When the best prospects in baseball congregate Sunday in Washington for the Major League Baseball All-Star Futures Game, the Orioles will be sending two of their own — third baseman Ryan Mountcastle and left-hander Alex Wells — to represent the strengths of their farm system.
Mountcastle — a potential impact bat who at 21 is enjoying one of the best offensive seasons in the system at Double-A Bowie — and Wells, the 21-year-old pitcher who is part of the team's fast-moving wave of pitching in the low minors, represent the two prospect archetypes most prevalent in the Orioles farm system as the team's prospect stocks become more important than ever.