Scottsdale, Arizona —— Earlier this week out at the Arizona Fall League, we sat down with Baltimore Orioles infield prospect Ryan Mountcastle, who is out here in the prestigious offseason league playing for the Salt River Rafters. Still just 20 years old and fresh off a monster summer split between High-A and Double-A, the Orlando native was in good spirits and excited about being able to spend the next few weeks in the Phoenix area — especially considering the Orioles don’t have a presence out here and the parks, facilities, and surroundings are all new to him.
In the interview, Baseball Census on-air host Sande Charles talks with Ryan Mountcastle about his early impressions of the Arizona Fall League and the quality of competition out here; they get into his work at third base, especially after his past experience at shortstop before transitioning at Double-A in the season’s second half; they also look way back and remember the day Mountcastle was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles, and his memories with family and friends from the event.
You can watch it all here:
Ryan Mountcastle enjoyed a very, very good year in 2017. Split between Frederick in the Carolina League and Bowie in the Eastern League at just 20 years old, Mountcastle hit .287/.312/.489/.802 with an 18 home runs and an astounding 48 doubles over 127 games (513 at-bats). He also struck out just 96 times, though he walked only 17 times and could stand to improve plate discipline and strike zone awareness. That’ll come with age, though, and he navigated his way to Double-A Bowie as just 20 years old with a lot of time and opportunity ahead to reach the big leagues for a long window.
The big news this summer — and into this fall — is more centered on Mountcastle’s defensive work. The Baltimore Orioles moved him from shortstop to third base when he got to Double-A in July, and he’s now working hard to get comfortable over there with his time at the AFL. As the Arizona Fall League wears on, we’ll have more video of Ryan Mountcastle, including clips of several dozen of his game at-bats that we’ll use to post a full scouting report later over the winter. If you want to stay on top of that, and all the AFL videos that we’re publishing this month and next, please click here and subscribe to the Baseball Census YouTube channel.
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