Orioles Pitching Development: are there changes coming?

[Jim'sKid26]

I am curious what others think about the impact of the influx of high quality arms into the system. Where are they all going to play? What are the O's braintrust going to do differently now that they have drafted all these pitchers. Does the development process change? How do they incorporate the new MedStar pitching lab (https://www.medstarhealth.org/services/medstar-health-orioles-pitching-lab) into the process. 

In some ways it feels like a new era in Orioles baseball as the lower level minor league teams will be stocked with guys with real potential. Does anyone have a sense for what may happen in Sarasota as well? Just curious.

Edited July 17, 2023 by Jim'sKid26

[CHIP]

This MedStar pitching lab seems like a localized version of the Driveline (and others) programs.  Driveline had their first facility out in Kent, WA.  Premium players would go to tweak theirn stuff.  Up and comers would go to train for weeks to gain velo and new pitches... then head back to Spring Training.  A lot of MLB teams were taking guys that specifically climbed the ranks as the originators of thought and technology on a lot of it.

Then Driveline expanded to the Phoenix area.  Not as big, but nicer weather.  So some of the Orioles pitchers would work out there prior to Spring Training to add strength, etc. well before showing up to camp.

I checked out the website and it seems like this is using the Orioles name to promote more than the Orioles benefitting from the lab.  I don't know how many of the guys stay in Baltimore in the offseason... and I don't know how much the O's touch their guys when they leave.  I suppose, if they really wanted to use it as a tool vs. a diagnostic, they would have to build one in Sarasota and then staff it with the best available.  Otherwise, even though under contract, if they players don't trust the data or the ones making recommendations, they will continue to utilize their independent instructors/trainers.

[Frobby]

I don’t think that much will change.  The O’s have done a decent job of developing the pitching talent they have.   They simply haven’t been given that much raw material to work with. 

I assume some of these guys will throw a few innings at Delmarva this year, then start next year at Aberdeen.   That’s been the pattern for past draftees and I doubt it will change just because some of these guys were drafted a little earlier.  
 

[btdart20]

I'm not sure what the question is.  Are you asking what changes will happen with the pitchers themselves? 

If so, that's the whole point of the lab.  The labs will give a baseline of their pitching motion.  It'll give the pitchers things they can work on to try to improve their strength, velo, spin, stamina, tunneling, and/or health.  It will also allow coaches to game plan a pitch mix based on the strengths/weaknesses of each pitcher.  It will introduce the players to the processes and language coaches will using as they grow as players.  It's all tailored to the pitcher's strengths and weaknesses. 

Or are you asking if there will be changes to the lab process?  Sure, I have to imagine the change is inevitable to stay at the cutting edge.  What is studied, how to respond to trends (hitting/pitching/etc), what increases velo, what increases health, and any number of things can change.  But the purpose probably won't change unless there's a good reason.

[Jim'sKid26]

2 minutes ago, btdart20 said:

I'm not sure what the question is.  Are you asking what changes will happen with the pitchers themselves? 

If so, that's the whole point of the lab.  The labs will give a baseline of their pitching motion.  It'll give the pitchers things they can work on to try to improve their strength, velo, spin, stamina, tunneling, and/or health.  It will also allow coaches to game plan a pitch mix based on the strengths/weaknesses of each pitcher.  It will introduce the players to the processes and language coaches will using as they grow as players.  It's all tailored to the pitcher's strengths and weaknesses. 

Or are you asking if there will be changes to the lab process?  Sure, I have to imagine the change is inevitable to stay at the cutting edge.  What is studied, how to respond to trends (hitting/pitching/etc), what increases velo, what increases health, and any number of things can change.  But the purpose probably won't change unless there's a good reason.

Thanks. Appreciate the reply.

I was asking more along the lines of whether the entire development process for pitchers will change. It seems as though the O's have generated a reputation for developing hitters in the recent past. So much so that folks are rationalizing selecting a player with less than ideal hitting mechanics because, the O's development staff can likely "fix" them. 

So now are the O's pivoting to a new strategy as they draft a boat-load of pitchers? Are they going to tweek the pitching development process? If so, how so? What, if anything, is gonna change? This is a franchise that has struggled to develop starters. What are they going to do differently now that they have drafted several very talented pitcher?

I brought the lab up because it's new and has been mentioned several times previously. One of the guys on the lab staff, Joey Mylott, worked at the pitching Lab at Wake Forest University. They got a lot of coverage during the College World Series where several players were singing their praises. It may not play much of a role at all. I don't know. 

[nvpacchi]

I think this is a great thread idea, hopefully we can keep it relevant throughout the rest of the year.

I'll start with another interesting Kyle Boddy twitter thread.  There's replies and retweets off of it that delves into more specifics on how he thinks the O's are on an accelerated version of the Houston path.  Long story short, he thinks pitching development  will trend upward in Baltimore now that the hitting development has been solidified.
 

 

Regardless, I do appreciate the Orioles approach to pitching development - and I think we're starting to see some of the fruits of the labor paying off.  Bradish has graduated from the ranks and probably is considered a success of the regime.  Guys like Armbruester, Povich, Pham, and McDermott (and I guess Rom) all have interesting profiles where one tweak or an improvement in one area can catapult them into conversation as a potential future rotation piece.

There's been enough recent examples that proper individualized pitching development can take guys who may have been afterthoughts, and turn them into legitimate major league pitchers.  Spencer Strider is probably the poster child of this.  But the list is growing longer for legit MLB rotation pieces that have ascended quickly seemingly out of nowhere.

Emmet Sheehan, Strider, Bryan Woo, Brice Miller, Taj Bradley, Brice Elder, Mason Miller have all had some version of success this year, and none but Bradley ever had any legitimate top 100 prospect fuel.

I'm guessing that Elias and Sig are smart enough to continue creating individualized programs for pitching prospects that will maximize and leverage their strengths, and develop a respectable pipeline of pitchers that can contribute at the big league level.  Maybe they get lucky and one strikes as a bonafide ace, but you don't really NEED that when you can continuously stock the rotation with steady 3s and then the free agent dollars can be allocated to the prized TOR asset that everyone wants.

 

Edited July 19, 2023 by nvpacchi