Amidst the abundance of outfield talent in Baltimore, it’s easy to forget Kyle Stowers, who the Birds used a second-round pick on in 2019.
His strong start to spring training makes it a great time to recap the unique career of the young outfielder and where he may find himself this season in the organization.
The majority of Stowers’ career thus far has been spent in the minor leagues, mostly for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. In 2022, Stowers finished with 19 home runs and an .884 OPS in 95 games with the Tides. Injuries limited him to just 68 games in 2023 with Norfolk, but he put together another eye-opening campaign, blasting 17 homers on .245/.364/.511 splits.
The big league level has not seen much of Stowers as of yet. He struggled mightily in 2023, but it’s tough to draw any conclusions from a 14-game sample size. Most Orioles fans probably remember his first career home run, a ninth-inning solo shot off Liam Hendricks to tie the game. Stowers is still awaiting a true opportunity at the big league level, and he’s making a strong bid for that to be this season.
That leads us to 2024 spring training, where the Orioles sit at 20-5, and Stowers, as mentioned above, is a big part of why that is. Stowers leads spring training with seven home runs in just 18 games, including three of those being in one game in just three at-bats.
While it’s a very crowded outfield, that raw power makes it very difficult to keep Stowers off the Opening Day roster. While it would be nice to see Stowers get on-base at a higher clip, the elite power he has shown would play very well at Camden Yards.
The biggest obstacle Stowers will face is how he fits in with the O’s. The 26-year-old will have to compete with the likes of Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad and Ryan McKenna. This has made Stowers a popular trade candidate, but unless for an upper echelon pitcher, Baltimore would be selling Stowers for pennies on the dollar.
The last portion of spring training will be huge for Stowers and his future, but he’s certainly made the O’s decision about as tough as he possibly could have.
Where do you fall? Is Stowers worth hanging on to, or should Baltimore capitalize on their outfield depth and allocate resources to other areas of the club? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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