The Orioles’ younger core has led them to a powerful begin. There stays the potential for extra youth to affix in.
Speaking with native reporters for the primary time because the finish of spring coaching, government vice chairman and common supervisor Mike Elias mentioned he was happy with the 22-13 file the Orioles took into Tuesday’s sport towards the Tampa Bay Rays, including, “I think we can get better, too.” He largely expects these enhancements to be within the type of steps ahead from gamers at present on the roster, however the ascension of extra prospects from the membership’s top-ranked farm system would additionally add expertise.
Eight of the group’s gamers landed in Baseball America’s newest record of the sport’s prime 100 prospects, and 6 of them are in Triple-A or the majors. That group doesn’t even embody Gunnar Henderson, who opened the yr as baseball’s unanimous No. 1 prospect however has since graduated from that standing due to his time with the Orioles. Others would possibly quickly be part of him.
“We’re actively discussing all of those guys that are knocking on the door,” Elias mentioned.
Here’s what Elias mentioned about a lot of these gamers Tuesday:
Gunnar Henderson
Preseason prime 100 rank: No. 1
Current prime 100 rank: Graduated
Henderson hasn’t had the beginning he or the Orioles hoped for. A preseason favourite to be the American League Rookie of the Year, the 21-year-old entered Tuesday batting .179, although he’s managed a .339 on-base proportion by drawing walks in an AL-best 19.1% of his plate appearances.
“There’s been some encouraging stuff,” Elias mentioned. “The walk totals. He’s hit for power in spots. The defense has been really good. It’s really early. We’ve seen what he did in the minors. We saw what he did last September. You look at what other people around the league are doing through April. It’s very early. He’s putting the work in. He’s grinding out at-bats. I think he’s gonna snap out of this pretty soon, and with Ramón [Urías] going on the [injured list], I think we need him.”
Grayson Rodriguez
Preseason prime 100 rank: No. 6
Current prime 100 rank: No. 5
Rodriguez entered Tuesday’s begin — his first towards an AL East opponent — with a 5.46 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 28 innings throughout 5 begins. The 23-year-old didn’t break camp within the Orioles’ rotation, with Elias significantly important of his spring coaching efficiency, however Baltimore’s GM mentioned he’s been happy with the right-hander’s efficiency since coming into the rotation early within the marketing campaign.
“He’s doing really good,” Elias mentioned. “Can’t wait to see what he does tonight. I think that he has been very gritty, even in the starts that haven’t had the best box scores. Overall, you look at his statistics, and he’s helped this team win more than not since he’s been up here, so I know our pitching guys are viewing this as valuable learning experience for him, but he’s not hurting us right now, and he’s helping the team, so I think it’s been really good all around. I think he’s nowhere near the pitcher that we’re gonna see when he kind of matures into his prime as a major league starter, so I think we should kind of all enjoy watching a gifted young pitcher like this pitch in the major leagues for the first time, and that’s not all gonna be perfect.”
Jackson Holliday
Preseason prime 100 rank: No. 15
Current prime 100 rank: No. 7
Holliday is probably going the one prospect Elias mentioned Tuesday for whom the majors are out of attain in 2023. A 19-year-old infielder drafted with the primary total choose final yr, Holliday thrived in his first two weeks for High-A Aberdeen — hitting .297 with an .894 OPS — earlier than lastly attending to play his first dwelling sport Tuesday.
“That’ll be nice for him to have a home crowd and some Maryland fans for him,” Elias mentioned. “He’s been terrific so far. I just want him to go out and play, and if he has some ups and downs, that’s not going to be surprising, but so far, he’s definitely not sinking since the promotion to High-A. He’s continued to draw walks, find ways to get base hits here and there, but it’s early. We’re going to be patient with him, but we’re very proud of what he’s done so far and thrilled to have him in the organization.”
Colton Cowser
Preseason prime 100 rank: No. 41
Current prime 100 rank: No. 34
Baltimore’s first-round choose in 2021, Cowser got here into Tuesday with a .304/.448/.509 line at Triple-A. After placing out practically 3 times as a lot as he walked throughout a stint at Norfolk to finish final yr, the 23-year-old outfielder has an almost even strikeout-to-walk ratio this yr. A left-handed hitter, he has harsh platoon splits, hitting .323 with a .992 OPS towards righties in comparison with .188 with a .747 OPS off lefties.
“So far, very encouraging in terms of production, but I think in particular, the strikeout-walk numbers have been good,” Elias mentioned. “He really hasn’t spent that much time in Triple-A. We gave him a taste at the end of last year. We’re a month and change in. Everything he’s doing is really encouraging. If he keeps this up, he’s going to put himself in a position to help this team. But I don’t think we’re at that moment in time yet where we can say that he’s graduated Triple-A. But again, we’re constantly having internal discussions about all of those guys down there because they’re all performing.”
DL Hall
Preseason prime 100 rank: No. 75
Current prime 100 rank: No. 67
For the second time in about two weeks, the Orioles introduced up a left-handed starter from Triple-A to supply size out of their bullpen. Tuesday, it was Drew Rom, their preseason No. 24 prospect. During their sequence in Detroit, it was Hall, introduced as much as be the twenty seventh man for a doubleheader. Elias mentioned the Orioles would “definitely” think about using Hall in that trend once more, although they continue to be tantalized by his beginning potential.
“While we’ve got some big ambitions and some big development goals for DL Hall, on a day-to-day basis, we’re looking at him in that way, too,” Elias mentioned. “It’s sort of something we’re going to balance throughout the year, and if a guy like Rom comes up and helps our bullpen for a while, it doesn’t mean we’re no longer developing him as a starting pitcher. So we’ll just try to balance all that.”
Jordan Westburg
Preseason prime 100 rank: No. 76
Current prime 100 rank: No. 68
Although the Orioles created a 40-man roster opening by designating catcher Luis Torrens for task and misplaced a right-handed-hitting infielder by inserting Urías on the injured record, they held off selling Westburg, who’s placing collectively fairly the Triple-A resume. Westburg, 24, was drafted thirtieth total in 2020 and is hitting .333/.395/.593 with eight dwelling runs in 26 video games at Triple-A Norfolk, taking part in second, shortstop, third and the nook outfield. Last season, Westburg hit .265 with an .852 OPS, 27 dwelling runs and 106 RBIs between Double-A and Triple-A to be named the group’s minor league participant of the yr. He entered Tuesday with one fewer Triple-A plate appearances than Adley Rutschman and Henderson had mixed earlier than their main league debuts.
“He’s been a great performer in Triple-A,” Elias mentioned. “An active topic of conversation, dating back even into last year, and this is a move that we had to make pretty quickly last night. But certainly, he’s somebody that we’re still monitoring and discussing and paying very close attention to on a nightly basis. And I think, right now, with the opponents we’ve got here coming up, we’re going with this group, but we’ll keep an eye on all those guys, him included.”
Heston Kjerstad
Preseason prime 100 rank: Unranked
Current prime 100 rank: No. 98
Kjerstad additionally trails infielders Connor Norby and Joey Ortiz among the many Orioles’ prospects, however his return to prime 100 standing speaks to how spectacular he’s been in current months. After a coronary heart situation and extreme hamstring pressure induced him to overlook two years after Baltimore drafted him second total in 2020, the 24-year-old was the Most Valuable Player of the Arizona Fall League, one of many stars of the Orioles’ spring camp and has dominated at Double-A Bowie, hitting .300 with a 1.044 OPS and slugging eight dwelling runs whereas taking part in the nook outfield and first base.
“It’s remarkable what he’s doing with the outage that he had,” Elias mentioned. “I think it was two years off, give or take, and that’s a long time to go without seeing pitching. But also he was restricted from general physical activities for a long time. That can’t be underestimated, as well. And he’s been one of the best hitters in Double-A so far and was equally as good in major league spring training, so I view it as a matter of repetitions, in terms of, if he keeps doing this, how much longer before he needs a new challenge.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com