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Orioles add pitching prospects Brandon Young, Kade Strowd to 40-man roster

Mike Elias said in August that pitcher Brandon Young was on the Orioles’ “radar screen” for a promotion to the major leagues.

On Tuesday, Baltimore’s general manager ensured Young wouldn’t be on other teams’ during the Rule 5 draft.

The Orioles added Young, one of the organization’s top pitching prospects, to their 40-man roster ahead of MLB’s deadline to protect minor leaguers from being selected in the Rule 5 draft next month, the club announced Tuesday evening. Baltimore also added Triple-A Norfolk reliever Kade Strowd to its 40-man roster to remove his Rule 5 eligibility.

Young broke out in 2024 with a 3.57 ERA and 132 strikeouts in 111 innings between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. The 26-year-old right-hander was named the Orioles’ Jim Palmer Minor League Pitcher of the Year after he overcame his second Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery to emerge as an option for Baltimore’s rotation.

Strowd is a high-strikeout reliever who dominated Double-A and reached Triple-A for the first time this past season. The 27-year-old righty struck out 31% of batters, but he posted a 6.80 ERA and 1.854 WHIP across 41 innings for the Tides. Baltimore selected Strowd out of college in the 12th round of the 2019 draft. He was due to be Rule 5 eligible for a second time after going unselected in 2023.

Generally, players drafted out of high school or signed as international amateurs in 2020 or drafted out of college in 2021 are eligible for this year’s Rule 5 draft. Conducted at the end of MLB’s winter meetings in Dallas in December, the draft allows teams to add players who aren’t on other organizations’ 40-man rosters. However, teams must keep those players in the major leagues all season or otherwise offer them back to their original club, which is why it’s rare for Rule 5 picks to become impact big leaguers. The Orioles have seen success in the Rule 5 draft, including the selection of outfielder Anthony Santander (2016) and right-hander Tyler Wells (2020).

With Young and Strowd’s additions to the 40-man roster, which now has 39 players on it, that means every other eligible player in Baltimore’s farm system will be available to other teams in the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 11. That list includes four of the Orioles’ top 30 prospects, according to Baseball America.

Of the Orioles’ top 30 prospects on Baseball America, four are Rule 5 eligible: High-A Aberdeen right-hander Juan Nuñez (No. 11), Double-A Bowie reliever Keagan Gillies (No. 13), Bowie right-hander Alex Pham (No. 23) and Norfolk outfielder Hudson Haskin (No. 27).

Nuñez, whom the Orioles acquired from the Minnesota Twins as part of the Jorge López trade, is Baltimore’s No. 4 pitching prospect. But he isn’t seen as a likely candidate to be chosen in the Rule 5 draft because he’s yet to reach Double-A and he spent most of 2024 out with a shoulder injury.

Gillies, though, might be the most likely Oriole to be plucked away by another organization. The 6-foot-8 reliever has long been seen as having a high ceiling, but he’s yet to put it all together in the minors. After an excellent 2023 season, Gillies posted a 4.94 ERA in 47 1/3 relief innings for the Baysox in 2024. The soon-to-be 27-year-old first joined the organization as a 15th-round pick out of college in 2021.

Pham, a 19th-round pick in 2021, has a career 3.56 ERA in the minors and pitched to a 4.24 mark for the Baysox in 2024. But the 25-year-old is undersized as a starter (5-foot-11) and has at times struggled with walks. Haskin, 25, was the Orioles’ second-round pick in 2020 after the club selected Heston Kjerstad No. 2 overall and Jordan Westburg at No. 30. The outfielder was Rule 5 eligible last December and was unchosen. He hit .213 with a .643 in Triple-A during his injury-plagued 2024 season.

None of the exclusions were a surprise, although Strowd’s addition was one. It was expected for Young, though, after his superb 2024 campaign. Shortly after accepting the Jim Palmer Award in September, Young said his goal entering spring training is to break camp on the Orioles’ 26-man roster. Now, he’s one step closer.

Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 667-942-3337 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.


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