Shoutout to @chrisclegg.bsky.social and @dynastydugout.bsky.social for consistently putting out excellent newsletter content. Subscribe for great AFL summaries. Today's edition reminded me that Luis De Leon's great start yesterday came off the heels of a dominant end to his injury-marred season:

"In his final six starts, De León struck out at least eight batters in every start and included a career-high 12-strikeout game sprinkled in. In seven starts from the start of August forward, De León posted a 1.47 ERA with a 41 percent strikeout rate." 📈📈📈

Today's AFL numbers: OF Enrique Bradfield Jr: 1/5, 2B OF Thomas Sosa: 0/3, RBI sac fly - Sosa did rip one 103 mph past 1B, but reached via error LHP Sayer Diederich: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K - Loved the slider, described by the broadcast as "violent"

And now Ethan Anderson joins the home run party. 373 feet/99.5 mph

Thomas Sosa with a 422 foot bomb. 107.5 mph off the bat.

Luis De Leon's first Arizona Fall League outing is complete: 4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K 11 whiffs. 5 groundouts 44% CSW% with his slider

LHP Luis De Leon begins today's AFL action with a scoreless first inning. Two punchouts in the frame. He hit 98.5 mph.

Highlighted OF Starlin Mieses a lot this year. He gets included in this list of the top 17-year-old hitters in the minors this season. t.co/M3QE1pTRaY

From Baseball America's prospect chat today: t.co/dNTvNIKFkc

Enrique Bradfield Jr. went 0-2 with 2 groundouts in his debut last night, *but* one of those groundouts was hit 101 MPH and he walked 3 times and stole a base.

RHP Tanner Smith with a scoreless 4th inning in his AFL debut. Single Flyout Pickoff Strikeout Touched 96.4 mph.

The Arizona Fall League kicks off tonight at 9:30. OF Enrique Bradfield Jr is playing CF and leading off for the Peoria Javelinas.

A look at a possible first-round target of the Orioles in the 2026 draft. t.co/jJtRBLuow9

The Arizona Fall League crew.

It’s early but I took my first crack at what I’d like the 2026 Orioles to look like. oriolesontheverge.substack.com/p/bobs-dream...

Basallo 4 Gibson 53

A final update to our Top 50 list t.co/0V5xwNFBuu

Weston must be regularly popping 20s on the sinker // not really sure the story on Wells given the plain release point and IVB, maybe it's the horizontal break? // Gibson & German if anybody's curious

Levi Wells on the list at 117 🥵

Unfortunate for Fabian and Fruit. Diederich posted a 39/7 K/BB in 27 IP with Delmarva after signing with the Orioles in June. Just highlighted Downer's season yesterday: t.co/V2HbNKxKU0

Bring him to Baltimore for 2-3 years to show this young core how it’s done 🙏

First Team: Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers Second Team: RHP Tyson Neighbors t.co/o0lbGIzqua

Our 2025 review series rolls on with a look back at 2024 draft pick RHP Brandon Downer and his brief, but successful, first pro season. t.co/V2HbNKxd4s

Now that numbers are all final, year over year changes in some categories. Teams have adjusted to the new stolen base conditions as this was the lowest total of the 3 seasons under the new rules and 177 fewer steals than 2024.

Final line for #Orioles starter Kyle Bradish: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K's, 1 HR. 69 pitches, 46 strikes. Bradish finishes with a 2.53 ERA in 6 starts this season after returning from Tommy John surgery. The 29-year-old RHP picked up where he left off pre-TJ.

🦫🦫🦫 prospectsavant.com/player/687637

New 2026 draft articles posted every Friday over on our Substack! Sub 👉 oriolesontheverge.substack.com

End of season award time: Apple: bit.ly/3Kq7vA7 Spotify: bit.ly/42ivB61

Alex Jackson 7th most valuable player traded midseason lol

Some Coby Mayo lines: September: .306/.386/.500 (151 wRC+) in 70 PA 2nd half: .220/.308/.399 (100 wRC+) in 195 PA Vs. LHP: .253/.330/.437 (116 wRC+) in 97 PA 2nd half vs. LHP: .263/.344/.509 (138 wRC+) in 64 PA

"Zapata, 17, now sits in the low 90s and reaches 96 mph from a low release height with the look of a pitcher who should be able to squeeze out a few more ticks to reach the upper 90s." t.co/MDWrETkZ78

His bat has been disappointing this year, but Colton Cowser has at least proven he can handle CF. His FRV by month in center: June: -1 July: 0 August: +1 Sept: +1 (and counting) That is pretty important for next year.

With more top international prospect lists coming out, a reminder of some of the top 2026 players the Orioles are currently connected to: t.co/c5gi2tfZyM

Samuel Basallo is the top hitting prospect on the list. His peak projection (read: weighted projection at peak, not ceiling) per RoboScout: .279 xBA, .365 xOBP, 137 wRC+

look back at the 2025 campaigns of Delmarva arms Andy Fabian and Luis Beltran, plus a peek at a young arm who may be very intriguing in 2026. ✍️: t.co/SnnKv0xmpV

Alex Pham turned in 2 scoreless innings with 3 Ks in his second relief appearance for AAA Norfolk. He has quietly looked very good since moving to the Baysox pen, minus one clunker just before his promotion. Could factor into Baltimore’s pen at some point next year.

Best ERA by #Orioles starter through 17 starts of a season in team history (since 1954): 1. Trevor Rogers -- 1.35 in 2025 2. Jim Palmer -- 1.56 in 1975 3. Milt Pappas -- 1.74 in 1965 Rogers is still outpacing 2 Baseball Hall of Famers. Incredible season for the 27-year-old.

Multiple articles per week going up over on Substack, including weekly looks at 2026 draft prospects. oriolesontheverge.substack.com

Finally, Aron Estrada is getting some love "..shows advanced plate skills, with plus bat-to-ball ability showcased by his 15.9% in-zone whiff rate." "If Estrada can tighten up his swing decisions and find improved angles, he could develop into a star." t.co/8AOabhXZ4N

Despite going 3 games without a walk after I posted this, Beavers walked again yesterday, bringing him to 105 PA with an exact 20.0% walk rate. That makes him the only hitter in MLB with a 20% walk rate or higher in more than 100 PA, trailed by Aaron Judge (18%) and Juan Soto (17.8%).

2025 Review: Did Braylin Tavera and Raylin Ramos show enough in 2025? ✍️: t.co/HGj3CmQIk6

Missed this Enrique Bradfield Jr. homer on Sunday. His swing path is so much tighter than it was at the beginning of last year (complimentary).

Blake Money put the exclamation point on his 2025 season last night: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K 85 pitches/60 strikes 7 groundouts 20 whiffs 152 total strikeouts across 121 IP this season.

No MLB hitter has posted a walk rate over 20% in more than 100 plate appearances since 2022 (Juan Soto, 20.3%). The highest walk rate for any hitter in more than 100 plate appearances since the Covid season is Yasmani Grandal's 23.2% in 2021. Dylan Beavers is at 22.7% through 88 plate appearances.

My hope for Tomoyuki Sugano before the season was that he could give the Orioles ~150 IP with an ERA under 4.50. He's now at 149.2 IP with a 4.39 ERA with a couple starts left to go. Pretty solid overall, even if he wasn't the kind of playoff-caliber pitcher the Orioles needed.

Through 9 games in September Jackson Holliday is hitting .353/.450/.559 with +1 FRV at second base.

Check out today's pod with Jim Callis talking about the O's 2025 draft class and a lot more. steveonbaseball.substack.com/p/todays-gue...

We are getting ready for first pitch at the UA Next HS All-America game.

Juaron Watts-Brown closed out his 2025 season with a 4 IP, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K performance. He finishes with 158 K in 124 IP this season, with a 3.62 ERA and a .199 average against.

Levi Wells 👀 "With the potential for four plus pitches, Wells might be one of the more underrated starters in the minors." t.co/iRWmCKGf2q