Baltimore Orioles Star Prospect Has Rough Debut Sparking Deadline Speculation

The Baltimore Orioles gave their star pitching prospect a shot at the bigs on Thursday, but with his struggles, there will certainly be more speculation surrounding potential deadline moves.

Jun 6, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Cade Povich (37) delivers a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning at Rogers Centre / Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

During the early portion of the four-game series, the Baltimore Orioles completely dominated the Toronto Blue Jays as they looked well on their way to winning another set over a divisional opponent.

Instead, the Orioles dropped the last two, causing a disappointing split as they head out to face the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend.

Ahead of the finale against the Blue Jays, there was a surprise announcement made by manager Brandon Hyde where he shared they were calling up star pitching prospect Cade Povich, who had just been moved to their taxi squad, and handing him the ball to make his Major League debut.

The left-hander is Baltimore's No. 9 ranked prospect and had put together an impressive showing across 11 Triple-A starts, earning a 5-1 record with a 3.18 ERA.

However, in his first action facing MLB hitters, the 24-year-old was knocked around.

After getting through the first two innings with little trouble, things fell apart in the third when Povich walked two batters and gave up a three-run homer to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. This continued the next frame when he allowed a double and RBI single.

Then in the sixth, he gave up a single and walk before getting pulled from the game.

The two base runners he was responsible for were then singled home, giving Povich six earned runs for his outing after 5.1 innings of work.

General manager Mike Elias said he didn't want to overreact to the season-ending injuries John Means and Tyler Wells suffered, preferring to see what his internal candidates could do before potentially putting together a blockbuster deal.

Povich seemingly got the first opportunity to show the organization his capability.

While one start for a young pitcher in his debut against a lineup as loaded as Toronto is not a large enough sample size to draw a conclusion, there was a concerning factor that presented itself during his outing.

The lefty has been a strikeout machine, having fanned 413 batters over his 307.1 innings pitched in the minors.

But on Thursday, he was only able to ring up two batters in just over five innings of work while also walking four batters.

If Povich can't utilize his best weapon at this level, that could spell trouble.

Again, it's way too early to make a proclamation on what he can and can't do in the MLB after his debut outing, but there is no doubt that there will be more trade speculation for the Orioles heading into the deadline as they are clear World Series contenders.

How long Baltimore keeps Povich on their Major League roster will be seen, but it seems like he is going to get some more starts to prove himself as the front office wants to see if he can fill the void left behind by Means and Wells.