The Baltimore Orioles have been building a team over the past few years that should be consistently competitive, not a team that pops for one season and then fades back into “wait until next year” mode. The purpose of a prospect pipeline is to continually stock your major league roster with affordable, high-impact players so that when you do decide to make a move by spending money or trading it will be done with intent and not in a state of panic.
However, prospect development is not a linear process and being a good prospect does not mean that the player will also be a good major leaguer.