SARASOTA, Fla. — Sharing the field with big leaguers for the first time in his professional career, Orioles prospect Wehiwa Aloy didn’t look out of place Saturday afternoon.

The 22-year-old shortstop prospect started Baltimore’s Grapefruit League contest against the Minnesota Twins, giving the 6,197 fans at Ed Smith Stadium a glimpse of the club’s future.

Aloy, one of three first-round picks the Orioles made in the 2025 MLB draft, earned the start at shortstop in Baltimore’s 3-2 split-squad home win. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound right-handed-hitter flashed his arm and speed and contributed at the plate during his appearance.

Across six innings in the field, Aloy handled several defensive chances smoothly. He fielded a pair of ground balls that rolled onto the outfield grass and fired strong throws across the diamond to first baseman Pete Alonso, helping record three groundouts.

“I felt good, defensively, I felt comfortable over there, just trying to make the routine plays,” Aloy said. “It’s a really good experience. It’s pretty much the first time in my career that I’m playing with the big league guys.”

Alonso, the Orioles’ headline offseason acquisition and the only expected opening day infield starter in Saturday’s split-squad home lineup (Coby Mayo started at third base with Jordan Westburg still rehabbing from a torn UCL injury), said that it was encouraging to see young players receive and maximize their opportunities in spring training.

“It’s really exciting when you get to see different guys put in different spots,” Alonso said. “It was awesome for [Aloy] to get starting reps. He looked really good today.”

For the second straight day, Aloy also made his presence felt at the plate. Facing a 97 mph four-seam fastball from Twins left-hander Connor Prielipp, a top-five prospect in Minnesota’s farm system, according to MLB Pipeline, Aloy lined an important two-out single into center field.

Moments later, outfielder Heston Kjerstad launched a two-run homer over the left-center wall. When the two players returned to the home dugout, Aloy was greeted with fist bumps and hugs from first-year manager Craig Albernaz.

“I personally enjoy it to see the minor league guys come over and get him a start,” Albernaz said. “That was awesome. He handled himself well out there. Nice clock at shortstop, wasn’t rushed at all.

“I loved his at-bat to get Heston up. Get up there with two outs, take a single to kind of move the line. That’s something that we as an organization values.”

Before turning pro, Aloy built his reputation as one of the best players in college baseball’s top conference. He helped lead Arkansas to the 2025 College World Series and was named SEC Player of the Year. He is also the reigning Golden Spikes Award winner, given annually to the nation’s top amateur player.

Past Golden Spikes Award winners include Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman (2019), as well as Kris Bryant, Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, Buster Posey and David Price. Pretty solid company.

The Orioles selected Aloy, a Hawaii native, with the No. 31 overall pick last summer and signed him for the full slot value of $3.042 million. At the time of the draft, he was graded as a 55 player (above-average on the 20-80 scale) on his scouting report listed on Baseball Savant.

He later began his pro career at Single-A Delmarva.

Across 90 plate appearances with the Shorebirds last fall, Aloy slashed .288/.356/.500 with an .856 OPS. He collected 23 hits, 14 runs and 14 RBIs while drawing eight walks. He struck out 25 times and also stole eight bases.

Defensively, Aloy split time on the left side of the infield, making 11 starts at shortstop and three at third while committing just two errors over 122 2/3 innings.

Now in his first full spring training, Aloy, ranked No. 7 in Baltimore’s farm system, is gaining valuable experience moving between minor league camp at the Orioles’ Twin Lakes complex and his occasional appearances with the major league club, and also training at the team’s complex at Ed Smith Stadium. Ahead of Saturday’s game, he participated in fielding drills and batting practice on the backfields in Sarasota.

“Just getting faster and stronger in the weight room and sharpening my tools on the baseball side,” Aloy said of his focus this past offseason. “The environment and playing with the guys on the team — just getting outs for the pitcher and helping the team get good results.”

Aloy’s pro career is only beginning but this week offered him a meaningful introduction to the major league stage and perhaps a small preview of what Orioles fans could see in the years ahead.

Have a news tip? Contact Josh Tolentino at jtolentino@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200, x.com/JCTSports and instagram.com/JCTSports. Josh appears as a host on The Sun’s “Early Birds” podcast.