After an embarrassing loss, the Orioles brightened fans’ spirits with the news that pitching prospect Kyle Bradish will make his MLB debut tonight.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.
Orioles fans could be forgiven if they never wanted to watch baseball again after suffering through the Birds’ atrocious five-error performance in getting swept out of Yankee Stadium, which I had the misfortune of recapping. It was the kind of loss that made you wonder how this current O’s roster could ever win a game.
But this current O’s roster will soon give way to a more promising, talented, young roster over the course of this season and next. And the first domino fell within hours of yesterday’s loss, as MASN’s Roch Kubatko reported that pitching prospect Kyle Bradish will make his MLB debut tonight.
Bradish, a 25-year-old right-hander, is rated by MLB Pipeline as the Orioles’ 10th best prospect and third-best pitching prospect, and he has carved up Triple-A hitters in three starts this season with a 1.20 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 15 innings. He’s the Orioles’ highest-ranked prospect who was acquired in a Mike Elias trade, coming from the Angels as part of the four-player Dylan Bundy package in December 2019.
The call-up of Bradish may soon be followed by the promotion of top prospect Adley Rutschman, who’s currently rehabbing in High-A Aberdeen but could move quickly to the majors afterward. Add in the possible promotions later this year of Grayson Rodriguez, D.L. Hall, Kyle Stowers, and others, and it’s easy to see Bradish as the opening act in what could be a parade of prospect arrivals.
Orioles fans have been dreaming of the future for a long time. Slowly but surely, that future is turning into the present.
Links
Source: Bradish to make major league debut on Friday – School of Roch
“Aw, man, but I was hoping to see Spenser Watkins on Friday!” said nobody, ever.
Orioles commit 5 errors in loss to Yankees; Zimmermann takes loss; Hays has 4 hits; Bradish to start Friday – BaltimoreBaseball.com
Brandon Hyde was none too pleased about his team’s defensive effort yesterday. Join the club, buddy.
The many talents — some hidden — of Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander – The Athletic
In Dan Connolly’s entertaining and informative profile, we learn more about Anthony Santander than we have in his previous five seasons with the team. Just in time for him to probably be traded.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! It’s the 88th birthday of the great shortstop Luis Aparicio, a member of both the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Orioles Hall of Fame. He spent five years with the Birds, including the 1966 World Series champions, and was a two-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glover as an Oriole. Enjoy your day, Mr. Aparicio.
Other former Orioles born on this day include catcher Omir Santos (41) and infielders Ron Washington (70) and Rick Burleson (71).
April 29 is a big date in Orioles history, especially in 1988, when the O’s at long last ended their MLB-record 21-game losing streak to start the season. The Birds jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an Eddie Murray home run and never looked back, romping to a 9-0 victory behind a combined shutout by Mark Williamson and Dave Schmidt.
And on this day in 2015, the O’s played the infamous zero-attendance game, playing the White Sox at Camden Yards while shutting the gates to fans due to civil unrest in Baltimore. (Though with the swarms of media who showed up to cover the game, myself among them, it’s not as if the ballpark was completely vacant.) Ubaldo Jimenez pitched a gem, working seven innings without allowing an earned run, and Chris Davis and Manny Machado homered. Little did we know then that zero-attendance games would become a year-long institution during the 2020 pandemic season.