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Baltimore Orioles Recall Top Pitching Prospect Grayson Rodriguez Ahead of Monday Start

After two months of dominating the minor leagues, one of the sports' most-hyped young pitchers is returning to the majors in a big moment.
Sam Connon|
Baltimore Orioles Recall Top Pitching Prospect Grayson Rodriguez Ahead of Monday Start
Baltimore Orioles Recall Top Pitching Prospect Grayson Rodriguez Ahead of Monday Start

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Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles have recalled right-handed pitcher Grayson Rodriguez from Triple-A Norfolk, the team announced Monday morning. Right-handed pitcher Eduard Bazardo has been optioned to Norfolk to make room for Rodriguez on the major league roster, while left-hander Cole Irvin is expected to move from the rotation into the bullpen.

As manager Brandon Hyde told reporters Sunday, Rodriguez will start Monday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Rodriguez, who owns a 7.35 ERA and 1.743 WHIP at the major league level, has not pitched in the big leagues since May 26. The 23-year-old was part of Baltimore's starting rotation at the beginning of the season, but he got sent down after a string of bumpy starts.

The Orioles were 7-3 in Rodriguez's 10 starts, despite the fact that he allowed four-plus earned runs in five separate outings. The rookie gave up eight earned in two of his final three appearances before getting optioned.

Rodriguez managed to build up some steam in Triple-A over the past two months, though, going 4-0 with a 1.96 ERA and 1.089 WHIP across eight starts.

Rodriguez ended last season as the No. 1 pitcher and No. 4 overall player in the MLB.com Top 100 Prospect Rankings. Through five seasons in the minors, Rodriguez has compiled a 29-9 record with a 2.40 ERA, 0.966 WHIP and 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

The Orioles are currently 57-35, which puts them on pace for their best regular season since 1979. Baltimore is 1.0 game out of first place in the AL East, but holds the top AL Wild Card spot with eight games of cushion below them.

First pitch between the Orioles and Dodgers is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET in Baltimore. Rodriguez and his fellow 23-year-old rookie Emmet Sheehan are the probable starters.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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