Even with Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson in Baltimore, the Orioles have a ton of talent knocking on the big-league door. Grayson Rodriguez was on the bump Wednesday against the Durham Bulls, and a pair of highly-touted position players helped lead a 13-run showing.
Grayson Rodriguez, RHP (BAL)
Wednesday night certainly wasn’t Rodriguez’s best outing of the season. His 83 pitches only allowed him to go 3.2 IP, but while his command and control were shaky, he flashed some electric stuff.
His fastball is a plus pitch, at worst. He sat in the 94-97 range, and even clipped 98. The pitch lives up in the zone and generates a ton of whiffs. His changeup is a legitimate weapon with plenty of velocity separation and good fading action at its best. When commanded properly, it’s an out pitch but he didn’t command it very well against the Bulls, and left-handed hitters weren’t chasing.
Baseball’s top pitching prospect also broke out a fairly new cutter a few times early on, and then went to it more often later in his outing. The pitch sits 88-92 and comes in on the hands of lefties. He does have a curveball and a slider – both of which have tight break and overlap in velocity – and while he didn’t employ either one very much on Wednesday, they add another element against righties. Rodriguez was willing to pitch backwards and mix in all of his pitches.
He has a large, sturdy frame, and the ball explodes out of his three-quarters arm slot. His delivery isn’t the most fluid, but it is repeatable and doesn’t require too much effort.
Rodriguez is a power pitcher with an excellent feel for pitching and five effective offerings at his disposal. His front-of-the-rotation upside is obvious, and he should help Baltimore make a playoff push in 2023.
Connor Norby, 2B (BAL)
Norby collected three hits on Wednesday night – including an opposite-field homer in the fourth – giving him six hits and two homers in his first two Triple-A contests after a very strong showing in Double-A.
Norby combines a short, compact swing with good bat speed and an aggressive approach without chasing too often out of the zone. He makes consistent hard contact to all fields and has surprising over-the-fence power for his small frame.
He’s a bat-first prospect, but is more than serviceable at second base, where he displays good footwork and hands and gets low and behind the ball. The former ECU standout showed the ability to handle tough hops, chase down balls up the middle, and throw across his body. Norby should slide in as Baltimore’s everyday second baseman in 2023.
Jordan Westburg, 3B (BAL)
Westburg failed to hit the ball out of the infield on Wednesday, with three ground balls and two strikeouts. The 2020 draft pick doesn’t display any standout tools, but rather is average to slightly above-average across the board. He has good bat speed, plenty of functional strength and a relatively short swing, but he skews pull-heavy and his contact skills leave a lot to be desired.
Westburg is far from a burner, but he is a good athlete with enough speed at the moment to swipe some bases. He did not get a single ball hit his way against the Bulls, but he is known more for his arm strength than for his glove.
He may be blocked at the next level if Gunnar Henderson stays at third base long term, but if Westburg can learn to use the whole field and rely on his strength rather than swinging for the fences, he could be an impact bat for the Orioles by next season, perhaps as a utility type piece.
Colton Cowser, RF (BAL)
After rolling over a pair of pitches for grounders to second base in his first two plate appearances, Cowser made a nice adjustment later in the game, letting the ball travel and using his bat speed to drive a Kevin Herget fastball over the fence in left for an opposite-field homer. He also narrowly missed another home run in the eighth, just catching it off the end of the bat.
The fifth-overall pick keeps his front foot quiet, with just a small leg lift and stride, and does a good job keeping his head on the ball– which provides him with a strong feel for the zone. His strikeout numbers are much higher this year than they were in his debut, but his above-average plate discipline remains on display. He’s not afraid to jump on the first pitch, but he will also lay off pitches down.
With a large frame and good barrel control, the power potential is there, and he’s a good athlete with decent speed. Despite playing center field in college, he is a better fit in right.
Cowser could be easily Baltimore’s Opening Day right fielder in 2023 with a strong Spring Training.