CHICAGO -- During his 10-game stretch from Sept. 2 through Monday, Dylan Beavers had slowed down a bit following a hot first two weeks in the big leagues.
Beavers hit .148 with a .580 OPS in those 10 games, dropping those overall marks from .333 and .918 after Sept. 1 to .267 and .794, respectively, entering Tuesday. It’s far from unusual for a rookie to have some struggles one month into his career. Still, before Tuesday’s game, Beavers laid out a challenge from himself.
“He told me in the dugout, he was joking around with me before [Tuesday’s] game that, if he didn't help the team win [that night] -- jokingly -- he was going to shave his head,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said.
Beavers said he would’ve done it, too, though already getting a recent haircut might’ve taken some of the fun out of it. Either way, it seems he’s gotten himself off the hook.
Following a 2-for-5 night in which he homered and tripled in the Orioles’ win over the White Sox on Tuesday, Beavers was at it again on Wednesday afternoon. In the top of the fourth inning, the 24-year-old unloaded on an 89.2 mph sinker from Chicago starter Martín Pérez, drilling a two-run shot well over the right-field wall at Rate Field in Baltimore’s 3-1 sweep-clinching win.
“He's good,” Mansolino said. “He's a good player, and he just keeps on plugging away. He has good at-bats, he has some at-bats that may not be the best, but by and large, there are way more good than bad in a lot of ways. It's a big home run right there, won us a game, and he's doing great.”
That highlighted a 1-for-3 day for Beavers -- ranked the Orioles’ No. 2 prospect and No. 100 overall by MLB Pipeline -- who also drew a walk and stole a base in the sixth (one of seven for Baltimore, tying the franchise record). In his two consecutive games with a home run, Beavers has gone 3-for-8 with two homers, one triple and five RBIs.
Beavers is now hitting .277 with an .893 OPS after 27 MLB games, and he tripled his career home run total between Tuesday and Wednesday.
“I'm just trying to contribute any way I can, whether it's playing good defense or getting on base,” Beavers said. “Any way I can. I kind of had a couple of slow games, and I wanted to get back in the mix.”
Beavers just joined Pipeline’s Top 100 list on Tuesday, and he has yet to go a game without homering since.
Sure, it’s only been two games, but Beavers has found plenty of success after a month in the Majors. And with that success, the intrigue surrounding another rising Orioles prospect grows.
“I think it's impressive. I think the way that he goes about the game is great,” said Tyler Wells, who improved to 2-0 after throwing six innings of one-run ball on Wednesday. “... He's been just doing a great job and handling his business the right way.”
Beavers moving into the Top 100 means he joins a number of Baltimore hitting prospects who’ve been in his shoes in recent years. In Wednesday’s starting lineup alone, Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg, Gunnar Henderson and Coby Mayo were all formerly Top 100 prospects while in the Orioles’ system.
That doesn’t include Colton Cowser (off-day on Wednesday), Adley Rutschman (began a rehab assignment on Wednesday) or even Samuel Basallo, who debuted the day after Beavers and is currently Baltimore’s No. 1 prospect and No. 8 overall, according to Pipeline.
Each of them has faced their share of challenges in the Majors, though. Beavers will likely face more than just a tough 10-game stretch as he goes along in his career, too.
Beavers has enjoyed his time up and will finish 2025 with roughly six weeks of big league experience. That’s very valuable when it comes to securing a roster spot in ‘26.
But Beavers is very much aware that success doesn’t come easy at this level.
“It's difficult, for sure,” he said. “Every team's got good players. I think when you focus on helping the team and trying to contribute, help us win, that's when you find success. But ultimately, it's still baseball, and we've all been doing it for a long time. It's more difficult, but it's still the same game.”