DL Hall's future?? Reliever or Starter?

[wildcard]

1 hour ago, Tony-OH said:

Well if you want to prepare a guy who will not be a good starter for a contending team for a role he's not a good fit for, go right ahead. The Orioles have plenty of better options already on the roster and in the minors.

On top of it all, he and Perez give the Orioles two left-handed weapons at the end of the bullpen. Why weaken a pen that already needs to add real talent?

Just because Hall get stretched in ST and maybe begins the season in the rotation because of injuries  to other starters does not mean he stays there.

[BirdCakes22]

On 10/11/2023 at 7:02 AM, Bird Lady said:

I was so impressed with his moxie in the  playoffs, and his pitching down the stretch. The Orioles have some interesting decisions to make regarding him by next year.

Me too. I was also impressed with Westburg - obviously Gunnar stepped up, but I like the fight in Westie. I would hold on to him for sure and not include him in a trade. Have to keep Gunnar, Westburg, Jackson H together. DL Hall and Grayson are in that same young group. Lots of others - we'll see who ends up sticking next year. We may not win more games than this year, but we should be a better team based on experience alone. 

[RZNJ]

1 hour ago, BirdCakes22 said:

Me too. I was also impressed with Westburg - obviously Gunnar stepped up, but I like the fight in Westie. I would hold on to him for sure and not include him in a trade. Have to keep Gunnar, Westburg, Jackson H together. DL Hall and Grayson are in that same young group. Lots of others - we'll see who ends up sticking next year. We may not win more games than this year, but we should be a better team based on experience alone. 

It seems like some don’t account for improvement.  They just judge Westburg on what he did this year.   He hit 18 homers in half a year in AAA.  While he didn’t light the world on fire, he did hold his own.   He certainly has the potential to make big strides in the power department and I suspect the plate discipline will improve as well.  The question is where does he fit in once Mayo and Holliday come up.

[Just Regular]

Seeing Matt Strahm maybe about to get an opportunity to close out a playoff series, it occurs to me his 2023 would be about the ideal 2024 DL Hall scenario.

[CaptainRedbeard]

16 hours ago, SilverRocket said:

DL Hall couldn't cut it as a starter because of his high walk rate and pitch count. This hasn't been a problem in his relief outings this year. The question is whether this problem was fixed due to being in relief, or is it just fixed generally due to developmental improvements and being healthy? Or given the relatively small sample size, is it even fixed at all? I feel like that's what this decision comes down to.

If his relief walk rate was still high but he was still effective despite that, then I would be inclined to keep him as a reliever. But he's had a month and a half of good command and the upside is so large that I feel like I at least want to see if he can keep that as a starter. Worst case is he goes back to the pen... I don't think it would mess him up if it didn't work out.

This is a good take. Hall’s command as a RP down the stretch this year was very good, much better than would be expected based on his minor league track record. It was only about 20 IP, but the Orioles should see how much 2023 RP velo and command he can carry as a SP in 2024. 

It’s very tempting to say “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” and Hall can definitely contribute as a high leverage RP next season. For a normal 100-win team it wouldn’t even really be a consideration. But the unfortunate reality is that the Orioles are unlikely to bring in high upside SP from outside the organization. They hit on Bradish and Grayson but they still need more. Means is only under contract for one more year. They are looking decent depth-wise at SP but if they aren’t able to bring in more legit playoff quality SP this off-season, Hall offers SP upside that they can’t afford to close the book on yet.