Inside The Orioles

Baltimore Orioles Fans Should Keep Their Eye on Fast-Rising Pitching Prospect

In need of starting pitching, the Baltimore Orioles are hoping one of their prospects continues improving in 2025.

Kenneth Teape

CHATHAM 08/01/23 Chatham starter Trey Gibson delivers against Brewster. He went 5 3/4 innings. Cape League Baseball
CHATHAM 08/01/23 Chatham starter Trey Gibson delivers against Brewster. He went 5 3/4 innings. Cape League Baseball / Ron Schloerb/Cape Cod Times / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The Baltimore Orioles have had a clear and concise way of how they handle the draft and restocking their farm system for a few years now.

Early on they will focus on hitters, grabbing as many position players as possible. It is a strategy that has resulted in them having one of the deepest and most talented young group of sluggers in baseball.

However, it has left their pitching staff on the thinner side, as they pile on the arms later in the draft hoping that one of them hit.

Heading into the 2025 campaign, the team is certainly hoping that Grayson Rodriguez can take that next step in his development. The former top prospect slots in as their No. 1 currently, a role that he has the talent for but needs to stay healthy.

Overwhelming depth on the mound is what the Orioles are hoping can help them overcome their lack of a traditional ace following Corbin Burnes’s departure in free agency; he signed a massive contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

A few veterans have been brought in this offseason, Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano, to help round out the rotation behind Rodriguez, Zach Eflin and Dean Kremer.

Trevor Rogers, Albert Suarez and Cade Povich provide more depth behind them and eventually, Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells will be returning from the injured list to bolster the group even more.

Baltimore is hopeful that the group will provide enough production for them to remain competitive for the upcoming year, but they need to either acquire an ace or hope some of their younger arms develop to truly compete with the elite teams in the American League.

One player to keep an eye on is Trey Gibson.

2024 was his first full season as a pro and he got off to a stong start in A-Ball before being promoted to High-A. His production slipped a little bit as he allowed more hits and saw his K/9 rate plummet from 13.1 to 9.2.

But, he has caught the attention of analysts and evaluators as someone who is primed to move up the prospect rankings list this year.

Kiley McDaniel of ESPN has listed Gibson as one of the players ranked outside his top 150 who could break into the top 100 when the next list is created.

Currently the Orioles’ No. 5 prospect in their system, he is steadily moving up with a collection of nasty breaking balls. He mixes in a slider, sweeper and curveball, all with different movements and giving the batter a different look.

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Kenneth Teape
KENNETH TEAPE

Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.

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