In a surprising move, the Baltimore Orioles have announced the team will select the contract and call up top prospect Manny Machado from Class Double-A Bowie. The team's top prospect heralded for his tools will make his major league debut on Thursday. He was taken with the No. 3 pick in the 2010 draft and has turned himself into one of the top prospects in all of baseball.
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— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 9, 2012#Orioles plan to select the contract of INF Manny Machado from Double-A Bowie Thursday. He will be making his major league debut.
He's spent the entire 2012 season in Class Double-A Bowie and entered the day batting .266/.350/.431 with 10 home runs and 13 stolen bases. The numbers don't jump off the page at first, but it's important to remember he just turned 20 last month and is extremely advanced for his age.
Machado is a 20-year-old currently playing shortstop, but some believe a move to third base is the most likely outcome. That isn't a bad thing, though, shortstop is one of the most difficult positions to play. It's unclear whether he'll be playing at shortstop now, or if he's the answer for the team at the the hot corner.