Samuel Basallo became a top-tier prospect in 2023

Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty ImagesIt seems like every few months a new “helium” prospect pops up for the Orioles. That’s to say a youngster that is, relatively, under the radar, then starts to put up head-turning numbers, and now finds themselves all over the national “top prospect” lists. Samuel Basallo is the latest in line.

Basallo is an example of the type of player that the Orioles were missing out on during the years in which they participated sparingly in the international market. The now-19-year-old catcher came to the Orioles organization in 2021, signed as an amateur for $1.3 million out of the Dominican Republic. At the time, it was the largest bonus the Orioles…