Baltimore Orioles, Red Sox and Samuel Basallo
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Samuel Basallo drove in the go-ahead run on a groundout in the 11th inning and the Baltimore Orioles held on to beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 after blowing a two-run lead in the ninth
Ahead of Sunday's game against the Houston Astros, Baltimore called up highly regarded prospect Samuel Basallo. In doing so, it posted a hype video and an emotional video with his father sharing the news: Basallo is the Orioles' No. 1 prospect and the No. 8 overall prospect in the league, per MLB.com's prospect rankings.
Basallo will play everyday but will be the No. 2 catcher behind Adley Rutschman while also seeing time at first base and DH.
Nevertheless, McLean instantly proved he belonged with 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball and eight strikeouts against a solid Mariners lineup. He made their hitters look foolish over and over again mostly with his sweeper and curveball.
Basallo, 21, is a former international signee out of the Dominican Republic and is a consensus top-15 prospect in the majors at this point. CBS Sports prospect expert R.J. Anderson ranked Basallo ninth overall in his midseason rankings this year, saying the following:
Jesus Sanchez robbed Gunnar Henderson of a grand slam and denied Samuel Basallo his first MLB homer in Astros’ 12-0 loss to Orioles.
Samuel Basallo is hit by a pitch in the arm during his first big league plate appearance in the 2nd inning
So, before we get to the top waiver-wire targets for every position ahead of Week 22, let's take a look at four big-name prospects to know who were promoted in recent days: For more names to know who might get the call in the coming weeks,
Samuel Basallo is a catcher by trade, but he can also play first base and his bat is more than good enough to land him at designated hitter.