Suárez to start, Means gets a second opinion, Kremer will be back soon, and more!
Good Morning, Birdland!
It’s only been two games, but the Orioles have seemingly rediscovered their footing in Chicago. Sometimes all you need to give yourself a little confidence boost is a weekend with the worst team in baseball. Neither win has been particularly smooth, but they are wins all the same. Hopefully they can make it three wins in a row tonight.
This is a sneaky big game as Albert Suárez will take the bump for his first start since April 28. The 34-year-old is stepping back into the rotation for now with John Means, Dean Kremer, and Tyler Wells all on the shelf. If he performs well, Suárez could get another extended look as a starter. Kremer should be back relatively soon, but by the time that happens the Orioles may be transitioning to a six-man rotation.
If Suárez struggles, the Orioles will need to look elsewhere for rotation help. There are internal options, but none of them are a guarantee.
There’s Bruce Zimmermann. He has big league starting experience and already occupies a space on the 40-man roster. The Orioles used him in seven MLB games last season, all in relief. He did fine: 4.73 ERA over 13.1 innings. His numbers with Norfolk are OK so far this year: 4.35 ERA, 1.475 WHIP, 39.1 IP. But he isn’t a guy that will instill much confidence in anything more than a one-off spot start.
Beyond that, the O’s could turn to a trio of youngsters in Triple-A. Cade Povich, Chayce McDermott, and Justin Armbruester are all Rule 5-eligible this December, and each of them is likely to be protected from that entire process anyway, so adding them to the 40-man roster now would not be too much of a stretch. But they need to be performing. That’s where the differences pop up.
Povich owns a 2.08 ERA/2.55 FIP and has 65 strikeouts over 47.2 innings this year. The lefty has also ratcheted down his walks from 5.76 BB/9 last year in Triple-A down to 3.21 BB/9 so far in 2024. It’s no wonder that some outlets regard him as the organization’s top pitching prospect, and possibly a “Top 100” talent in all of minor league baseball.
McDermott rose up prospect boards in 2023, his first full season in the Orioles organization. That coincided with a reduction in his home run rate while maintaining his impressive ability to strike hitters out. But walks are still an issue for him. He currently hands out 5.65 free passes per nine innings, undermining his terrific 14.02 strikeouts per nine rate.
Armbruester is already a success story of the Orioles’ player development team. He joined the organization as a fifth-round pick in 2021 that signed for just $100,000. Since then, he has added several ticks to his fastball. That has allowed him to methodically climb the minor league ladder to where he is today. It’s his second go-around at Triple-A, and this time he is hitting some hurdles (9.35 ERA, 5.71 BB/9). There are some things to work on, so he probably won’t make his way to Baltimore just yet.
The Orioles will hope that Suárez can get the job done, and that the rotation can hold things together for the time being. With a front three of Corbin Burnes, Kyle Bradish, and Grayson Rodriguez there is no reason for the team to over-invest in the back of the rotation or to push a prospect before they are ready. The group just needs to be passable. Between Suárez, Kremer, and Cole Irvin, plus the hopeful return of Wells and Means there is enough talent to survive. But if they need to, it does seem like Povich is close to being a viable starting option soon.
Links
John Means Sent For Second Opinion On Forearm Strain | MLB Trade Rumors
Sounds pretty bad, folks!
This, that and the other | Roch Kubatko
We all understand that Gunnar Henderson is good at hitting baseballs, but the historical context that shows just how good he is is pretty insane. The 1998 version of Alex Rodriguez is the only shortstop ever to hit more home runs in the first 50 games of a season. Whew!
Orioles’ Hyde hopes Kremer’s stay on injured list is short | Baltimore Baseball
The skipper isn’t the only one. It sounds similar to the recent Rodriguez IL stint. The Orioles have made it clear that they are going to play it safe with pitchers this year, whether that be with pitch counts or occasional IL decisions. That is probably a wise decision.
Examining the rapid rise of Orioles pitching prospect Luis De León | The Baltimore Banner
There is a long way for De Léon to go, but his skillset is extremely intriguing. How in the world did the Orioles just ignore these types of talents for so, so long?
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Fernando Lunar is 47 today. He was a reserve catcher for the Orioles from 2000 through ‘02.
- Miguel Tejada turns 50 years old. A former AL MVP with the Athletics, Tejada signed a big deal with the Orioles ahead of the 2004 season. From then through 2007 he would be a stud in the middle of the team’s lineup. He was then dealt to the Astros before returning to the Orioles in 2010.
- Melvin Rosario is 51. He played four games behind the plate for the 1997 O’s.
- The late Andrés Mora (d. 1955, d. 2015) was born on this day. He was an outfielder for the Orioles from 1976-78.
- Bill Dillman celebrates his 79th birthday. During the 1967 season he threw 124 total innings for the Orioles, a mix of starting and relief work.
- Jim Marshall turns 93 today. He spent half of his rookie season with the Orioles in 1958 and would then bounce around the league for the subsequent five years.
This day in O’s history
1965 – Jerry Hoffberger is named chairman of the board for the Orioles after his company, The National Brewery Company, buys 64,000 shares in the team.