Grayson Rodriguez is still adjusting to his new office.
“It still doesn’t feel normal to pull up the Camden Yards to come to work,” the Orioles’ top pitching prospect said. “Just kind of a relief, I guess, that finally I’m coming here to this ballpark to be a part of the team and not just to show up for something else.”
Against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday, Rodriguez will make his first start at Oriole Park after his promotion last week made him the latest member of baseball’s top-ranked farm system to reach the majors. The Triple-A team he left behind has done just fine; the Norfolk Tides are 7-1 and have a lineup loaded with top prospects and hitters who narrowly missed making the Orioles’ opening day roster.
“That was a lot of talent,” Rodriguez said. “The days that I was down there, I saw a lot of just home runs and some runs being scored, so they’re definitely having fun down there.”
That lineup will add another top prospect this week in Kyle Stowers, who the Orioles optioned over the weekend so he could receive consistent playing time after being used sporadically in the majors. Rodriguez knows firsthand the difficulty of breaking through in the majors. He was sent down at the end of spring training after the expectation entering camp was that he would make his debut as a member of Baltimore’s season-opening rotation. After Rodriguez made only one start with Norfolk, Kyle Bradish’s bruised right foot opened an opportunity for him in Baltimore, and he hopes to continue to build on it after holding the Texas Rangers to two runs over five innings, with the final four being scoreless, in his debut.
“That first inning, I was a little nervous,” Rodriguez said. “It kind of felt bigger than a baseball game, but after that, it was just settling in, realizing it’s another three outs and you take your team in to hit, so just carrying that into this next game. I think it’ll feel a little bit more normal.”
Rodriguez is promised nothing more than Tuesday’s outing, with Bradish nearing a rehabilitation start and a subsequent return to the rotation. That could prompt Rodriguez to return to Norfolk, where he once again would be back among the young talent waiting for a consistent opportunity at Camden Yards.
And there sure is a lot of young talent. The Orioles have ended their rebuild, but for the time being, they have the blend of a major league team eyeing a playoff spot and what’s regarded as the sport’s best collection of minor leaguers. Even as what’s happening at Camden Yards each night is as important as it has been in recent years, the developments on the farm remain a significant part of the organization’s hopes to build a long-term contender in the American League East.
That’s why each week, The Baltimore Sun will break down five of the top performers in the Orioles’ prospect ranks and hand out some superlatives for those who didn’t make that cut.
Only a handful of games into the year, Gunnar Henderson graduated from prospect status, and with Rodriguez in the majors, it might not be long before Holliday is officially the organization’s top prospect. Back with Low-A Delmarva after impressing as a 19-year-old in major league spring training, Holliday went 6-for-13 with three doubles, drawing two walks against one strikeout as he posted a 1.225 OPS over three games to begin his first full professional season.
Perhaps the most notable prospect excluded from the Orioles’ list of nonroster invitees to big league camp, Haskin has gotten off to a strong start in Norfolk’s imposing lineup. Playing in seven of the Tides’ eight games, Baltimore’s 2020 second-round pick hit .320 with a 1.029 OPS with a double, triple and home run. He struck out in 10 of his 32 plate appearances, but he balanced that out with four walks and three hit-by-pitches. Rule 5-eligible this winter, Haskin could use a big season to prove his worth to the Orioles or another organization, and he’s gotten off to a strong start.
In Bright’s High-A debut Saturday, the 2022 fifth-round pick struck out 10 against Auburn, inlcuding eight of the first nine batters he faced, with an error behind him the only exception. He then walked the next two batters, made an error of his own and surrendered a double that scored three unearned runs before striking out his final two batters.
After two lost years, Kjerstad shined in the fall, earning MVP honors in the Arizona Fall League. He impressed in the spring as one of Baltimore’s camp standouts. He’s on his way to showing he can shine in the summer, too. In his second Double-A at-bat, the 2020 second-overall draft pick homered, fueling an opening weekend in which he slugged .500 and walked more than he struck out. Notably, his two appearances in the field both came at first base, a position he practiced in spring but had yet to appear in a game at as a professional.
Acquired from the Houston Astros in the three-team trade that sent Trey Mancini to the eventual World Series champions, McDermott struggled in his introduction to Double-A last season with a 6.08 ERA over six starts. Working in bulk relief in his first outing Thursday, the 24-year-old struck out six and walked two over four no-hit innings. He induced 12 swinging strikes on his 62 pitches, a well above-average 19.4%.
A back injury on the cusp of spring hampered left-hander DL Hall’s chances of breaking camp in the Orioles’ rotation. Although the organization could have had him open the year in the bullpen, Hall’s potential as a starter meant he’s getting stretched out for Norfolk. He hasn’t been particularly efficient in his two starts for the Tides — first throwing 70 pitches in three innings then 78 in 4 1/3 — but he’s struck out 12 over those 7 1/3 frames, allowing four runs.
Since signing for a $1.3 million bonus as a 16-year-old in 2021, Dominican catcher Samuel Basallo has been regarded as the Orioles’ top international prospect. In his first weekend with a full-season affiliate, he showed why. Now 18, Basallo homered in his first two games with Delmarva, finishing the Shorebirds’ opening series with a 1.047 OPS.
Josh Lester had the least major league experience of all of the left-handed hitters in the Orioles’ spring competition, but after a slow start in camp, he took off. He carried that impressive spring to Norfolk, homering in the Tides’ opener then three times in their second game. His bat has cooled since, but his ability to play all four corner spots paired with a bat that’s made an impression could at some point earn him time in Baltimore.
Athletics at Orioles
Tuesday, 6:35 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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