The 2024 season has shown that health and stability are far from guarantees for the Orioles’ pitching staff.
The bullpen doesn’t have Félix Bautista as its dominant closer, and every reliever has shown cracks this year. The rotation doesn’t have the remarkable health it had the previous two years.
In 2023, the Orioles had the fifth-fewest days on the injured list in MLB. None of the seven pitchers who started five or more games were placed on the IL with an arm injury. This year, five Orioles starters have spent time on the IL with an arm injury: Kyle Bradish, John Means, Tyler Wells, Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer.
Kremer and Means are the latest to deal with injuries and land on the shelf, throwing a wrench into Baltimore’s plans to have a six-man rotation amid the club playing 43 games in 45 days.
The uncertainty has made it more possible for the Orioles to dip into the minor leagues for pitching throughout the season. Here are the five types of pitchers Baltimore could call up to fill future holes that could arise.
Prospect starting pitchers: Chayce McDermott, Cade Povich, Seth Johnson, Brandon Young
McDermott, Povich and Johnson are the club’s top three minor league pitchers — ranked by Baseball America as the organization’s Nos. 7, 8 and 9 prospects, respectively. Young is an under-the-radar right-hander who dominated Double-A to earn a promotion to Triple-A on Tuesday.
Povich (2.35 ERA with Triple-A Norfolk) is perhaps the most likely to get the call sometime this season, as the left-hander has dominated with a 32.9% strikeout rate. Walks have been less of an issue for the 24-year-old this year (five free passes in his past four starts) than throughout his minor league career. He appears to be the next man up if the Orioles’ rotation suffers another injury, or he could be an intriguing bullpen option later in the season.
McDermott (3.77 ERA for Norfolk) was the Orioles’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year last season and is one of the best swing-and-miss pitchers on Baltimore’s farm with a 34.9% strikeout rate. His strike-throwing ability is a question, especially for a starting role, but, like Povich, he could start games or be a relief option later in the season.
Johnson (3.58 ERA for Double-A Bowie) is unlikely to pitch in the majors this year, but he’s the lone member of this group on Baltimore’s 40-man roster. If he gets promoted to Triple-A, he’s pitching well and the Orioles are in a pinch for a spot starter or a bulk reliever, Johnson could be an option. Young (4.09 ERA for Bowie) is also unlikely given he’s pitched only 75 1/3 innings over the past three seasons, but he’s striking out an eye-popping 40.9% of batters and is gaining traction as a pitching prospect to follow.
Prospect relief pitchers: Keagan Gillies, Wandisson Charles, Trey McGough, Kade Strowd
Gillies (7.84 ERA for Bowie) is the only member of this group ranked inside Baltimore’s organizational top 30, but he’s struggled so far this season on the mound and with an injury. Nevertheless, his 6-foot-8 frame and plus stuff still offer an intriguing option for the Orioles’ bullpen in the future.
Charles (6.32 ERA for Norfolk) is also an imposing presence on the mound at 6-4, and his success last season in his first year in the organization generated hype about his potential. But his strike-throwing ability is a major concern with 18 walks in 15 2/3 innings this year.
McGough and Strowd both opened the season with the Baysox and were promoted after their success at the level. McGough, a lefty, has a 1.80 ERA between Bowie and Norfolk, while Strowd, a righty, has posted a 3.63 ERA with the Baysox and Tides.
None of these relievers are on Baltimore’s 40-man roster, meaning they’d have to pitch well enough to be worth bumping someone else off.
Bulk relievers/spot starters: Bruce Zimmermann, Jonathan Heasley
This group and the following two contain the pitchers most likely to be called up, even though the previous eight names are more interesting with higher upsides.
Zimmermann (4.35 ERA for Norfolk) is on the IL, but the left-hander is on the 40-man roster and appeared for Baltimore in each season from 2020 to 2023. Heasley (0.45 ERA for Norfolk) has spent two short stints with the Orioles this year with 10 earned runs allowed in 5 1/3 innings. The right-hander was most recently optioned last week.
Right-handed relievers: Bryan Baker, Corbin Martin
Both members of this group are on the 40-man roster and have big league experience.
Baker (8.47 ERA for Norfolk) pitched 112 games out of the Orioles’ bullpen between 2022 and 2023. Martin (6.00 ERA in Triple-A) has pitched 57 2/3 innings in the majors with the Houston Astros and Arizona Diamondbacks. He was claimed off waivers by the Orioles earlier this month.
Kaleb Ort (12.08 ERA for Norfolk) would’ve been an option, but he was designated for assignment by the Orioles and claimed by the Houston Astros on Tuesday.
Left-handed relievers: Nick Vespi, Matt Krook, Tucker Davidson, Luis González
Manager Brandon Hyde is a believer in matching up southpaws against left-handed hitters, so this group could come into play if the Orioles have injuries to any of their lefty relievers.
Vespi (3.22 ERA for Norfolk) is a near-guarantee to make his way back to Baltimore after being optioned Monday for the third time this season. Also on the 40-man roster, Krook (1.59 ERA for Norfolk) debuted with the New York Yankees last year and pitched four innings. Davidson (2.13 ERA for Norfolk) has 125 innings of big league experience for three teams, but he isn’t on the 40-man. Neither is González (3.15 ERA for Norfolk), who has 12 years of professional experience between the minors, Japan, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
Rankings ruminations
Jackson Holliday is no longer the consensus No. 1 prospect in baseball. ESPN updated its top 100 list last week and bumped the 20-year-old out of the top spot in favor of Pittsburgh Pirates fireballer Paul Skenes after Holliday struggled with his first taste in the big leagues and Skenes has excelled in his. Holliday went 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts in April and was optioned back to Triple-A after about two weeks with the Orioles. The middle infielder is still No. 1 on Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, Baseball Prospectus and FanGraphs’ rankings, although not all of those lists have been updated since the season started.
Holliday might have fallen one spot but corner infielder Coby Mayo and catcher-first baseman Samuel Basallo moved up. Mayo jumped into the top 10 at No. 6 from No. 19 before the season. He’s now in the same tier, according to ESPN, as Washington Nationals slugger James Wood and Tampa Bay Rays infielder Junior Caminero. Basallo, meanwhile, moved up from No. 27 to No. 16.
Povich made his first appearance on a top 100 ranking last week, appearing at No. 92 on FanGraphs’ updated list amid his impressive start to the season. The only other time in Povich’s career that he’s ranked inside a top 100 list was on ESPN’s before the 2023 season. He is one of six Orioles prospects who appear on at least one major top 100 list, in addition to Holliday, Basallo, Mayo, Heston Kjerstad and Enrique Bradfield Jr.
FanGraphs also gave a shout-out to Young as one of the several players who received top 100 consideration but just missed out. Young doesn’t even appear on Baltimore’s organizational top 30 on Baseball America or MLB Pipeline after dealing with injuries in recent years, but he’s just one step from the show after his recent promotion.
Farm files
• Holliday homered Thursday but struck out nine times in 29 plate appearances. Since his demotion, Holliday is slashing .240/.402/.390 — good for a solid but unspectacular .792 OPS — with a 21.3% walk rate and a 22.8% strikeout frequency.
• Kjerstad couldn’t find the field when he was up in Baltimore, but all he’s finding with Norfolk is grass. The outfield prospect went 11-for-21 with five doubles and a homer last week. He’s hit .357 with a 1.148 OPS in 12 games since he was optioned.
• Utilityplayer Terrin Vavra hit two homers over the weekend, including a grand slam Friday, as he returns to game action after missing the past year with a shoulder injury that required surgery. Vavra debuted with Baltimore in 2022 and made the club’s opening day roster last year.
• In his first game in the Orioles’ organization, catcher Blake Hunt went 2-for-5 with a home run. Baltimore acquired Hunt from Seattle in the trade that sent reliever Mike Baumann to the Mariners.
• Bradfield slumped to begin the season in High-A Aberdeen and then landed on the injured list. Since his return, the outfield prospect is slashing .281/.356/.406 — good for a .763 OPS — with 13 stolen bases in 17 games.
• Luis Almeyda, who Baseball America ranks as Baltimore’s No. 18 prospect, went 0-for-15 to begin the year in the Florida Complex League, but he settled in last week by homering in consecutive games. The Orioles signed Almeyda, 18, out of the Dominican Republic to an organization-record $2.3 million in 2023.
Red Sox at Orioles
Tuesday, 6:35 p.m.
TV: MASN
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