BALTIMORE -- For much of the Mike Elias era in Baltimore -- which began in November 2018 -- the Orioles’ farm system has been loaded on the position-player side. The O’s roster is now filled with infielders, outfielders and catchers who were early Draft picks and top prospects.
More recently, the organization has started to develop more impressive pitching prospects.
“I think the position-player group in this organization gets a lot of credit and a lot of acknowledgement, and rightfully so,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “But the pitching side of things has been really impressive, just because it’s just not talked about.”
Albernaz said he saw “a bunch of dudes” when right-handers Trey Gibson (Orioles’ No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline), Nestor German (No. 10), Levi Wells (No. 13) and left-hander Luis De León (No. 2) were in big league camp this spring. But there are intriguing arms lower in the organization as well.
“The last three to four years, we’ve been loaded with talent on the mound -- guys that are at the lower levels, at the higher levels, guys that debuted already,” Florida Complex League manager Christian Frias said. “Pretty impressive what we’re doing pitching-wise.”
With the Minor League season underway at all of the full-season affiliates, here’s a look at several lower-level pitching prospects who got off to strong starts in Baltimore’s system.
High-A Frederick LHP Joseph Dzierwa (O’s No. 12)
After becoming the highest-drafted pitcher in the Elias era as a 2025 second-round pick, Dzierwa had a strong first Spring Training as a professional pitcher. The 21-year-old southpaw worked a 1-2-3 inning in a Grapefruit League game vs. the Blue Jays on March 8, then stole the show during the O’s Spring Breakout exhibition on March 20, racking up eight strikeouts in three scoreless frames vs. Red Sox prospects.
Dzierwa made his pro debut for Frederick this past Friday night and impressed again, as the former Michigan State hurler struck out nine over six scoreless innings of one-hit and one-walk ball at Hub City in a 78-pitch outing that featured 17 whiffs. It was a carryover from what Dzierwa felt was a productive offseason.
“Just getting stronger. Breaking ball, get that down in a little bit,” Dzierwa said of his winter goals. “And that was really the two things that we really focused on this offseason.”
Not only does the 6-foot-8 Dzierwa have good secondary stuff (changeup, cutter, slider), but his fastball sits around 94-95 mph and can get up to 96. Don’t be surprised if he quickly moves up to Double-A Chesapeake, and maybe he’ll even get to Triple-A Norfolk this year.
