Baltimore Orioles Prospect Could Be Closer to Making His Major League Debut

Brandon Young could find himself on the pitching staff of the Baltimore Orioles sooner than expected.

Manager Brandon Hyde announced Friday that pitchers Grayson Rodriguez will miss the start of the season with an elbow issue and Andrew Kittredge “will miss multiple months for arthroscopic knee surgery of the cartilage,” Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner reported.

Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez has discomfort on the back of his elbow and will “miss time” into the season, manager Brandon Hyde said.

Rodriguez will receive further opinions
— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) March 7, 2025

Orioles right-hander Andrew Kittredge will miss multiple months for arthroscopic knee surgery of the cartilage
— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) March 7, 2025

And while Young isn’t the leading candidate to step into the starting rotation in place of Rodriguez, he could be the top option at Triple A Norfolk should injury strike again.

MLB Pipeline ranks Young as the No. 20 prospect in the Baltimore farm system. And while there are other pitchers higher on the list, they are young and lack the experience that Young, 26, has.

This is what MLB Pipeline had to say about Young:

“Young is a 6-foot-6 right-hander whose performance exceeds the sum of its parts. His repertoire might not feature a truly above-average offering, but it’s a legitimate four-pitch mix that Young augments with excellent command, and he throws enough strikes to be effective without earth-shattering stuff. His fastball is an effective pitch that lives 93-95 mph but plays up because he throws everything out of the same window, and he keeps hitters off balance with a slider, cutter and changeup that can all be average offerings. The fading changeup is particularly important for Young, as it helps neutralize left-handed hitters.

“Young doesn’t miss a ton of bats, and his lack of a true out pitch probably limits his ceiling. But the pitch mix and ability to command his entire arsenal give him a solid floor as a dependable strike-thrower who figures to factor into Baltimore’s big league mix in 2025, perhaps in a swingman role.”

The undrafted free agent has yet to make his major league debut.

Young split time last season between Norfolk and Double-A Bowie, finishing 5-6 with a 3.57 ERA in 27 appearances (24 starts). In 111 innings, he struck out 132 batters, a rate of 10.7 per nine innings.

This spring for the Orioles, he has made two relief appearances and is 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA. He’s given up two earned runs in 4.1 innings.

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