10 Orioles prospects who stood out in the Dominican Summer League

Written by: Nick Stevens

The 2026 Dominican Summer League season wrapped up last week, with both Orioles Orange and Orioles Black failing to make the DSL Cup, a new playoff format that started last year featuring 16 teams of the 51-team league competing in round-robin pool play and then best-of-three semifinal and championship rounds.

There was no shortage of intriguing performances from the youngest prospects in the system. Here are 10 performances that stood out during the 2026 season, in no particular ranking.

SS Maicor Degollado: Degollado wasn’t part of the January group of signings announced this year, instead, the 18-year-old left-handed hitting shortstop signed in late April and made a statement in 2026.

Listed at just 5’9, Degollado hit .267 with 3 doubles, 8 triples, and 5 home runs across 45 games, while walking 13% of the time, striking out 16% of the time, and swiping 15 bases in 18 attempts. He was a DSL All-Star this year, where he homered. He struggled down the stretch, but posted a solid contact rate and showed early ability to get to his pull-side power.

OF Gabriel Rosario: Listed at 6’3 and 200 pounds, Rosario is a large 17-year-old bat who entered the organization with experience at catcher and third base, but played in the outfield corners this year and profiles as a corner outfielder/first base type down the road. If Rosario successfully moves up the organizational ladder, it will be the bat that carries him.

In 49 games this year, Rosario hit 10 doubles with 6 home runs and walked just as much as he struck out (36 times). He hit just .250 but that came with a .288 BABIP. The .190 ISO, early signs of power, massive frame, and bullish reports on his hit tool all make Rosario a very intriguing prospect. In August alone, Rosario hit .400 with a .514 OBP and three home runs. He’ll turn 18 next month and should be a prominent bat in the FCL lineup next year.

OF Johanse Gomez: A 6’2 left-handed hitting outfielder who signed for $750,000 in 2025, Gomez was born in the Virgin Islands and is coming off his second stint in the DSL, one that showed big improvements across the board.

In 52 games, Gomez hit .302 with a .437 OBP and .879 OPS. He added 10 doubles, 4 triples, 2 home runs, and 20 stolen bases in 25 attempts. Number 65 on Baseball America’s Bonus Board last year, Gomez hit just .137 with a .564 OPS last season, striking out nearly 30% of the time. He slashed the strikeout rate to 21% this season.

Gomez improved his contact rate, but still posted a sub-70% contact rate with more in-zone whiff and the average was helped by a high BABIP. However, he’s an athletic center fielder and went from a wRC+ of 72 to 125 in his second turn through the DSL, and can impact the baseball with solid exit velos. He turns 19 this winter.

OF Carlos Rubecindo: A 17-year-old left-handed hitting outfielder, Rubecindo signed for $400,000 this year and put together a solid first year. Across 46 games, Rubecindo hit .283 with 8 doubles, 5 triples, and a home run. He walked 13% of the time and held the strikeout rate to 15.8% with a decent contact rate.

In nine August games to close out the year, Rubecindo hit .355 with 7 XBH and a .444 OBP. His monthly OPS climbed from .666 to .819 and then to 1.154 over the course of the season, the type of progression you love to see from such a young, first-year player. He may end up being a priority follow in the FCL next year.

OF Joshddy Castillo: Another outfield prospect who wasn’t one of the four $1 million-plus bats in this year’s class, Castillo is a 6’6, 17-year-old lefty who hit .285 with 7 doubles, 3 triples, and a home run across 48 games. He walked 36 times compared to 27 strikeouts, put up a 78% contact rate with an 8% swinging-strike rate, and played primarily in center field. Like Rubecindo, Castillo saved his best for August, putting up an .895 OPS with a .333 average across 11 games to close out the year. He struck out just twice over that span. He’s a must follow in 2027.

SS Meykal Baro: Baro was one of the top Cuban-born players in last year’s class, highly touted for his speed, defensive abilities at shortstop, and strong hitting ability on the international circuit. Last year as a 16-year-old, Baro hit just .190 with a 33% strikeout rate, but he did pop three home runs.

This year, Baro hit .262 while doubling his home run total to six, adding in seven doubles and 16 stolen bases. The red flag is still the lack of contact. While Baro dropped the strikeout rate to 28%, he’s now posted back-to-back seasons of a 59% contact rate in the DSL. He turned 18 just a week ago, so he’s still incredibly young and showcases impressive bat speed and prominent exit velos. There are still a ton of questions, but he should get a chance to improve the contact next year in Sarasota.

C Luis Dias: The Venezuelan backstop signed for $150,000 this year as a 16-year-old, not turning 17 until after the season concluded. Dias came out of the gates on fire, hitting .369 in his first month of play and earning an All-Star nod where he picked up a hit in this year’s All-Star game. However, Dias appeared to hit a major wall by the end of the season, hitting just .069 in August.

On the year, Dias hit .257 (just a .282 BABIP) with 12 doubles, 4 home runs, and a 112 wRC+. He walked 20% of the time and struck out 14% of the time. Dias also ran a 78% contact rate with an 8% swinging-strike rate. Defensively, Dias played 16 games at catcher and 18 at first base, even making one appearance in center field. He also swiped 19 bases in 22 attempts, showing off his speed and athleticism. As a catcher, he threw out 30% of would-be base stealers.

LHP Kelvin Zapata: Zapata was my pick as a potential breakout pitching prospect down on the farm before the season started and while he didn’t make it Stateside, Zapata still had a dominant second run through the DSL.

The 18-year-old lefty logged 38 innings with a 3.05 ERA, a 33% strikeout rate, 14% walk rate, and a .202 average against. He also produced a 53% groundball rate and a 33% called strike + whiff percentage on the year, both very good numbers. Zapata posted a 27% strikeout rate and 22% walk rate last year. An improved walk rate was imperative for Zapata’s development, and while there’s still plenty of work to do there, he showed strong strides forward.

Zapata brings a very mature approach to the mound with a fastball that I’ve seen hit 97 mph from the left side. He also does a strikeout crab, which is just cool.

RHP Enmanuel Rodriguez: Standing at 6’0, the 19-year-old righty signed in May of this year and worked exclusively out of the bullpen down in the DSL. Rodriguez brings a couple of interesting breaking balls to the table and ended the year in impressive fashion. In 6.2 August innings, Rodriguez struck out seven and walked just one batter, this after walking 10 in his first 18 innings. Rodriguez turns 20 this offseason, but there’s always an older international arm who emerges as an intriguing relief arm down in the lower levels of the minors. Rodriguez could be the next guy on that list.

LHP Alberto Arias: Arias signed very late last year, making just one appearance in the DSL before the season ended (three shutout innings with 3 K/0 BB). The 18-year-old, 6’2 lefty completed his first full year in the DSL with a 2.73 ERA across 33 innings, striking out 33 and walking 16.

Arias dominated through the first two months of the season, putting up a 1.64 ERA in June and a 1.13 ERA in July, before putting up an ERA of 9.00 with 3 K/8 BB in two August outings (6 IP). Maybe it was an injury he battled, maybe there were tweaks to his delivery/pitch arsenal that he was incorporating, either way, a two game sample at the end of the year doesn’t wipe out two months’ worth of dominance. In watching one of his earlier outings, Arias was mainly 90-92 with very few uncompetitive misses. He could be used as a starter next year in Sarasota.

The 2026 international signing class was one of real intrigue after the Orioles decided to give a franchise-record signing bonus to SS Jose Luis Acevedo and then give $1 million or more to three other bats, while also signing the top pitcher in the class in LHP Andri Hidalgo for more than $600,000. Unfortunately, Acevedo spent pretty much all season on the Injured List with an undisclosed injury. He saw four games of action at the very end of the season.

Hidalgo appeared in just four games, posting a line of 5.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 11 K this season. However, in a recent podcast appearance, Hidalgo said he experienced some back discomfort this year, leading the Orioles to be extra cautious with him while working on some strength training. He said he’s touched 100 mph four times now and continues to pitch in the Dominican Republic while focusing heavily on his delivery mechanics and command.

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