DL Hall

Injury Notes: Marte, Guzman, Guerrero, O’Hearn, Hall

By Mark Polishuk | March 12, 2023 at 7:22pm CDT

Starling Marte will undergo further tests on Monday after being hit in the head by an Elvin Rodriguez pitch in today’s game. Marte was able to walk off the field by himself and initial concussion tests were negative, yet the Mets will naturally be very careful in monitoring any sort of head-related injury.

It was only Marte’s second game of Spring Training, as he didn’t take the field until last Friday due to the Mets’ desire to slowly bring Marte back up to speed following groin surgery in November. The club expected the outfielder to be ready for Opening Day, and that should still be the case, if Marte has indeed escaped injury after today’s scary incident.

More injury updates from around baseball…

Ronald Guzman left today’s Cactus League game in obvious pain after throwing a pitch, and Giants manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Evan Webeck of the Bay Area News Group) that Guzman was undergoing tests for discomfort in his forearm. It’s an ominous turn of events for Guzman, who has been one of Spring Training’s more interesting stories as he pursues a new chapter in his career as a two-way player. The former Rangers/Yankees first baseman inked a minor league deal with the Giants, in large part because San Francisco was the only team willing to give Guzman a chance to pitch.
Knee inflammation kept Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from participating in the World Baseball Classic, and the Blue Jays slugger hasn’t played in any spring games since last Friday. However, Guerrero has been facing live pitching and taking part in fielding drills, and manager John Schneider told reporters (including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) that Guerrero reported no issues after running the bases. If all goes well after another base-running session tomorrow, the Jays will have a better idea of when Guerrero can get back to game action. With over two weeks to go until Opening Day, it doesn’t yet appear as though Guerrero is in danger of missing any of the regular season, but more will be known once the first baseman is fully ramped up.
Orioles outfielder/first baseman Ryan O’Hearn is day to day with a sore knee. The injury is a minor setback in what has been a red-hot Spring Training for O’Hearn, as he tries to win a job on Baltimore’s bench. In other Orioles news, manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski and other media that DL Hall threw “extremely well” during a live batting practice session, and is slated for another live BP on Tuesday. Hall’s progress in camp has been slowed by lower-back problems and he has yet to pitch in a game, so the southpaw’s only chance of making the Opening Day roster is as a reliever.

AL East Notes: Hall, Vavra, White

By Simon Hampton | March 4, 2023 at 4:12pm CDT

Baltimore’s opening day rotation picture is a little clearer now after manager Brandon Hyde revealed he doesn’t believe DL Hall will be stretched out enough to handle a starting workload to begin the season, per Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun. Hall had been a candidate to take a spot in a rotation that is very much up in the air behind Cole Irvin and Kyle Gibson but was experiencing lower back discomfort late in the off-season, which appears to have put him a bit behind schedule.

The question now for the Orioles is whether they option Hall to Triple-A to begin the season, or have him pitch out of the bullpen in the big leagues. Hall had a brief stint in the big leagues last season, working to a 5.93 ERA over 11 appearances (one start). That did come with a completely unsustainable .436 BABIP, and Hall did post a quality 29.7% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate to indicate he did pitch much better than the 5.93 ERA suggests.

Hall was competing for, presumably, one of three available rotation spots. Kyle Gibson and Cole Irvin look like certainties to take two spots, and Hall, Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, Kyle Bradish, Austin Voth and others were candidates to fill the remaining spots. With Hall now removed from that equation, it does increase the chances that top pitching prospect Rodriguez cracks the opening day rotation.

Here’s some more notes from around the AL East:

Sticking with the Orioles to begin with, and Ruiz reports that utilityman Terrin Vavra is day-to-day with left shoulder discomfort. According to Hyde, Vavra experienced soreness while taking pre-game batting practice. There doesn’t appear to be too much reason for concern given we’re still a little under a month away from the start of the regular season. Vavra slashed .258/.340/.337 across 103 plate appearances during his rookie year last season. He spent time in the infield and outfield, and projects as a useful versatile bench option for the Orioles going into the new season.
Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports that Mitch White is a few weeks behind schedule but is feeling good and threw a side session today as he builds back from a shoulder impingement suffered in January. White had been a contender for Toronto’s fifth rotation spot, and while there’s nothing definitive ruling him out of that, the fact he’s still a few weeks behind schedule would suggest it’s unlikely he’ll be stretched out enough to be in the rotation picture by opening day. That would mean Yusei Kikuchi, who lost his rotation spot last year, would be the favorite to join Alek Manoah, Chris Bassitt, Kevin Gausman and Jose Berrios in the Blue Jays’ rotation. White, acquired from the Dodgers last summer, struggled to a 7.74 ERA over 43 innings for Toronto last season. That came after a much more promising 56 innings of work with the Dodgers earlier in the season, whereby White worked to a 3.70 ERA. His peripherals were largely the same across both teams, and indeed his FIP for the Dodgers of 3.95 was actually worse than the 3.76 mark he had with the Blue Jays. White is out of minor league options.

Big Hype Prospects: Volpe, Wesneski, O’Hoppe, Harrison, Brujan

By Brad Johnson | February 20, 2023 at 1:33pm CDT

This week on Big Hype Prospects, we continue our offseason tradition of focusing on players tangentially linked to news and rumors.

Five BHPs In The News

Anthony Volpe, 21, SS, NYY (AAA)
(AA) 497 PA, 18 HR, 44 SB, .251/.348/.472

True to their word, the Yankees never got around to solving their left field opening with an external addition. Nor did they upgrade Josh Donaldson after the veteran turned in his worst-hitting performance since 2012. The club has opted to go with internal depth like Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Also factoring into the calculus is the imminent arrival of Volpe.

The 21-year-old slugger has only 99 plate appearances of experience at Triple-A and posted a modest 91 wRC+ at the level. While minor league data isn’t comprehensive, there’s evidence Volpe was too patient with pitches inside the strike zone. A repeat at the level makes sense given the personnel already on hand in the Majors. It would require an incredible Spring Training for Volpe to crack the Opening Day lineup. In the interim, with Gleyber Torres participating in the World Baseball Classic, Volpe should have more opportunities for middle infield game reps.

Hayden Wesneski, 25, SP, CHC (MLB)
(AAA) 110.1 IP, 8.6 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 3.92 ERA

With Kyle Hendricks expected to begin the season on the injured list, the Cubs have a battle for the fifth rotation slot. The most intriguing entrant is Wesneski, a right-hander who showed a knack for avoiding hard contact in a brief 33-inning trial last season. Wesneski features a five-pitch repertoire including three distinct fastballs, a slider, and a changeup. While he doesn’t project to run rampant strikeout totals in the Majors, Wesneski is stingy about allowing hits and walks. It’s a Jameson Taillon-like profile, and it’s probably no accident the Cubs acquired both players in the last calendar year.

Logan O’Hoppe, 23, C, LAA (MLB)
(AA) 447 PA, 26 HR, 7 SB, .283/.416/.544

Acquired at the previous trade deadline for formerly hyped prospect Brandon Marsh, O’Hoppe will compete with Max Stassi for a starting role on the thirsty Angels. Although the right-handed hitter has yet to play in Triple-A, the Angels gave him a vote of confidence in the form of 16 Major League plate appearances last fall. O’Hoppe took advantage of hitter-friendly conditions to torch Double-A pitching. His 2022 breakout included improved plate discipline without sacrificing aggression against pitches in the heart of the zone. This is a relatively rare adjustment. Should he seize the Opening Day job, keep an eye on his plate discipline metrics. If he retains his selective aggression, O’Hoppe could emerge as one of the top catchers in the league.

Kyle Harrison, 21, SP, SFG (AA)
(AA) 84 IP, 13.61 K/9, 4.18 BB/9, 3.11 ERA

Including High-A, Harrison threw a total of 113 innings. He should approach a full complement of 30 starts this season – perhaps with a mix of longer and shorter outings to manage his workload. The Giants put together a deep pool of Major League starters. In addition to the presumed starting five of Logan Webb, Alex Cobb, Sean Manaea, Ross Stripling, and Alex Wood, Jakob Junis and Anthony Desclafani await in the bullpen.

While Harrison finds himself behind a number of very qualified starters, the pool of viable minor leaguer replacements is relatively thin. This is also a group of veterans who (mostly) have familiarity with major injuries. This apparent depth could evaporate at a moment’s notice, offering a temporary opportunity for Harrison to audition. As of last look, command is Harrison’s greatest weakness. Most scouts think he’ll develop in this regard. If not, his stuff is sufficient to support him in short-burst starter or elite fireman roles.

Vidal Brujan, 25, 2B/OF, TBR (MLB)
(MLB) 162 PA, 3 HR, 5 SB, .163/.228/.259

Although technically no longer a prospect, Brujan still fits a looser definition of an “unestablished, young player.” He’s also received plenty of hype over the years. Brujan doesn’t fit cleanly on this iteration of the Rays roster, leading MLBTR staffer Anthony Franco to consider him a trade candidate. The switch-hitter has struggled to make impactful contact at the top level, though he has posted an above-average batting line at every minor league level – aside from nine plate appearances at Low-A in 2016. At one point, prospect watchers secretly hoped Brujan would flip a power switch like similarly-built infielder Jose Ramirez. Now it’s looking likelier Brujan settles as a defense-first regular with a contact-forward hitting approach.

Three More

Thad Ward, WSH (26): Although I’ve yet to hear of the Nationals planning to use Ward as a starter this season, the absence of Stephen Strasburg creates a tempting opportunity. Ward has served as a starter throughout his minor league career and profiles as a potential rotation regular. The Nationals are in a state of internal evaluation and have little reason to withhold starts from their Rule 5 pick.

James Outman, LAD (25): After spending much of the offseason with a clear path to a starting role, Outman now finds himself locked behind David Peralta. As a fellow left-handed hitter, Outman faces an uphill battle for regular reps.

DL Hall, BAL (24): Hall is currently behind schedule due to lower back discomfort. The oft-injured southpaw already looked questionable to make the Opening Day rotation. This setback only increases the risk of a minor league assignment. While Hall undoubtedly could play as a Major League reliever, the club is still assessing his potential as a starter.

Orioles Provide Health Updates On Several Pitchers

By Steve Adams | February 16, 2023 at 10:30am CDT

Orioles general manager Mike Elias met with the media as pitchers and catchers report to the team’s spring training facility in Sarasota, Fla., and the GM provided a handful of less-than-ideal updates regarding his pitching staff. Most notably, righty Dillon Tate sustained a forearm/flexor strain in late November and is expected to miss at least the first month of the season (Twitter link via Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun). Tate will open the year on the 15-day injured list.

Meanwhile, closer Felix Bautista has spent the winter rehabbing from the left knee injury that ended his season and has also been on a strengthening program for his right shoulder (Twitter link via MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko). His spring debut will be delayed, so he’s not a lock to be ready by Opening Day. Top prospect DL Hall is also behind schedule after experiencing some lower lumber discomfort about three weeks ago (via Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner). Elias didn’t rule out the possibility that southpaw Nick Vespi, who underwent surgery to repair a hernia in early January, would be ready for Opening Day, but that’s not a given either.

Tate’s injury status is presently the largest blow to the club, as he quietly stepped up as a high-end setup piece for Bautista in 2022. The former No. 4 overall draft pick logged a career-high 73 2/3 innings while recording a tidy 3.05 ERA. Tate picked up 16 holds and five saves, offsetting a below-average 20.5% strikeout rate with excellent walk and ground-ball rates of 5.5% and 57.1%, respectively.

The Orioles and Tate agreed to a $1.5MM salary earlier in the offseason, avoiding an arbitration hearing in Tate’s first trip through the process. He’s under control through the 2025 campaign and had previously looked to be in the running for Baltimore’s top setup option to Bautista. At least in the season’s early stages, some of those high-leverage innings that would’ve gone to Tate will now instead fall to veteran Mychal Givens — who returned to the O’s on a one-year free agent deal this winter — and lefty Cionel Perez.

Speaking of Bautista, there’s no firm indication that he’ll miss any regular-season time just yet, but even a short-term absence would be a notable hit to the bullpen. The 27-year-old hadn’t pitched above A-ball until 2021, when he posted a combined 1.54 ERA across three minor league levels, topping out with just 18 1/3 frames in Triple-A. That, apparently, was all the upper-minors seasoning he needed; Bautista not only made the Orioles’ Opening Day roster in 2022 but almost immediately broke out as one of the game’s top relievers.

In 65 2/3 innings last season, Bautista notched an outstanding 2.19 ERA and tallied the first 15 saves of his career. He averaged an obscene 99.3 mph on both his four-seamer and his sinker, which played a huge role in the right-hander’s gaudy 34.8% strikeout rate. Unlike many flamethrowers who lack any semblance of precision with their high-octane heaters, Bautista turned in a 9.1% walk rate that matched the league-average walk rate for relief pitchers. Obviously, it’s discouraging to hear that last year’s knee issue required what was apparently a relatively lengthy rehab process, but to this point the O’s haven’t broadcast any reason for major concern, either.

As for Hall, the back troubles could throw a wrench into his bid for a spot in the team’s rotation to begin the season. The former first-round pick (No. 21 in 2017) has stated at multiple points this winter that his goal is to win a starting job to begin the season. Given his prospect status and the general uncertainty on the Orioles’ staff behind Kyle Gibson and Cole Irvin, that seemed plausible, but expectations should likely be tempered until it becomes clearer as to when Hall’s spring regiment can begin in earnest.

The 24-year-old Hall made his MLB debut last season, starting one game and making ten relief appearances. In 13 1/3 frames, he was tagged for nine runs on 17 hits and six walks. The resulting 5.93 ERA was an eyesore, but Hall flashed huge strikeout potential by fanning 19 of the 64 batters he faced (29.7%). He hasn’t any problems missing bats in the minors, either, evidenced by a mammoth 43.4% strikeout rate in 35 1/3 career Double-A frames as well as a 36.1% mark in 76 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level.

Where Hall has struggled — and struggled repeatedly — is with his command. The lefty has walked an untenable 13.4% of his opponents across parts of five minor league seasons, including an even more troublesome 14.2% mark in Triple-A. That lack of command has prompted many scouting reports to peg Hall for a future in the bullpen, but the O’s are understandably intent on giving him a legitimate opportunity to stick as a starter. He’s been used almost exclusively as a starter in the minors, with 69 of his 77 total appearances coming out of the rotation.

If Hall is behind schedule to the point that he can’t be ready for a big league rotation spot early in the year, that’ll create additional opportunities for Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer, Tyler Wells, Spenser Watkins, Bruce Zimmermann, Mike Baumann and top prospect Grayson Rodriguez. That said, so long as Hall’s back injury doesn’t prove too serious, he’ll likely get an opportunity early in the season. He and Rodriguez are the organization’s top two pitching prospects, and while Rodriguez (arguably the sport’s top all-around pitching prospect) is typically held in higher regard, Hall nevertheless landed in the No. 75 spot on Baseball America’s 2023 Top 100 prospect rankings.

AL East Notes: Orioles, DL Hall, Red Sox

By Simon Hampton | February 4, 2023 at 9:53am CDT

The Orioles took a major step forward last season, and now general manager Mike Elias has declared their rebuild over.

“I believe that our rebuild is behind us. We’ve got an incredible chance now to be a very, very competitive team for years,” Elias told reporters, including Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com.

That team will depend on the performance of it’s young core, led by Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and soon to include Grayson Rodriguez. Yet while the team is stocked with exciting young talent Orioles fans may have some reason to feel a little disappointed by the team’s modest acquisitions in the off-season thus far.

They’ve so far brought in starters Kyle Gibson and Cole Irvin, added reliever Mychal Givens, infielder Adam Frazier and catcher James McCann. While that group can all help the Orioles it’s not the splashy addition some might have been hoping for as the O’s look to compete in the tough AL East, yet Elias isn’t ruling out further additions by trade or in free agency.

“There are quality free agents remaining. We’re staying in touch in them. We’re still pursuing opportunities. There are some players on the free-agent market that interest us,” Elias said.

Given the dwindling options in free agency, it’s likely any signing would be more of a depth piece rather than an impact player. Baltimore was connected to free agent starter Michael Wacha throughout the off-season, but the addition of Irvin would seemingly make any more rotation additions unlikely. They’ve also been reported to be in the market for a defensive-minded outfielder.

Here’s a couple more notes from the AL East:

Sticking with the Orioles to begin with, Elias says there are 12 players in the mix for the starting rotation come Opening Day. Gibson and Irvin are locks, while Elias has already said he expects top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez to make the team’s rotation out of camp, so that’d leave nine players competing for the final two spots. One of them will be prospect DL Hall, with Elias saying he’ll have a chance to compete for a rotation spot in the spring. Hall came in at 84th on Keith Law’s recently published top-100 prospect list. He did get a brief cup of coffee in the big leagues last year, but it’s possible the Orioles look to keep him at Triple-A at least to begin the season.
MLBTR’s Steve Adams took a deeper look at Baltimore’s rotation options recently, but other candidates include Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer, Tyler Wells, Austin Voth and Spenser Watkins.
The Red Sox won’t be aggressive in seeking further upgrades to their roster, but they are at least keeping the door open to making a move, particularly in the middle-infield, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said the team likes the group they’ve got, so it seems likely that further moves would be minor league deals or bench pieces. Enrique Hernandez and Adalberto Mondesi are slated to handle the bulk of the middle-infield reps in 2023, with Christian Arroyo the top option off the bench.

Sorting Through The Orioles’ Rotation Options

By Steve Adams | February 2, 2023 at 4:59pm CDT

The Orioles headed into the winter intent on adding a pair of veterans to the rotation, and while there was a substantial layoff between their first and second additions, with Kyle Gibson signing a one-year deal back on Dec. 5 and Cole Irvin not joining the staff until last Friday’s trade. That gives the O’s a pair of veterans who are plenty capable of eating up innings while still also leaving a fairly wide-open window for several younger arms to pitch their way into the team’s plans.

In all likelihood, the Orioles will wind up using ten or more starters over the course of the season. It’s commonplace for teams to cycle through far more than the five (or six) members of the Opening Day rotation — particularly younger teams like Baltimore, where the rotation will be composed primarily of yet-unproven starters and/or prospects whose workloads will be handled with care.

Locks

Kyle Gibson, RHP: Whether by design or by happenstance, the decision to bring in Gibson over 2022 staff innings leader Jordan Lyles wound up being a cost-neutral gambit, which will lead to inevitable comparisons between the two. The Orioles bought Lyles’ $11MM club option out for $1MM, then turned around and invested the exact same $10MM they saved into a one-year deal with Gibson.

The 35-year-old Gibson, like Lyles, is a workhorse by today’s standards. He’s averaged 29.875 starts per 162-game season, dating back to 2014, and made a full slate of 12 starts in the shortened 2020 season. He has a below-average strikeout rate with solid command and above-average ground-ball tendencies. The O’s are going to count on him for 30-plus starts and 160-plus innings, although if they’re not in contention when the trade deadline rolls around, it’s easy to see them putting Gibson on the market.

Cole Irvin, LHP: For the second time in as many weeks, I’m listing Irvin as a “lock” in a team’s rotation while profiling their various options on the back end of the staff. As noted on that rundown of the A’s rotation, there was always a chance that Irvin could be moved, though a midseason deal felt likelier. The O’s instead jumped to add Irvin as a durable source of innings.

Over the past two seasons, he’s made 62 starts of 4.11 ERA ball with a well below-average 16.8% strikeout rate but a superb 5.2% walk rate as a member of Oakland’s rotation. That’ll be the type of production they’re looking for not just this year but for the next several seasons. Irvin is controlled for another four years and won’t even be arbitration-eligible until next offseason.

There’s some risk in acquiring Irvin, who’s had far more success at the spacious Oakland Coliseum than on the road. Dating back to Opening Day 2021, the lefty owns a 3.44 ERA pitching in Oakland, where opponents have batted just .243/.288/.355 against him in nearly 800 plate appearances. In that same timeframe, Irvin’s road ERA is a more alarming 4.88, and opponents have pounced on him for a .285/.330/.491 slash. The O’s recently made their left field dimensions quite a bit more pitcher-friendly, but Irvin will still be facing some righty-heavy lineups within the AL East.

Pitchers who made 15+ starts in 2022

Dean Kremer, RHP: Kremer, 27, finished second on the Orioles with 125 1/3 innings pitched and notched a tidy 3.23 ERA last season despite a tepid 17% strikeout rate. Kremer, acquired from the Dodgers in the Manny Machado trade, doesn’t miss bats or keep the ball on the ground, but he has a better-than-average walk rate. Any regression in his 0.79 HR/9 mark or his 77.8% left-on-base rate — he entered the season at 2.12 and 65.1%, respectively — could spike his ERA closer to his 4.54 SIERA. That said, Kremer at least looks the part of a back-of-the-rotation arm. And, now that he’s poised to take on a larger workload, he should at least be a decent source of average-ish innings.

Kyle Bradish, RHP: One of four minor leaguers acquired in the trade sending Dylan Bundy to the Angels, Bradish ranked third on the 2022 O’s with 117 2/3 innings pitched. He missed more bats and generated more grounders than Kremer but was also more prone to both walks and home runs. Bradish’s 4.90 ERA isn’t much to look at, but while fielding-independent metrics feel Kremer had some good fortune in ’22, the opposite is true of Bradish, whose FIP, SIERA, etc. are all quite a bit lower than his earned run average. Both pitchers seem capable of turning in an ERA in the low- or mid-4.00s over 150-plus innings.

Spenser Watkins, RHP: A former 30th-round pick by the Tigers, Watkins signed with the O’s as a minor league free agent in Jan. 2021 and debuted as a 29-year-old rookie later that season. He tallied 105 1/3 innings for the 2022 Orioles, posting a 4.70 ERA along the way. Among the 156 pitchers with at least 150 innings thrown since 2021, no one has posted a lower strikeout rate than Watkins’ 13.7%. His 7.9% swinging-strike rate is fifth-lowest among that group. Watkins has good command and has posted solid numbers in Triple-A over the past two seasons, but he feels like more of a depth option based on his big league work to date.

Tyler Wells, RHP: Baltimore’s most effective starter for much of the 2022 season, Wells carried a 3.09 ERA through his first 16 starts but needed a .225 average on balls in play to get there. That minimal BABIP and a 16.7% strikeout rate made the ERA look fairly dubious, and Wells indeed struggled mightily over his final few starts of the season. It should be noted that he missed more than a month due to a side injury and landed back on the shelf due to shoulder trouble to close out the year, but he nonetheless yielded a 7.39 ERA over his final 28 innings (seven starts). None of Wells, Kremer or Bradish miss bats at a particularly high level, nor do they possess elite command or ground-ball tendencies. They each have some appealing traits, however, and any of this trio could be a viable fourth/fifth starter.

Austin Voth, RHP: Continuing on that trend, Voth is another fly-ball pitcher with passable but not eye-catching strikeout and walk numbers. Claimed off waivers from the Nationals in early June, Voth made 17 starts and five relief appearances, pitching to a 3.04 ERA in that time. He’s not going to keep stranding 82% of the baserunners he allows — that’s 10 percentage points above the league average and above Voth’s career mark prior to 2022 — but he has the makings of a back-end starter, as he’s shown on occasion with the Nats in the past. Voth is out of minor league options, so he’s going to be on the roster either as a starter or as a swingman.

The Top Prospects

Grayson Rodriguez, RHP: The arm on which so many Orioles fans are pinning their hopes, the 23-year-old Rodriguez might have already made his big league debut were it not for a lat strain that sidelined him for half the 2022 season. Rodriguez, selected with the No. 11 pick of the 2018 draft, ranks among the sport’s top 15 overall prospects at each of Baseball America (6), MLB.com (7), ESPN (12) and The Athletic (15). A 6’5″, 220-pound righty armed with a four-pitch mix that’s headlined by an upper-90s heater and elite changeup, Rodriguez has genuine front-of-the-rotation potential.

Rodriguez is regarded as one of the sport’s five best pitching prospects, and now that the new CBA actually reward teams for promoting prospects via potential draft compensation based on Rookie of the Year voting, Rodriguez will have a legitimate chance to make the Opening Day rotation. The O’s may want to be cautious, as that lat strain limited him to just 75 2/3 innings in 2022 and a jump to a full season of MLB starts would probably more than double that total. Rodriguez might be the organization’s best starter right now, even though he hasn’t made his MLB debut. He posted a combined 2.62 ERA across three minor league levels and did so with a mammoth 36.6% strikeout rate against a 9.3% walk rate. He’s going to make his MLB debut in 2023 — it’s just a matter of when.

DL Hall, LHP: Unlike Rodriguez, Hall has already made his debut at the MLB level, although it didn’t go as the team had hoped. The former No. 21 overall pick pitched in 11 games — 10 of them relief appearances — but was tagged for nine runs on 17 hits and six walks. The resulting 5.93 ERA wasn’t particularly encouraging, but Hall fanned 19 opponents (29.7%) and issued walks at a lower clip in the Majors than he had in Triple-A (9.4% versus 14.2%).

Command issues have long been the primary flaw scouts see in Hall — a 6’2″ lefty with a heater that averaged 96.4 mph during that MLB debut and multiple plus or better secondary pitches. Baseball America pegs Hall’s fastball as an 80 on the 20-80 scale, while also crediting him with a plus-plus slider, a plus curve and a plus changeup. Unfortunately, all of that is accompanied by well below-average command. Hall has walked 13.4% of his opponents in the minors, and in his 18 minor league starts this past season, he completed six innings just once. Some of that is the Orioles being cautious with an arm they hold in high regard, but Hall averaged 75 pitches per outing despite averaging under four innings per start. Certainly, he could stand to be more efficient.

Last year’s 98 innings were a career-high for Hall, who’s also missed ample time due to injury in his pro career. Between the lack of innings and the shaky command, many scouting reports feel he’s likelier to be a dynamic reliever than a starter, but the O’s will likely give him some considerable leash as a starter because the ceiling is so high.

Other options on the 40-man

Mike Baumann, RHP: The 27-year-old Baumann was one of the organization’s best pitching prospects as recently as two years ago, but a flexor strain cost him time and he hasn’t topped 100 innings in either of the past two seasons. The O’s have begun working Baumann out of the bullpen more frequently, and given the number of rotation options the organization has, that could be a better path to the big leagues for him. There’s benefit to keeping him stretched out as a starter, of course, but Baumann made just 13 starts to 20 relief appearances last year.

Bruce Zimmermann, LHP: A local product the O’s acquired in the trade that sent Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day to the Braves back in 2018, Zimmermann has pitched in parts of three seasons for the O’s but never posted an ERA south of 5.00. In 145 MLB frames, he carries a 5.69 ERA (5.78 FIP, 4.43 SIERA) with a low 17.6% strikeout rate but a strong 5.7% walk rate. Zimmermann has averaged just 91.3 mph on his heater, and opponents have teed off on both that pitch and his changeup, clubbing an average of 2.23 homers per nine innings against the southpaw. Zimmermann still has a pair of option years remaining and has been good in Triple-A over the past two seasons, but he needs to find a way to curtail his issues with the long ball.

Drew Rom, LHP: The O’s selected Rom to the 40-man roster back in November to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. The 2018 fourth-rounder split the 2022 season between Double-A and Triple-A, logging a combined 4.43 ERA with a 27.1% strikeout rate, 8.9% walk rate and solid ground-ball tendencies. He’s not an overpowering lefty, but he’s pretty close to big league ready and the O’s clearly felt he’d have been poached in the Rule 5 had he gone unprotected. There are a lot of candidates for innings in Baltimore, but he’ll be in the mix to debut this year.

Recovering from injury

John Means, LHP: Baltimore’s best starter from 2019-21, Means logged a 3.73 ERA in 345 1/3 innings during that time and was named the Orioles’ Opening Day starter in 2022. He made just two starts last year before an elbow injury shelved him, however, and Means underwent Tommy John surgery in late April. That’ll take him out of the equation early in the year, but the O’s can hope for Means to return at some point over the summer. He only has two years of club control remaining.

—

As things stand, the Orioles have two veteran locks (Gibson, Irvin), a series of righties who achieved solid results despite middling K/BB and batted-ball profiles in 2022 (Kremer, Bradish, Wells, Voth) and a pair electric prospects (Rodriguez, Hall) — the former of which is arguably the top pitching prospect in baseball.

It’s a promising group, but the O’s will need to convert on Rodriguez and either see Hall improve his command or another young arm (e.g. Cade Povich) take a pronounced step forward in 2023. Baltimore’s system is rife with high-end bats but less stocked with arms. A rotation featuring Rodriguez (assuming he hits the ground running) and a host of No. 4 types is enough to compete, but it’s still a bit surprising that the team didn’t land a higher-profile arm this winter in an effort to bolster the starting staff. Perhaps the O’s are confident that an incumbent arm is on the cusp of a breakout, but right now Baltimore’s lineup looks more formidable than its rotation.

Orioles Select Jesus Aguilar, Designate Richie Martin For Assignment

By Steve Adams | September 1, 2022 at 12:09pm CDT

The Orioles announced another series of roster moves Thursday, selecting the contract of first baseman Jesus Aguilar (whom they signed to a minor league deal yesterday), recalling top pitching prospect DL Hall from Triple-A Norfolk and designating infielder Richie Martin for assignment.

An All-Star when he hit 35 home runs for the 2018 Brewers, the now-32-year-old Aguilar was with the Marlins from 2020 up until a couple weeks ago, when Miami designated him for assignment and released him. Aguilar was a solid middle-of-the-order bat for the Fish in 2020-21 but has stumbled to a .236/.286/.388 batting line through 456 plate appearances this season — including a dismal .188/.246/.347 output since the All-Star break.

Ugly as those numbers are, Aguilar hit a combined .262/.338/.476 in just shy of 2000 plate appearances from 2017-21, so there’s a track record of solid productivity in his bat. The O’s will hope that he can return to form and provide a boost to a lineup that has struggled to score runs of late. If Aguilar can indeed recapture that form, he’ll help to replace the production of Trey Mancini, whom the Orioles shipped to Houston at the trade deadline despite being within striking distance of a Wild Card berth. Mancini hit .268/.347/.404 in 401 plate appearances this year prior to being traded.

Hall, the No. 21 overall pick back in 2017, made his big league debut earlier in 2022 but was tagged for five runs in 3 2/3 innings that day. He’s had an uneven season in the minors this year, pitching to a combined 4.48 ERA with a huge 36.6% strikeout rate but an ugly 13.4% walk rate in 84 1/3 innings between one start in High-A, one in Double-A and another 22 appearances (18 starts) in Triple-A.

Those shaky numbers notwithstanding, Hall still ranks among the game’s top 100 prospects due to a fastball that reaches triple digits and a collection of offspeed pitches that all have the potential to be plus offerings. This year’s 13.4% walk rate is an exact match with his career mark in the minors, however, which underscores the ongoing location issues he’s battled throughout his time as a professional.

Martin, 27, was the top pick in the 2018 Rule 5 Draft. A former first-rounder of the Athletics, Baltimore pounced on the opportunity to add him to the organization and hoped he could eventually carve out a role on the big league club. That hasn’t happened yet, however, as Martin floundered through a rookie season in which he couldn’t be optioned due to his Rule 5 status, hitting .208/.260/.322 in 2019. He’s only had 138 Major League plate appearances during that time, due in no small part to a fluke pair of broken wrists — both his left and his right — which obviously led to considerable time on the injured list.

Overall, Martin is a .212/.261/.311 hitter in 447 Major League plate appearances, and his .234/.333/.349 slash in 390 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level aren’t all that much better. It’s fair to wonder whether his development would’ve turned out differently were it not for that pair of fractures, but as a 27-year-old former prospect on a team that’s looking to turn the corner and emerge from a years-long rebuilding effort, Martin’s place on the 40-man roster has increasingly looked to be on shaky ground. He’ll be placed on outright waivers or released within a week’s time, as he’s ineligible to be traded at this point in the season.

Orioles Face September Call-Up Decisions For Multiple Top Prospects

By TC Zencka | August 27, 2022 at 10:32am CDT

The Orioles – the surprise of the 2022 season – have some decisions to make about their September roster. The biggest decisions center on top prospects Grayson Rodriguez, DL Hall, and Gunnar Henderson, the 56th, 4th, and top-ranked prospects in the game, per Baseball America.

Hall and Henderson are under consideration to join the big league club when the rosters expand, and perhaps sooner, so says General Manager Mike Elias, tweets Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Sun. The plan has been for Hall to win the right to join the bullpen in September when rosters expand, but the evaluation process is dynamic, and nothing is guaranteed for the southpaw, who made his debut earlier this season. (It’s worth noting that, regardless of what happens this year, the plan remains for Hall to join the rotation next year.)

Fans are certainly eager to see this cluster of high-ceiling prospects in action, but they can put at least a modicum of trust in the process, as compared to seasons past. With the new CBA, the Orioles are freed from some of the service time concerns that have hampered clubs’ decision-making under the prior collective bargaining agreement. With less than 45 service days remaining in the season, Baltimore has no service reasons to keep Henderson or Hall in the minors any longer, notes The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. If they feel the pair can help the big league club as they make a push for the playoffs, we should see them soon.

For Rodriguez, the issue is more a question of health than MLB readiness. He has yet to begin a rehab assignment as he recovers from a lat injury. Per Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com, Elias said, “I’m almost positive that we’re going to see him in real game action before the season’s over. As with any rehab assignment, we’ll start him in the lower minors and then we’ll get him back, hopefully, to the level in which he got injured, and we’ll take it from there.”

Of course, Elias has more to think about than just the individual development of each of these high flyers. With the team unexpectantly pushing for a playoff spot, the Orioles should prioritize fielding the best team possible. Thrusting a young player into a playoff chase for a team that’s been so far from contention for so long is no small decision, however. Suddenly, the lights are bright in Baltimore. Elias must weigh the current needs of the team against the developmental hurdles in front of Henderson, Hall, and Rodriguez. Given the process and plan that Elias has instilled in this organization, he’s likely to want to maintain the long view, even amidst a playoff race.

For now, Orioles fans will have to content themselves with watching new face-of-the-franchise Adley Rutschman lead this team. Thus far, Rutschman has done everything promised to keep this Cinderella squad in the hunt. The 24-year-old backstop has slashed .253/.363/.442 with eight home runs across 320 plate appearances. Those numbers are 34 percent better than average, as evidenced by a 134 wRC+, which isn’t just remarkable for a catcher, or for a rookie, but for anyone in spikes.

Maybe this will be the new normal for Baltimore, but especially in the AL East, where the competition will be top-shelf year after year, each opportunity for postseason play is precious. If nothing else, August/September baseball should matter in a way that Baltimore fans haven’t seen since the days of Buck Showalter, Manny Machado, and Zack Britton. If the kids come to play, all the better.

AL East Notes: Hall, Springer, Franco, Ramirez, Stanton

By Mark Polishuk | August 14, 2022 at 8:02am CDT

Orioles pitching prospect DL Hall made his Major League debut yesterday, allowing five runs over 3 2/3 innings in an 8-2 loss to the Rays. The outing will act as a cup of coffee for Hall for the time being, as the Orioles will send him back to Triple-A today and transition him to relief pitching. MASNSports.com’s Roch Kubatko writes that the O’s view Hall as an intriguing bullpen option for this season, as a live arm with the potential to work multiple innings in a game.

The move also allows for the Orioles to limit Hall’s innings. With 81 1/3 total frames pitched in the majors and minors this season, Hall is already within sight of his career high of 94 1/3 innings pitched (in 2018 in A-ball). Given Hall’s injury history and the fact that he tossed only 31 2/3 IP last year, Baltimore is trying to both manage Hall’s health and capitalize on his short-term potential to help the Orioles’ surprising postseason bid.

Orioles Promote DL Hall

By Steve Adams and Anthony Franco | August 13, 2022 at 10:32am CDT

TODAY: The Orioles officially announced Hall’s promotion. Left-hander Nick Vespi was optioned to Triple-A to make room on Baltimore’s active roster.

AUGUST 12, 9:41pm: Hall will start Saturday’s game, Hyde confirmed to reporters (including Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball). Kostka first suggested as much this afternoon.

2:59pm: Top pitching prospect DL Hall is traveling to meet the Orioles in St. Petersburg for their upcoming series against the Rays, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (Twitter link). Manager Brandon Hyde confirmed that Hall was being promoted but suggested the team has yet to decide when he’ll first pitch (via Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Sun).

It’s been a half-decade since Hall entered the organization as the 21st overall pick in the 2017 draft. A Georgia high school product, he received a $3MM signing bonus on the strength of a mid-90s fastball and a curveball that most evaluators considered at least a plus offering. Hall also showed a promising changeup but had some questions about the consistency of strike-throwing ability.

That report — monster raw stuff paired with spotty control — has become perhaps even more extreme during his time in the professional ranks. Baseball America wrote over the offseason that Hall now touches 100 MPH and averages around 97 MPH on his heater. That’s atypical velocity for any starter but particularly rare for a left-hander. Among MLB starters with 30+ innings on the season, Jesus Luzardo and Shane McClanahan are the only southpaws averaging north of 96 MPH (although Carlos Rodon, Blake Snell and Aaron Ashby are all between 95.5 MPH and 96 MPH).

BA credits Hall with two distinct breaking pitches — a mid-80s slider and a somewhat softer curveball — and grades both as at least above-average offerings. The outlet also credits him with the solid changeup he’s long had in his arsenal, giving him one of the better repertoires for any young pitcher. Hall has appeared among BA’s top 60 overall prospects entering each of the past four years, and he earned the #59 ranking on the publication’s latest update from last week.

That elite arsenal has unsurprisingly translated into plenty of whiffs at the minor league level. Hall has fanned more than a third of opponents at every stop since hitting High-A in 2019. That includes a massive 36% strikeout rate through 18 starts with Triple-A Norfolk this season. Among International League pitchers with 50+ frames, only teammate Grayson Rodriguez (who’s widely regarded as the top pitching prospect in the sport) has punched out batters at a better clip.

Unlike Rodriguez, however, Hall has still yet to consistently harness his arsenal. He’s walked upwards of 10% of batters faced at each level and has doled out free passes to 13.9% of opponents in Norfolk. No qualified big league starter has a walk rate anywhere near that high, and it’s the third-highest mark among that group of International League hurlers with 50 or more innings. The free passes, paired with an elevated .340 batting average on balls in play against him, have contributed to a lackluster 4.76 ERA over his first 70 Triple-A innings.

Nevertheless, the Orioles are set to get a look at Hall against big league hitters in what is surprisingly a pivotal series for Baltimore. They’re 58-53 on the year, just half a game behind the Tampa Bay club against which he’s likely to make his debut for the American League’s last Wild Card spot. The next three games are arguably as important as any the franchise has played in over five years. Giving Hall the ball in any of those contests is a strong show of faith in the 23-year-old.

Hall is already on the 40-man roster, having been added last offseason to keep him from being taken in the Rule 5 draft that never wound up happening. He’s in the first of three minor league option years and could certainly bounce between Baltimore and Norfolk over the coming weeks. We’re already well past the date for Hall to get either a full season of service time or enough to have a serious possibility at qualifying for early arbitration as a Super Two player after 2024. Even if he’s in the big leagues from here on out, he won’t reach arbitration until after the 2025 campaign and won’t hit free agency until the 2028-29 offseason. That trajectory could be pushed back further by future options to the minor leagues.

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