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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Excelling against older competition

Basallo is hitting .291 with five home runs, a 22.4 percent strikeout rate and a 126 wRC+ through 46 games with Single-A Delmarva.

The second-youngest qualified hitter in the Carolina League behind Anthony Gutierrez, Basallo has handled his first full-season assignment very well. The 18-year-old catcher/first baseman has a 22.8 percent line-drive rate and a groundball rate under 40 percent, so his quality of contact has been strong. The Orioles believe Basallo is a good enough defender to stick behind the plate, but the fact he is already playing first base roughly a third of the time suggests he will play other positions besides catcher as he continues to climb the ladder.

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