2 stats show how Samuel Basallo's season will go for Orioles

Samuel Basallo didn't hit the ground running when he made his MLB debut last season. In fact, the Baltimore Orioles' catching phenom struggled quite a bit, particularly in traditional statistical measures.

No one is writing him off, though. He's still got a long career ahead of him.

This spring, Basallo has also helped recapture a lot of the confidence in him. He has hit .333 with a .964 OPS to prepare in a great way for Opening Day later this week.

And there are two stats that really stand out.

Basallo has a 64% hard-hit rate, which is elite. And he has a 32% barrel rate, which is even more elite. Barrel rate essentially combines hard-hit values with launch angle to indicate when a baseball is squared up hard and in a direction that can do damage.

"Basallo didn't do much in his big league debut last season, but bigger things could be in store for MLB's No. 8 overall prospect in 2026," MLB.com's David Adler wrote in a new article. "The 21-year-old has top-tier bat speed (we saw that in 2025), and the Spring Training numbers are off the charts. Basallo has a 97.2 mph average exit velocity, 64% hard-hit rate and a monster 32% barrel rate -- among the highest for any hitter this spring."

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Basallo's biggest challenge isn't actually likely to be at the plate. The Orioles expect him to deliver as a hitter.

The trickier part of all this is that he plays the same position as Adley Rutschman. In the early going, it likely means that Basallo will DH most of the time while Rutschman catches, and long term, it could force the Orioles to make a tough roster decision.

For now, Baltimore will gladly take Basallo's bat. If he keeps hitting the baseball hard, good things will happen.

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