Pete Alonso Gives Honest Assessment of Orioles Pitchers

Baltimore Orioles slugger Pete Alonso had strong words about one particular teammate.

Baltimore Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso | Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles' offense appears to be in a fantastic place heading into the 2026 season.

Even if President of Baseball Operations Mike Elias and the rest of the Orioles' brass didn't make any major additions to the team's position player corps, the expectation is that guys like Gunnar Henderson, Ryan Mountcastle, Adley Rutschman, and Jackson Holliday will produce better numbers than they had in 2025. Not to mention that Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers should be with the team for an entire season, which should provide a jolt of offense.

Read more: Craig Albernaz Shuts Down 'Outside Perception' of Pete Alonso

But the Orioles didn't leave their offense's success up to hope. They went out and acquired a combined 74 home runs from the 2025 regular season in the form of Taylor Ward (who had 36 home runs for the Angels last year) and Pete Alonso (who had 38 home runs for the Mets). Therefore, the Orioles appear poised to have one of the American League's most lethal lineups for 2026.

Los Angeles Angels left fielder Taylor Ward (3) | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

There isn't the same confidence when it comes to the pitching staff.

The Orioles made it clear that they intended to add a frontline starting pitcher this offseason. While they signed Chris Bassitt, re-signed Zach Eflin, and traded for Shane Baz, none of these guys quality of the ace-caliber arm that Elias said he wanted to acquire.

Pete Alonso's Stance on Orioles Pitchers Speaks Volumes

One intriguing pitcher for Baltimore is right-hander Nestor German, who is the No. 11 prospect in their system, according to MLB.com.

German faced Pete Alonso during live BP on February 19 and struck him out. Then Alonso praised the 23-year-old afterwards, saying, “His stuff was real, you know?. He had like a three-, four-pitch mix. He had two different breaking balls. The splitter’s obviously what really was profound for me. The splitter was good. It just kept me honest with pretty much all of his other pitches. He looked really, really good... Yeah, he’s one of the tougher ones I’ve had this spring," per a February 19 article from MASN's Roch Kubatko.

Taking another look at possible position players, German impressed Alonso in live batting practice - MASN #orioles https://t.co/gTUKYbx7l3

— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) February 19, 2026

Alonso also spoke about the Orioles' staff more broadly, saying, “Everyone’s nasty nowadays. Everyone’s got elite stuff. They just grow on trees now because you’ve got the pitching labs and stuff like that. All the slow-motion cameras and people just finding new and different grips and discovering new pitches and shapes all the time."

Perhaps Alonso's praise will propel German to make the Orioles' Opening Day roster and bolster their pitching staff.

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