The O’s got spanked, more rotation questions, and a prospect debuts today.
Good Morning Birdland!
The Orioles could not make it three wins in a row on Friday. Instead, they got spanked by the Reds in front of a sellout crowd. Mark recapped the misery in case you missed it (Lucky you!).
There were also two bits of pitching news on the day. You can read more about that in the links down below, but here are the takeaways: Grayson Rodriguez’s season sure sounds like it’s in doubt, and Brandon Young will start and make his MLB debut on the mound today.
At least the Young news is exciting. First, he’s got a great last name, in my humble opinion. I will personally choose to believe that the two of as are related in some slight, distant way. Unless he stinks, then I’ve never even heard of him.
More seriously, it does feel like Young should be able to compete out there. His Triple-A numbers are solid, although not dominant. He had a 3.44 ERA over 89 innings last year, and through three starts this season he’s got a 2.76 ERA while collecting 9.37 K/9 and limited his walks to 1.10 BB/9.
The bar is pretty low for Orioles starters. Just give us five innings and don’t totally implode. That alone would make you, like, the second-best healthy pitcher on the team right now.
The expectation is that the Orioles will handle the 26-year-old Young with kid gloves to an extent. Don’t let him face the order a third time (unless the Orioles happen to be blowing out the Reds), and try to get him out of the game on a high note. There will be other chances for you to test the rookie, his debut isn’t the time.
Even if the baseball in the Baltimore area hasn’t been great recently, at least the weather has been. It was lovely out yesterday. Today is going to be even warmer, so get out there and enjoy it if you can. I will personally be replacing a portion of the fence around my yard, and then talking my wife into getting snowballs with the kids at some point. The perfect day!
Links
Grayson Rodriguez Getting Second Opinion On Shoulder | MLB Trade Rumors
Brandon Hyde provided an update on Grayson Rodriguez, and it doesn’t sound good! Rarely are you getting a second opinion if the first opinion is “Everything looks perfect!” These types of updates tend to portend a serious recommendation, oftentimes a surgery that is going to end your season.
O’s rotation looking thin, but reinforcements on the way | Orioles.com
The rotation simply has not been good enough. The Orioles just don’t have a ton of options at the present moment. Maybe that changes soon if Brandon Young looks good today and Kyle Gibson gets himself ready in the next week or so. But expectations for those two need to be tempered a bit.
Leftovers for breakfast | Roch Kubatko
Heston Kjerstad has been a bright spot for the Orioles recently. The guy clearly has the talented to be a productive hitter. He just needed the consistent at-bats. It’s good to see him get those.
Orioles pitcher Brandon Young reaches big leagues after extended journey | The Baltimore Banner
All of the quotes and backstory you could want on Young ahead of his debut. It’s interesting to hear that his velocity has taken a slight jump this year. The knock on the pitcher has been that he doesn’t have great stuff, and lacks an out pitch. Those things can be papered over a but if you throw just a touch harder. Let’s hope it shows up today.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- George Sherrill turns 48. The lefty came to Baltimore along with Adam Jones and Chris Tillman (and others) in the seismic Erik Bedard trade with Seattle prior to the 2008 season. He made the all-star game in ‘08, and pitched to a 2.40 ERA in ‘09 before the O’s dealt him to the Dodgers.
- Willis Otáñez is 52. Between 1998 and ‘99, the Dominican native played in 32 total games for the Orioles as an infielder.
- Scott Kamieniecki celebrates his 61st birthday. He spent three seasons on the Orioles’ pitching staff from 1997 through ‘99. In total he had a 4.71 ERA over 290.1 innings with Baltimore.
This day in history
2011 – The Orioles end their eight-game losing streak, beating the Twins 11-0 at Camden Yards. Jake Arrieta tosses seven shutout innings, Vladimir Guerrero homers, and the pair of Matt Wieters and Brian Roberts combine for seven RBI.