Back in 2020, the Baltimore Orioles spent the 103rd pick in the draft on third baseman Coby Mayo.
To say Mayo is a mountain of a man might be an understatement. Standing at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, many experts were bullish on the kid’s raw power and ability to move his body, even at his size.
Even as a fourth-round pick, the excitement around Mayo was very real, and it did not take him long to make people look smart. In Mayo’s first year in the minors, he belted nine home runs with a .319/.426/.555/.981 slash line in 53 games across rookie and A-ball.
The 2022 season was less friendly to Mayo, as despite making it to Double-A Bowie, his OPS fell nearly 200 points to .782. Those concerns were short-lived, however, as Mayo followed his down year up with 29 home runs between the Baysox and Triple-A Norfolk and an OPS back up to .973.
His 2024 campaign was the year Mayo really started to make a name for himself. With his continued success in Triple-A, Mayo saw himself go from absent on MLB Pipeline’s top 100 in 2023 to 30th in 2024.
With injuries plaguing the big league club, Mayo would even debut with the Orioles in August of 2024, with the team hoping his bat would provide a spark to a struggling offense.
Unfortunately for Baltimore, that spark was nowhere to be found. In 17 games, Mayo was an abomination, slashing .098/.196/.098/.294 with a 48.9% K rate. His defense was never all that good, so his inability to hit rendered him useless for essentially all of his big league stint.
There really was no reason to panic, though, as 17 games is a small sample size, and Mayo was practically thrown into big league action with the O’s options so thin. With an offseason to prepare, the expectation was, at the very least, Mayo would crack the Opening Day roster in 2025.
That, however, is currently a question in its own right. Mayo has once again struggled in spring training. His slash is complementary to his 2024 line with the O’s, a measly .115/.143/.154/.297. If you’re looking for any optimism, his strikeout rate is down to 29.6%, so that could indicate he’s seeing the ball better.
Obviously, the minor league numbers speak for themselves, and Mayo did smoke a 113 MPH single early in spring training, so the bat has plenty of life, it’s just about being able to make quality contact more often.
Some scouts have pointed out Mayo’s swing is quite unorthodox and could cause him some difficulty translating to the major leagues, which has definitely seemed to be the case. But in my opinion, Mayo’s issues are a little deeper than a funky swing.
The spring training data is not easy to find, but in Mayo’s big league stint in 2024, he swung at the first pitch 41.3% of the time, chased 30.7% of pitches out of the zone and had a whiff rate of 45.6% (stats from Teddy Wynard, @tjwynard on X).
You could definitely argue that Mayo’s swing is causing him issues, but to me, it seems he really struggles with pitch recognition, feel for the strike zone and swing timing. All of these issues are fixable with time, but the issue in Charm City is that time is of the essence.
The Orioles’ window to win is now, and the infield is crowded with young talent as it is. The at-bats for Mayo to learn and improve just simply aren’t there, and in a very competitive AL East, a serious team can not trot him out there every day.
My advice to GM Mike Elias would be to shop Mayo as aggressively as possible. He still has a ton of upside, and while his trade value has likely dipped, he could still headline a package for legitimate MLB pitching.
No, that does not mean to sell him for pennies on the dollar. However, Elias should be exploring every avenue he can with Mayo to see if any organization is willing to take a chance on the volatile slugger.
If that didn’t sum it up, my concern with Mayo is growing. I don’t think he’s a fit for the 2025 Orioles, and it makes too much sense for a team with a surplus of bats and a shortage of pitching to ship off a bat they don’t need for help on the pitching staff.
I do believe Coby Mayo has a bright future in this league, but if the Orioles want to maximize their World Series window, I’m afraid Mayo will have to be trade bait.
What are your thoughts on Coby Mayo and his standing with the Orioles? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, X, Bluesky and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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