Orioles Select Dylan Beavers, Designate Greg Allen

The Orioles announced that they have selected the contract of outfield prospect Dylan Beavers from Triple-A Norfolk.  In the corresponding move, outfielder Greg Allen was designated for assignment to create space on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters.

Beavers will be making his MLB debut whenever he appears in a game, and he figures to get regular playing time for a Baltimore team that is well out of contention.  The promotion is a nice late birthday present for Beavers, who turned 24 earlier this week.

Selected 33rd overall in the 2022 draft and with the first pick of Competitive Balance Round A, Beavers hit really well in his first two pro seasons before taking a step back in 2024.  He crushed Double-A pitching in 2023 but posted more modest numbers (.756 OPS over 509 PA) at the same level last season, and didn’t hit much during a brief six-game Triple-A cameo.

Beavers has spent the entire 2025 season in Norfolk and gotten back on track in a big way, hitting .304/.420/.515 with 18 homers over 418 PA, and he has stolen 23 bases in 28 attempts.  He missed a couple of weeks due to a shoulder sprain, but it didn’t slow Beavers down during a year that has seen him greatly increase his hard-contact numbers and walk rate while cutting back on his strikeouts.  Beavers has struck out only 76 times this season, while walking 68 times.

This surge earned Beavers the 83rd spot on Baseball America’s August update of its top 100 prospects list.  MLB Pipeline has kept Beavers out of its top 100, but like BA, also ranks Beavers as the third-best prospect in the Orioles’ farm system.  Both scouting reports note how Beavers has spent much of his pro career altering his swing to gain more power and become more productive against high velocity, and it would seem like those swing adjustments are paying off.  His solid speed and baserunning ability adds to his offensive value as a stolen-base threat.  Defensively, Beavers is viewed as a corner outfielder, with a chance to stick in right due to an above-average throwing arm.

The specific timing of Beavers’ promotion isn’t surprising, as coming up on August 16 means that Beavers will be spending less than 45 days on the MLB roster, and the Orioles will surely make a point of keeping him under the 130 at-bat threshold.  This means that Beavers will retain his rookie eligibility into 2026, and thus he could remain eligible for Prospect Promotion Incentive status assuming he makes at least two of the preseason top-100 prospect rankings from Baseball America, Pipeline, or ESPN.com.  Eligible PPI rookies can deliver an extra draft pick for their teams, should they qualify for a full year of service time and then either win Rookie of the Year honors or record a top-three finish in MVP voting or Cy Young Award voting during their pre-arbitration years.

Late-season callups of top prospects have long been part of baseball, though the PPI system has now put something of a specific timeline on how teams approach some promotions of their top minor leaguers.  GM Mike Elias more or less admitted earlier this week that the PPI rules were a factor in the Orioles’ plans for Beavers and top prospect Samuel Basallo, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Basallo also made his MLB debut before the 2025 season is over.

Allen signed with the O’s just on August 8, as the team needed some quick depth due to a spate of outfield injuries.  Allen’s seven games with Baltimore marked his first big league playing time since the 2023 season, though it was a rather ignominious stint, as he didn’t reach base in any of his 14 plate appearances.  Prior to joining the Orioles, Allen was playing for the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate, and was hitting .270/.355/.440 over 231 PA.

A veteran of eight MLB seasons, Allen is known for his speed and his ability to play all three outfield positions, even though he has never produced much at the dish.  He is out of minor league options, and since he has been previously outrighted in his career, he’ll have the ability to elect free agency if he clears waivers.  It is possible a team in need of outfield depth may bring Allen board on a waiver claim, but it seems likelier that he’ll enter free agency and land elsewhere on a minors contract.