Orioles Select Cade Povich

June 6: Baltimore has now formally selected Povich’s contract from Triple-A Norfolk, per a team announcement. Left-hander Nick Vespi was optioned to Norfolk in a corresponding 26-man roster move. The Orioles’ 40-man roster is now at capacity.

June 5: The Orioles are calling up pitching prospect Cade Povich to start tomorrow’s series finale with the Blue Jays, manager Brandon Hyde told the team’s beat (X link via Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner). Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reported this morning (on X) that Povich was meeting the team in Toronto, initially as a member of the taxi squad.

It’s the first call for the 6’3″ left-hander. Povich, a University of Nebraska product, was a third-round pick of the Twins in 2021. He was in High-A in the Minnesota organization when the O’s acquired him at the ’22 deadline. Baltimore sent closer Jorge López, then in the midst of an All-Star season, to the Twin Cities for Yennier Cano, Povich, and two other minor league pitchers.

The move was an unpopular one among the clubhouse and with a large portion of the fanbase considering the O’s were on the fringe of playoff contention. Yet it has become an unquestioned win for Baltimore, as Cano almost immediately blossomed into one of the best relievers in the game. Povich, now 24, is one of the more talented pitchers in their system.

Povich split last season between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk, logging 126 2/3 innings across 28 starts. A cumulative 5.04 earned run average isn’t particularly impressive, but Povich was one of the better strikeout pitchers in the minors. He fanned 171 hitters, behind only Drew Thorpe and Tobias Myers among all minor league pitchers. While that’s partially a reflection of Povich’s durability, his 31.1% strikeout rate was also well above average.

That has continued over 11 starts with Norfolk in 2024, this time leading to better run prevention. Povich has punched out 32.5% of batters faced en route to a 3.18 ERA in 56 2/3 innings. His 9.1% walk rate is a little higher than ideal for a starting pitcher, but it’s an encouraging overall showing just the same.

Povich isn’t the same caliber of prospect as Baltimore’s most touted position players (e.g. Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo). He’s generally viewed by evaluators as a potentially solid starting pitcher. Baseball America and The Athletic’s Keith Law each slotted him in the back half of the O’s top 10 prospects over the offseason.

Law praised Povich’s changeup and curveball, while BA lauds the arm-side run on his fastball. FanGraphs ranks him fifth in the system and as the sport’s #92 prospect overall, with praise for the deception in his delivery and his collection of offspeed pitches. Povich will need to continue improving his strike-throwing, but there’s broad agreement that he has the repertoire to be a big league starter.

He steps into a rotation that lost John Means and swingman Tyler Wells to elbow surgery last week. Baltimore is operating with a starting five of Corbin Burnes, Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, Cole Irvin and Albert Suárez. Righty Dean Kremer is shelved by a triceps strain but could return this month. It’s a strong top three, but the rotation depth is a relative question mark on a very good team that is off to a 39-21 start. The O’s will likely be linked to starting pitchers in trade rumors over the next two months.

Povich will look to make a good initial impression as the front office evaluates their back-end starters before the deadline. He is not on the 40-man roster, but the O’s already have an opening. They’re carrying the maximum 13 pitchers on the active roster, so they will need to send out another pitcher tomorrow.