Orioles Hidden Gem! Unheralded Pitcher Emerges as Dark Horse Candidate for Starting Rotation
Spring for the Baltimore Orioles is much different this year than it’s been the last two.
Not only have many of their previous star prospects already established themselves at the Major League level and are no longer mysteries, that also means the roster is pretty much squared away, leaving little intrigue about who could potentially be on the field for Opening Day.
There are still prospects the Orioles and fans are keeping their eye on, though.
Samuel Basallo is one of them, especially as he returns to his spot behind the plate in hopes he can prove why he should be a catcher in the bigs. Enrique Bradfield Jr., Dylan Beavers and Jud Fabian are also intriguing, but all three are still a ways away from being called up.
Even the starting rotation has no real competition.
After signing Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano to fill out the staff, the five of Zach Eflin, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer and the two new additions are the starting unit on paper.
That leaves the rest of the starters in camp vying for a spot in the pecking order, hoping to be the first ones called in case of injury or poor performance.
Cade Povich firmly finds himself on that list, and since he’s a former top prospect who showed well at times last season, he should be in the mix this year.
But it’s an unheralded prospect who could work his way into the picture with a strong showing in camp, something he did on Sunday which caught the eye of manager Brandon Hyde.
After coming into the game when Povich was pulled, Brandon Young, a former undrafted player in the 2020 draft who climbed the prospect rankings to make it into the top 30, turned some heads when he gave up just two hits in three scoreless innings with two strikeouts against the Philadelphia Phillies.
“High velo, good secondary stuff, a lot of strikes. First time I’ve really seen him throw in a game either so I liked the tempo. Everything was really good,” Hyde said about Young’s outing per Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun.
It will be interesting to see what comes out of this spring for the right-hander.
He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022 after three starts in that campaign. He returned a year later and make 11 starts, going 0-5 with a 4.50 ERA and just 40 strikeouts in 40 innings pitched.
However, this past season he showed why Baltimore extended him an invite to camp when he had a 3.44 ERA across his 20 outings and 18 starts in Triple-A, striking out 96 batters in 89 innings.
Young will be someone to keep an eye on throughout spring, because if he continues to pitch well, he’s going to get an opportunity with the Orioles in 2025.
