Baltimore Orioles Have Three Pitching Prospects With Blazing Fastballs

The Baltimore Orioles have placed an emphasis on velocity among its pitching prospects and it’s starting to pay off in the minors.

Jul 31, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; A Baltimore Orioles baseball cap of a fan before the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

Only 90 minor-league prospects threw a fastball of 100 mph or more this season. Three of them were Baltimore Orioles.

Baseball America tracked all of the game’s prospects and unearthed these 90 pitchers with blazing fastballs. They are all pitchers who ended the season as prospects. In other words, 2024 prospects who graduated from their rankings were not included.

These pitchers can bring it when needed and it starts with right-hander Luis Sánchez, who threw a four-seam fastball 101.4 mph this year.

The Orioles put him on the full-season injured list at High-A Aberdeen in July. But, before that, the 21-year-old from the Dominican Republic showed that tremendous velocity. In 24 relief appearances he went 4-2 with a 6.85 ERA in 23.2 innings. He struck out 27 but walked 33 and allowed batters to hit .216 against him. He had one save in four changes along with two holds.

The former international signee is 4-9 with a 6.37 ERA for his career, which dates back to 2021. He has five career saves.

Next up is Ronald Guzmán, a left-hander who threw a two-seam fastball 100.5 mph during the season.

Guzmán is an intriguing player making a mid-career-change. He was a first baseman and played in the Majors for the Texas Rangers. He tore his meniscus in 2021 and the Rangers released him in 2022. He spent time in the minors with the New York Yankees, the San Francisco Giants and the Orioles.

As a minor-league player, he decided to make the transition to pitching and threw for the Orioles at Aberdeen before a season-ending injury in June. In eight games he was 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA. He struck out 11 and walked 15 in 7.1 innings. He recorded a save in his only chance.

Last is Zach Fruit, a right-hander who made the list with a 100.1 mph four-seam fastball.

Fruit joined the Orioles last year as their ninth-round pick out of Troy. He didn’t pitch last season and was assigned to Aberdeen.

Unlike Sánchez and Guzmán, Fruit is a starter and was also able to make it through the entire season with an injury. In 25 games (21 starts), he went 3-3 with a 3.03 ERA. He struck out 113 and walked 55 in 107 innings. Batters hit just .201 against him, something that should put him on Baltimore’s radar for the 2025 season, where a promotion to Double-A might be in order.