL and should move this year to the Florida Complex League. He might have advanced to the FCL last year but the organization wanted our No. 14 player Rodriguez to get reps there last year so Mejia stayed another season in the Dominican.

No. 17 – Infielder Edwin Amparo

For switch-hitting Amparo, his third pro year was his best as he played 52 games in the Florida Complex League and 27 with Delmarva. He hit a combined .259/.399/.388/.787 with 12 doubles, six homers, 31 RBIs, 54 walks and 59 strikeouts. He stole 38 bases between the two clubs.

Signed for $650,000 out of Sanchez, Dominican Republic on Jan. 15, 2022, he was not ranked on last year’s top 20. The Orioles love Amparo’s potential and one scout predicted he would move up big on this list for next year saying he could hit 15 homers and steal 60 bags with a 60 run tool. He will begin this season likely as Delmarva’s starter at shortstop. He played also second and third base last year.

No. 18 – Infielder Emilio Sanchez

Sanchez, age 17 now and turning 18 in early April, signed one of the biggest bonuses under the Mike Elias front office. He got $1.3 million on Jan. 15, 2024. That was the largest bonus from a class of 19 then and the only seven-figure bonus in the 2024 class for the Orioles.

In 48 DSL games last summer he hit .212/.416/.281/.697 with two doubles, four triples, no homers and 14 RBIs. He walked 48 times and fanned 35. Out of San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic, he played 34 games at shortstop and eight at third base. He will probably begin this year back in the DSL to play every day.

Sanchez, ranked as the club’s No. 27 prospect via MLBPipeline, gets a 60 grade for his run tool and 50s for his arm and fielding.

No. 19 – Infielder Luis Almeyda

Almeyda signed the largest bonus the Orioles ever gave an international amateur, getting $2.3 million on Jan. 15, 2023 out of the Dominican. He tumbles from No. 3 on this list last year.

Almeyda, 18, was born in the United States and grew up in New Jersey and before he entered high school, according to Baseball America, was already getting recruiting offers from some of the top programs in college baseball. Instead of staying in the United States and becoming a potential first-round pick for the 2025 high school class, Almeyda moved to the Dominican Republic and immediately drew attention. His mother and mother’s parents are from the Dominican Republic, and Major League Baseball qualified him as an international signing.

In 53 games in the Florida Complex League in 2024, he hit .200/.337/.316/.653 with one double, one triple, five homers and 23 RBIs. But over his last 21 games of the season he produced an .855 OPS, finally taking off a bit and gaining confidence.

With Almeyda, the Orioles believed they added a potential five-tool talent with a plus arm at shortstop. He could outgrow that position and wind up at third base.

No. 20 – RHP Yeiber Cartaya

Signed for just $10,000 out of Caracas, Venezuela at age 19 on May 5, 2022, Cartaya is turning into a nice prospect for the Orioles. A pitcher that reduced his ERA each season since 2022, from 7.49 to 5.85 and last year to 2.92. In 2024 he pitched in 11 games in the FCL and six for Delmarva, going a combined 2-4 over 64 2/3 innings allowing 48 hits with 40 walks, 89 strikeouts and a .198 average against. Cartaya, now 22, had a 1.11 ERA in 24 1/3 innings for the Shorebirds with 31 strikeouts.

Cartaya’s fastball sits mid 90s and he has touched 97 and 98 mph. He has decent secondaries and his changeup is his second-best pitch currently while his slider is below average right now. He is expected to begin 2025 back with the Shorebirds and could quickly move to Aberdeen.

From earlier: Who else would rank No. 1 hitter but Basallo and here is the profile on him from this week. Check right here for the players ranked No. 2 through No. 10 as well.

A few O’s notes: The Orioles have named right-hander Zach Eflin to start on Opening Day March 27 at Toronto. Eflin found out from his own family that he would get the assignment. Manager Brandon Hyde called him into his office on Friday, handed him a tablet and put him on a live video call where his wife and three daughters told him the news. What a brilliant way to do that.

“I don’t know a better way to find out than from the people you love the most,” he told reporters in Florida.

In nine O’s starts last year, Eflin went 5-2 with a 2.60 ERA after the O’s acquired him via a trade with Tampa Bay.

In the Orioles’ 10-0 win over the Twins Friday night, Ryan Mountcastle hit a two-run homer in the second inning and added a two-run double in the third, going 2-for-3 with four RBIs.

He has homered in his last three games, going 4-for-8 with three homers and nine RBIs.

Right-hander Keeler Morfe, 18, from Caracas, Venezuela, will be the starting pitcher tonight for the Orioles at 6:05 in their Spring Breakout game versus the Yankees. It will be televised live on MLB Network. Morfe’s fastball has touched 100 and 101 mph. We ranked him No. 2 on our international prospects list and profiled him here.