Cade Povich 2024

[Frobby]

International League pitcher of the week.

CADE POVICH, 23, turns 24-years-old this Friday and is scheduled to start on Saturday. In the series opener at Charlotte, he earned the win after tossing 6.0 scoreless innings on one hit and no walks while striking out five. On Sunday, Povich went 5.0 innings and allowed one run on two hits and three walks while striking out nine batters. The nine strikeouts in the series finale matched his Triple-A career-high (September 10, 2023 vs. Jacksonville). Povich currently leads the International League in WHIP (0.55), while also ranking in opponent’s average (2nd, .083), slugging (.083), strikeouts (T-2nd, 14), and ERA (4th, 0.82).

https://www.milb.com/en/norfolk/news/kjerstad-povich-win-player-and-pitcher-of-the-week

[Yossarian]

Povich with no hits, one walk and seven Ks through four today (04/13)

[casadeozo]

2 minutes ago, Yossarian said:

Povich with no hits, one walk and seven Ks through four today (04/13)

Crazy neither team has a hit yet 

[Dunk35]

Maybe he senses an opening in the Big Leagues is entirely up for grabs right now. 

[DirtyBird]

 

[Sports Guy]

Missed a ton of bats and had his str% up to 63%.  Good to see there.

[btdart20]

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/player-scroll/game?gamePk=752709&player_id=700249#power_sets

Mixed in his 5 pitches well.  Worked up/down and in/out.  20 MPH gap makes it tough on hitters.

Babip against (.111) and strand rate (92%) aren't sustainable.

 

[CaptainRedbeard]

With Means and Bradish presumably on the way back in the next month or so I don’t expect we’ll see Povich replacing anybody in the rotation now, but if we get some more absolute duds in the next turn through and Povich has a 4th straight excellent start, it could get very interesting. 

[RZNJ]

18 minutes ago, CaptainRedbeard said:

With Means and Bradish presumably on the way back in the next month or so I don’t expect we’ll see Povich replacing anybody in the rotation now, but if we get some more absolute duds in the next turn through and Povich has a 4th straight excellent start, it could get very interesting. 

I think you answered your own question.  Barring further injuries we won’t see Povich anytime soon.   Wells and Kremer aren’t chopped liver and Means and Bradish look to be coming back.  Also, as good as Povich looks he’s probably a 5 inning pitcher at the next level right now.  

[mddisney]

Elias in his press conference yesterday was clear that if people are doing well and crushing AAA they will force their way into MLB.  If he has another good start he is up.  They have AAAA people at end of bullpen.  

[Frobby]

That’s the best three game stretch Povich has strung together as an Orioles prospect, so I’m strongly encouraged.  I’ve said before that the main thing I’ve wanted to see from him was more consistency from one game to the next.  So far, so good.  It would be nice to see him be a little more pitch-efficient, but 84 pitches in 5.1 innings is far from awful.   

The next step for Povich is to start getting to 6 IP fairly regularly.  I think he has a good chance of doing that once the Orioles start letting him throw 95 pitches, which he did several times last year.   Right now it’s early and they’ve limited him to 84-86 pitches his last two starts.   
 

[owknows]

5 minutes ago, Frobby said:

That’s the best three game stretch Povich has strung together as an Orioles prospect, so I’m strongly encouraged.  I’ve said before that the main thing I’ve wanted to see from him was more consistency from one game to the next.  So far, so good.  It would be nice to see him be a little more pitch-efficient, but 84 pitches in 5.1 innings is far from awful.   

The next step for Povich is to start getting to 6 IP fairly regularly.  I think he has a good chance of doing that once the Orioles start letting him throw 95 pitches, which he did several times last year.   Right now it’s early and they’ve limited him to 84-86 pitches his last two starts.   
 

I realize that it is a small sample size, but I find it interesting that some players seem to find a bit of a step progression through the minors.. with the rate of development accelerating as higher levels accrue. Particularly pitchers. I'd imagine coaching, catcher quality, maturity, and a lower experimentation rate as they begin to master their portfolio all pay in... And of course not every player responds this way.

I think Povich seems to be one that does.

I'd imagine some players are more malleable, and some more resistant to input.

[btownoriole]

22 minutes ago, mddisney said:

Elias in his press conference yesterday was clear that if people are doing well and crushing AAA they will force their way into MLB.  If he has another good start he is up.  They have AAAA people at end of bullpen.  

I would suspect Elias would want to see more than 4 good starts before promoting Povich, especially given his history of control issues.

Edited April 14 by btownoriole

[RZNJ]

30 minutes ago, mddisney said:

Elias in his press conference yesterday was clear that if people are doing well and crushing AAA they will force their way into MLB.  If he has another good start he is up.  They have AAAA people at end of bullpen.  

That’s not what Elias said.

[btdart20]

I've been as vocal supporting Povich as anyone without Husker in their handle.  But no way does Elias promote him within the next few turns.  I suspect he'll get at least 50 IP in AAA before being considered.  Bradish and Means' health/effectiveness are X factors.  We should know more in May/early June.  Povich may be an option after that point.