O’s prospect Coby Mayo offers reminder that he’s too good to keep down on the farm

Coby Mayo, the #3 prospect in the Baltimore Orioles farm system, was 3-for-4 with a homer and five RBIs for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides in a 13-12 loss to Durham on Tuesday.

Mayo, ranked the 15th-best prospect in all of MiLB in updated rankings from MLB.com released on Tuesday, is having the kind of season that is making it hard for the O’s not to try to do something with him.

The third baseman, a fourth-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, is slashing .321/.398/.679 with 18 homers, 53 RBIs and a 1.026 OPS.

There’s basically not much else the 22-year-old can do at this point in the minors.

The issue is, where to put him in Baltimore, with Jordan Westburg (.281/.331/.502, 13 HRs, 48 RBIs, .833 OPS) on the verge of being named an All-Star while splitting time at second and third, and the #1 MiLB prospect, Jackson Holliday (.269/.440/.466, 8 HRs, 29 RBIs, .906 OPS) ready to take over at second when the front office decides the time is right.

Mayo is too good to keep down on the farm, so, expect to see him packaged at the trade deadline later this month, as GM Mike Elias addresses whatever he decides his biggest roster needs are.

Back to Norfolk: the homestand finale is set for 6:30 p.m. tonight. Harbor Park will celebrate Independence Day with their biggest fireworks show of the year. The Tides have yet to announce their starter, while the Bulls will throw LHP Jeffrey Springs (0-1, 3.86 ERA).