With the Orioles needing to make roster adjustments because of COVID-19 vaccination requirements in Canada for their four-game set in Toronto, Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Kyle Stowers became the next notable prospect to be promoted to the majors.
After placing outfielder Anthony Santander on the restricted list, Baltimore substituted him with the 24-year-old Stowers, who was set to play left field and bat eighth in Monday’s opener against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound outfielder was a 2019 second-round pick out of Stanford and currently ranks as the Orioles’ No. 8 prospect, according to MLB.com.
Even if only temporary because of the circumstances of playing in Canada, this call-up caps quite an impressive 12 months for Stowers, who was still playing at High-A Aberdeen at this time a year ago. After sharing the organization’s Brooks Robinson Minor League Player of the Year award with top prospect and current Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman last season, the lefty hitter was batting .253 with 12 home runs, 16 doubles, and a .901 on-base plus slugging percentage in 209 plate appearances for Triple-A Norfolk this year. Stowers combined to bat .278 with 27 homers, 23 doubles, and an .898 OPS in 530 plate appearances across three levels in 2021, which was his first full professional season after the pandemic prompted the cancellation of the 2020 minor league campaign.
A .487 slugging percentage and 99 extra-base hits over 967 career plate appearances in the minors reflect his power potential, but Stowers struck out 32% of the time last season and must carry over the improvement he’s shown in that department — striking out just over 25% of the time with the Tides this year — to the majors. He’s walked just under 12% of the time this season, which is down from his 13.8% walk rate from last year.
Even if a strong showing this week doesn’t result in a permanent stay for Stowers, the corner outfielder looking like he belongs would create more urgency for general manager Mike Elias to create room on the 26-man roster and in the regular lineup. Of course, it’s no secret that Santander and veteran slugger Trey Mancini have been the subjects of trade rumors over the last year or two. This year’s trade deadline falls on Aug. 2 due to the winter lockout delaying the start of the 2022 season.
The Orioles also selected right-hander Rico Garcia from the Tides as a substitute for lefty Keegan Akin, who was also placed on the restricted list on Monday.
