Thoughts on Baltimore Orioles prospect Cedric Mullins

Yesterday the Baltimore Orioles promoted outfield prospect Cedric Mullins to the major league roster. His debut was impressive, going 3-for-4 with a walk, a pair of doubles, and three RBI against the Boston Red Sox. Mullins has not received a lot of attention as a prospect outside of Orioles circles but he’s quite intriguing. Let’s take a look.

The Orioles drafted Mullins in the 13th round out of Campbell University in 2015. He was quite good in college, hitting .340/.386/.549 with 23 steals his junior year but Campbell isn’t exactly a huge baseball power. He put in a solid 2016 season (.273/.321/.464 in Low-A) and a similar .265/.319/.460 campaign in Double-A in ‘17.

Mullins ranked eighth on the Baltimore Orioles Top 20 prospects for 2018 list with this comment:

8) Cedric Mullins, OF, Grade B-/C+: Age 23, 13^th round pick from Campbell in 2015; limited to 76 games in Double-A by hamstring injury but hit .265/.319/.460 with 19 doubles, 13 homers, nine steals, 27 walks, 58 strikeouts in 309 at-bats; switch-hitter with 50-grade power and 60-grade speed; manages strike zone solidly and could provide high secondary averages; arm is mediocre but has excellent range in center field; can be a multi-category regular if skills max out, or a very good fourth outfielder as mid-range outcome. ETA 2019.

That still holds up in general, but Mullins has taken it up to the next level with fine performances in Double-A (.313/.362/.512 in 201 at-bats) and Triple-A (.267/.332/.425 in 240 at-bats). He’s also stolen 21 bases in 22 attempts this season.

Mullins is a switch-hitter, listed at 5-8, 175, age 23. He has a better feel for the strike zone than his raw walk totals imply, is an aggressive and talented baserunner, and has sneaky, wiry-strength in his bat. At worst he should be a strong fourth outfielder and if his power continues to kick up he could be a long-term regular.

Do not underestimate him.