Orioles minor league report: Trevor Rogers getting results doing ‘uncomfortable things’ in Triple-A
By Matt Weyrich, Baltimore Sun,
20 days agoTrevor Rogers’ start to his Orioles career couldn’t have gone much worse.
Baltimore acquired the veteran left-hander from the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline for two of their most major league-ready prospects, second baseman Connor Norby and outfielder Kyle Stowers. Rogers, a 2021 All-Star, had struggled with health and consistency the past few seasons but joined the Orioles looking to build off a promising final two months in Miami.
Instead, he lasted only four starts before being demoted to Triple-A Norfolk . Rogers posted a 7.11 ERA with the Orioles, never making it past the fifth inning while walking too many. Despite their rotation being depleted from injuries — a driving factor behind the trade for him in the first place — the Orioles decided to give the 26-year-old a chance to reset with the Tides.
“The main thing we told him when we optioned him was, ‘Go down there and let’s find out. Let’s find out a little bit about yourself and do some uncomfortable things and try to make some improvements,’” Orioles pitching coach Drew French said. “We talked a lot about the slider, trying to get that going and maybe improve the shape a little bit and the velocity and just kind of the intent to throw hard as often as you can.”
Since reporting to Norfolk, Rogers, who is under team control through 2026, has turned in some encouraging results. His first outing was a disaster; he allowed 10 runs on nine hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings. In his three outings since, however, Rogers has registered three straight quality starts with 21 strikeouts to just four walks. The results have followed several mechanical changes to his delivery aimed at making his movements more athletic and fluid toward the plate.
“He came down and was accountable,” Norfolk pitching coach Justin Ramsey said in a phone interview. “He knew he wasn’t pitching the way he was capable of and he was ready to get to work. So, you always appreciate that. There was no hanging his head. There was no moping around. There was no blaming anybody but really himself and that he knows what he’s capable of. He just wants to get back to doing it.”
The biggest project the Orioles have tasked Rogers with is improving his slider, a pitch he has thrown less often than any other in his repertoire each of the last two seasons. Most notably, Rogers has raised his release point with the pitch by over two inches. While that takes away from his extension — how close to the plate he releases the ball — it also allows the pitch to break more before it reaches the batter.
So far, the results are striking. Opponents are hitting .167 against the pitch while swinging and missing a staggering 48.1% of the time. Over those three quality starts, nobody has touched it. While Rogers’ overall velocity has been down a couple of ticks, Ramsey attributes that to the difference in intensity of pitching in Triple-A compared to the majors. The Orioles are hoping continued tweaks to his delivery can produce improved fastball velocity, which could set up the slider to be a true wipeout pitch.
“We believe there’s still more in the tank with the fastball,” Ramsey said. “It’s about getting back to doing some things a little bit more efficiently and then kind of chipping away on that as we go. But obviously the breaking ball is going to kind of help the sum-of-all-parts kind of thing.”
Pipeline producers
Each week, The Baltimore Sun will break down five of the top performers in the Orioles’ prospect ranks and hand out some superlatives for those who didn’t make that cut.
1. Double-A Bowie outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr.
The 2024 season has come to an end for Enrique Bradfield Jr. and he finished it on a high note. Baltimore’s 2023 first-round pick slashed .350/.480/.500 with one home run, four stolen bases and seven runs last week to finish his short stint in Bowie with a .791 OPS. He demonstrated quick adjustments to the level after his promotion from High-A Aberdeen and put himself in position to reach the majors by next season if everything breaks right.
2. Triple-A right-handed pitcher Brandon Young
Coming off the first 100-pitch outing of his professional career, Brandon Young showed no signs of fatigue blanking the Durham Bulls over 5 1/3 innings with four strikeouts and a walk on Friday. Young lowered his ERA in Norfolk to 3.32 with the performance, lowest on the team among pitchers with at least 75 innings on the year.
3. Double-A Bowie outfielder Dylan Beavers
Not only was it an impressive week on the field for Dylan Beavers, who slashed .300/.364/.400 with two doubles and a stolen base, but an exciting one off of it as well with the Orioles promoting him to Norfolk to finish out the year. Beavers won’t have much time to make a big impression — the Tides’ season ends Sunday — but the move allows him to get familiar with the clubhouse he’ll likely spend the bulk of 2025 calling home.
4. Triple-A Norfolk catcher Samuel Basallo
It was an encouraging week for Samuel Basallo, who slashed .333/.391/.381 with a double and a stolen base as he looks to put a slow start to his Norfolk career behind him. Basallo reached base in all five games he started while seeing time at catcher, first base and designated hitter. The 20-year-old, one of the youngest players in Triple-A, will head into the offseason as a candidate to be the No. 1 prospect in baseball when next year’s rankings are put together.
5. Double-A Bowie right-handed pitcher Patrick Reilly
The Orioles’ under-the-radar trade deadline acquisition continued to display strong strikeout numbers this week. Patrick Reilly racked up 12 strikeouts in eight innings over two appearances, allowing three earned runs for a 3.38 ERA. He did struggle a bit with his command (six walks) but limited the damage to finish his first stint in Bowie with a 3.73 ERA.
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The top prospect not featured so far
With Coby Mayo and Heston Kjertsad in the majors, Chayce McDermott on the injured list and the lower levels of the minor leagues wrapped up for the year, the top prospect not featured so far who still has season left to go is outfielder Jud Fabian. The 2022 second-round pick, who turns 24 years old next week, has struggled in his first taste of Triple-A (.167/.245/.271 slash line in 24 games) after earning a promotion from Bowie in August. A strong start to the 2025 campaign should put Fabian on the Orioles’ radar as a potential call-up.
International acquisition of the week
Double-A was always an aggressive assignment for 21-year-old Frederick Bencosme, who showed impressive bat-to-ball skills during his first full season in the U.S. last year. The Orioles sent him to Bowie for 2024 and he finished up his campaign with a .240/.318/.348 with 28 stolen bases in 125 games. While it wasn’t necessarily a standout season, Bencosme maintained a low strikeout rate (16.3%) and showcased some speed on the base paths. Even if he returns to Bowie next year, his profile leaves room for improvement as his body matures.
Time to give a shoutout to …
A player who made the most of his late-season promotion, Creed Willems finished the year strong in Double-A hitting .262 with a .768 OPS over 16 games with Bowie. Willems, 21, has the chance to fly up the Orioles’ prospect rankings in 2025 if he can start to hit with more consistency. The catcher and first baseman already displayed raw power and an above-average eye for the strike zone with his season in High-A.
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