Orioles minor league report: Cade Povich was first. When could it be Chayce McDermott’s turn?

Cade Povich couldn’t help but laugh when talking about Chayce McDermott.

Povich was thinking of the crazy swings opposing hitters sometimes take off McDermott’s nasty stuff. From the swords on outside sliders to the check swings on fastballs at the top of the zone, McDermott, the Orioles’ No. 2 pitching prospect behind Povich, is an uncomfortable at-bat for opposing hitters in Triple-A who sometimes look like they’re guessing.

“He’s got great stuff,” Povich said. “His ability to throw each pitch off each other, it’s why you end up seeing all these awkward swings at balls that you probably wonder why they’re swinging at. But it’s because his stuff is moving so much.”

Povich was promoted to join the Orioles’ rotation earlier this month, but while he’s been in the show, his throwing partner has continued his success at Triple-A. McDermott struggled to begin the season, walking 15 batters in his first 12 innings, but in his 11 starts since, the right-hander has posted a 3.42 ERA with an impressive 33.9% strikeout rate.

The pair joined the Orioles organization in the span of two days, as McDermott (and Seth Johnson, the club’s No. 3 pitching prospect) were acquired in the Trey Mancini trade on Aug. 1, 2022, while Povich was added from the Jorge López trade. After reporting to High-A Aberdeen, Povich and McDermott were promoted to Double-A Bowie on the same day in August 2022. In July, McDermott reached Triple-A first but Povich was only two weeks behind.

If that trend continues, it might mean McDermott might not be far behind Povich, although a spot would have to open up on Baltimore’s pitching staff for that to happen.

“We’ve basically been around each other all the time,” said Povich, who pitched six shutout innings in his second big league start last week and faces the New York Yankees opposite Gerrit Cole on Wednesday. “It’s been nice to have somebody, especially like him, to just talk with and be able to go over things. It’s also good to have that little friendly competition, just continuing to push each other.”

With Dean Kremer set to return from the injured list soon, that would either allow the Orioles to have a six-man rotation again, or push a starter, possibly Albert Suárez, to the bullpen to return to the traditional five-man corps. But if more injuries befall Baltimore’s pitching staff — Tyler Wells and John Means are out for the season, while Kyle Bradish is on the IL with a potentially serious elbow injury — McDermott could be next in line.

It’s also possible McDermott is an option to be called up later this season as a reliever if the Orioles think his stuff — his deceptive fastball and his sharp breaking balls — would play up in the bullpen.

“Anyone who’s pitching well in Triple-A, you’re a phone call away,” Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said in late May. “I don’t think [McDermott has] got the level of time or accomplishment now in Triple-A that Cade has, but he’s throwing really well.

“Those guys, we acquired them at the same time at that 2022 deadline and they’ve been kind of joined at the hip almost the whole time. So it’s kind of hard to talk about one without the other, but they’re really important parts of our organization.”

All 8 strikeouts from Chayce McDermott last night.

He's now rocking a strikeout rate of 34.7% and his 90 strikeouts rank 2nd in all of minor league baseball (1st in AAA by 15) pic.twitter.com/AeVL2pmtnx

— The Verge- An Orioles MiLB Podcast (@TheVergePod) June 9, 2024

The main thing that could prevent McDermott from joining Povich in the show is his command. McDermott, the Orioles’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2023, walked 13.8% of batters last season and 14.3% this year. No qualified MLB starter has a walk rate above 12.3%.

Walks haven’t been as much of an issue for McDermott after his tough start, although he’s still issued a free pass to about 11.3% of batters. The average walk rate in MLB this season is about 8.3%.

“The stuff’s always been great,” Elias said. “I think what’s been really encouraging is the walks have been cooling off here lately. He seems to be settling into a better approach at that level and adjusting to the level well. He’s got a lot of upside.”

But McDermott isn’t the only player on the farm with upside. That’s why each week, The Baltimore Sun will break down five of the top performers in Baltimore’s prospect ranks and hand out some superlatives for those who didn’t make that cut.

1. High-A Aberdeen center fielder Enrique Bradfield Jr.

The 2023 first-round pick enjoyed hitting his first professional home run so much that he decided to make it a double. Bradfield’s bat is expected to lag behind his plus defense and speed, but he smacked a long ball Wednesday and then hit another Friday. The 22-year-old went 6-for-19 last week to boost his average to .263 and OPS to .719. Baseball America rates Bradfield as the Orioles’ No. 6 prospect.

2. Triple-A Norfolk right-hander Brandon Young

It only took Young three outings to get acclimated to his new level before showing he can dominate it. The up-the-radar hurler threw five shutout innings Friday, allowing only one hit and striking out four without issuing a free pass. Young, an undrafted free agent in the shortened 2020 draft, struck out 40.9% of the batters he faced in Double-A before his promotion in late May. He has a 3.71 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 17 innings with the Tides. Young isn’t in Baltimore’s organizational top 30, but FanGraphs recently considered him as a top 100 prospect in all of baseball.

3. Double-A Bowie right-hander Alex Pham

Pham was one of the Orioles’ best minor league pitchers last year, posting a 2.57 ERA in 112 innings between Aberdeen and Bowie. He struggled to begin his 2024 campaign, but the 2021 19th-round pick posted his best start of the season last week and followed it up with another solid one. After tossing six scoreless innings Tuesday, Pham pitched five innings of three-run ball Sunday. Across the two outings, Pham, the Orioles’ No. 27 prospect, struck out 14 and allowed only eight hits. He has a 5.91 ERA with a solid 29% strikeout rate.

4. Double-A Bowie outfielder Jud Fabian

Fabian struggled to begin the season, but 53 games in, he has 12 home runs. The 2022 second-round pick went 6-for-22 last week with three of his hits soaring over the fence. Fabian, the Orioles’ No. 12 prospect, is hitting .241 with a .778 OPS.

5. Double-A Bowie outfielder John Rhodes

But Fabian might not have been the Baysox’s best outfielder last week. Rhodes, Baltimore’s No. 26 prospect, went 6-for-14 with a home run. Almost all of that production came Sunday when the 23-year-old went 5-for-5 with a homer and six RBIs. Rhodes, a third-round pick in 2021, is hitting .229 with a .669 OPS at the same level he reached at the end of 2022.

The top prospect not featured so far

The Orioles’ top two prospects traded places last week. As Jackson Holliday went on the injured list with elbow inflammation, Coby Mayo, the Orioles’ No. 2 prospect behind Holliday, returned from his stint on the shelf. Holliday’s injury isn’t seen as serious, but it pauses his up-and-down 2024 campaign. Since he was optioned back to Triple-A, the 20-year-old has posted a good-but-not-great slash line of .252/.418/.429 for an .847 OPS. Mayo demolished the baseball during his rehabilitation stint with Aberdeen, smashing three doubles and three homers in four games, and will rejoin the Tides on Tuesday.

International acquisition of the week

Leandro Arias struggled to begin his first year of full-season ball, but the 19-year-old middle infielder is coming off the best week of his campaign. Arias, one of the top players the Orioles signed in the 2022 international class, went 6-for-13 with one double, five walks and two stolen bases last week for Low-A Delmarva. MLB Pipeline ranks Arias, who is hitting .247 with a .753 OPS this year, as the Orioles’ No. 15 prospect.

Time to give a shoutout to …

If Billy Cook’s goal this year is to play every position on the field, he’s nearly all the way there. Cook, who MLB Pipeline ranks as the Orioles’ 30th-best prospect, has played all four infield positions and all three spots in the outfield for Norfolk this year as Baltimore makes him into a super-utilityman. Cook led the Tides last week by going 9-for-22 with five extra-base hits — three homers, one triple and one double. He homered in three straight games over the weekend. The 25-year-old has spent most of the season in Triple-A, slashing .296/.396/.486 — good for an .882 OPS.

Farm files

Maikol Hernández was reinstated from the 60-day IL and joined Delmarva for his first action in full-season ball. In January 2021, Hernández and Samuel Basallo became the first two players in franchise history to receive seven-figure signing bonuses on the international market. Basallo has soared to become one of MLB’s best prospects, while Hernández is a career .177 hitter. … Ronald Guzmán, the former MLB first baseman who is now a pitcher in the Orioles’ farm system, was placed on the IL. The left-hander allowed 10 earned runs in three innings for Aberdeen.