Former Baltimore Orioles Top Prospect Returns from Injured List for Brewers

One of the Baltimore Orioles past top prospects finally made his long-awaited return from the injured list for his new team.

Aug 11, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher DL Hall (37) pitches in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at American Family Field / Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

It's hard to imagine that less than a year ago, the Baltimore Orioles had even more talent within their pipeline than they do right now.

Many had implored Mike Elias and his front office to start unloading some of their prospects to get established Major League players onto this roster, something he has since done.

Back in the offseason, the first of the Orioles' talented crop to be moved were DL Hall and Joey Ortiz.

Shipped out in the deal that brought Corbin Burnes to Baltimore, there were plenty of evaluators around the league who actually thought the Milwaukee Brewers got the better end of that deal because of the ceilings these two youngsters have.

Based on how the former NL Cy Young winner has performed during his time with the Orioles, though, Elias would probably disagree with the sentiment they lost the trade, especially considering their ace is the only Opening Day starter still active on this roster right now.

And while hindsight is 20/20, the fact that Hall only made four starts this year before hitting the injured list with a left knee sprain, made Baltimore look like the clear winners for this season.

The former Orioles top prospect made his return off the injured list for the Brewers on Sunday.

Hall hasn't quite had the year he expected following getting Milwaukee's vote of confidence to be one of their starting pitchers going forward, something he didn't receive during his tenure in Baltimore. Even before being placed on the IL, the left-hander had a 7.71 ERA, giving up tons of contact and a batting average against of .380.

Some of this is to be expected since he had only made one start with the Orioles during his two seasons.

But on Sunday, the struggles continued for Hall.

In 4.2 innings of work, he gave up three earned runs on five hits, including a homer. That now puts his stats at an ERA of 7.29 across five starts and 21 innings pitched, with 22 strikeouts compared to 13 walks for a WHIP of 2.14.

There is clearly still some work to do for the young starter, and it wouldn't be fair to make a proclamation about his viability as a starting pitching moving forward so soon, but this should also be a reminder that prospects are just that --- prospects.

Until they prove themselves at the Major League level, it's always best for contending teams to add established players.

Elias will be presented with those decisions as long as Baltimore is in contention.