The Baltimore Orioles have found a gem in the form of a 25-year old outfielder/first baseman/designated hitter from the University of Notre Dame.

BALTIMORE – Trey Mancini has had a standout rookie season for the Orioles, playing three different positions and wielding a significant bat in the lineup. Currently, Mancini is batting .307/.352/.553/ in his first full season in the MLB.

What is even more impressive is that he is third on the team in home runs with 14, second on the club in RBI (43) and is second in offensive WAR (1.7). If he qualified, he’d be leading the team in batting average, on-base percentage (tied with Schoop), slugging percentage and OPS (.905).

Mancini was selected in the 8th round of the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft as a first baseman by Baltimore. Many scouts believed that he would provide organizational depth at the position and wouldn’t see much playing time due to fellow first baseman Chris Davis being on the Major League roster. It turns out that they would be wrong.

Every year that he played professionally, he has produced at the plate. It started in his first season with the Aberdeen Ironbirds in 2013. In 68 games with Baltimore’s Short-Season A affiliate, Mancini slashed .328/.382/.449. The following season, Mancini batted .284/.326/.409 in Low-A Delmarva and High-A Frederick combined.

In 2015, Mancini batted .341/.375/.563 with both High-A Frederick and Double-A Bowie. He would follow that season up with the most important one that he’d have of his young professional career.

Mancini would grind his way to the majors in 2016, but not before batting .282/.357/.458 with both Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. He would make his Major League debut on September 20, 2016 against the Boston Red Sox. His first hit? You guessed it, a home run.

This season, it has all come full circle for Mancini and its been a long time coming for the former 8th round pick. He has filled in for Davis at first base, who has been on the disabled list since June 14 with a strained oblique.

“I knew an opportunity would likely come up, but I didn’t know what it would be,” said Mancini on June 16. “I knew if I kept hitting enough, they’d find a spot for you. That was the message delivered to me. I bought into it, believed it and it came true, for sure.”

Mancini could be making an All-Star appearance for the American League in his first full season with the Birds. By the way things have gone in Mancini’s pro career so far, he’s just getting warmed up.

Kyle Andrews

Born in Norfolk, VA, raised in the Baltimore area and currently living there. Originally pursuing a degree in exercise science at McDaniel, Andrews became interested in sports writing. He was the sports editor of McDaniel's newspaper in 2014 and became an English major, and hasn't looked back since.

Bylines at Fox Sports 1340 AM, Bullets Forever, Baltimore Beatdown, Underdog Dynasty and many other sites.