The Orioles gave up two productive veterans at the 2025 trade deadline, and Boston Bateman was the main reason why. One year later, the towering lefty looks like a smart bet and one of the most intriguing arms in Baltimore’s system.
Back in 2024, the Padres took Bateman with the 52nd pick in the draft out of Adolfo Camarillo High School in California and signed him for $2.5 million. Last July, San Diego agreed to part with the 6-foot-8, 240-pound southpaw, shipping him to Baltimore as part of the eight-player deal that saw Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano become Padres. That summer, Bateman made two starts at Delmarva after the trade, and three more at High-A Aberdeen, posting a 3.93 ERA over 75.2 innings across both levels.
The Orioles started Bateman at Frederick in 2026, and he settled in quickly. He was named the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Month for May after posting a 0.89 ERA over 20.1 innings. His best start that month came on May 20 against Greenville, when he threw 5.2 scoreless innings with six strikeouts. By early summer, Bateman had struck out 59 batters in 45.1 innings with a 3.38 ERA.
The second half was bumpier. A hip issue after the All-Star break led the Orioles to limit Bateman’s innings as a precaution. The big lefty still finished strong, with five consecutive scoreless starts over the month of August, and a 3.65 ERA over the regular season, striking out 117 batters in 86.1 innings and walking 48. That’s 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings, and he gave up only five home runs all year.
Bateman saved his best outing for last. He struck out a career-high 10 batters over five innings in Game 1 of the South Atlantic League North Division playoffs on September 8, and the Keys routed Greensboro 13-1. The Grasshoppers won the next two games to end Frederick’s season, but Bateman had made an entrance.
Anthony Eyanson, Joseph Dzierwa and Caden Hunter grabbed most of the pitching headlines on the farm this summer, and all three finished the year at Double-A. Bateman’s season got less attention, but it’s worth remembering that he’s a year or two younger than that trio and still learning how to command a very big frame.
MLB Pipeline ranks Bateman as Baltimore’s 11th-best prospect, and Baseball America has him at No. 10. He hasn’t joined Booth, Eyanson, Dzierwa and Hunter on Pipeline’s Top 100 yet, but a strong start to next season in the upper minors could change that quickly.
Bateman’s arsenal is very interesting. His fastball averaged 95.4 MPH early in the season, sat in the upper 90s and touched 100. His slider is his best secondary pitch, and he also throws a curveball and changeup. Said current Frederick manager Collin Woody, then of Delmarva, “Oh my God, the stuff is super legit.” One of the more encouraging signs from 2026 was that Bateman relied less on his fastball. He threw the slider and changeup more often and got more chases and whiffs as a result.
The walks are the obvious problem. Bateman averaged five walks per nine innings—not unusual for a pitcher his size, as tall pitchers often take longer to repeat their mechanics. Bateman has said that consistent pitch shapes and a repeatable delivery are his priorities. If the control improves even to average, the strikeout stuff gives him a real chance to start.
He’ll likely open 2027 in Chesapeake’s rotation. MLB.com estimated this spring that he was about two years from a big league debut, so 2028 is a more realistic target than next season. That timeline works fine for Baltimore. The Orioles need left-handed starting pitching, and Dzierwa, Hunter and Luis De León are all in line ahead of Bateman. Having another high-ceiling lefty a level behind them gives the organization depth and options as the rotation takes shape.
Bateman will finally face some adversity at Double-A, where advanced hitters will lay off pitches out of the zone. He’ll have to throw strikes to get by there in a way he didn’t always have to in A-ball.
Orioles fans know pitching prospects don’t always pan out. Unlike Hunter, Bateman will carry some expectations as the main return for two popular veterans. He doesn’t seem bothered by that. “Failure is no longer in my vocabulary,” he said this summer, and in August he added that “we’ll be getting a ring in Baltimore.”
That’s a bold prediction from someone who just turned 21, and Bateman shouldn’t be considered a can’t-miss prospect yet. But a big lefty who throws close to 100 and has improving secondary pitches is exactly the kind of prospect who can jump up the rankings in a hurry.
