Kyle Bradish

The manner in which Bradish finished 2022 teased an impending breakout, but no one expected the fourth-lowest ERA among qualifiers. Granted, he benefited from a .270 BABIP and 79.1% left-on-base mark, but Bradish's 18.5 K-BB% was 18th among qualified starters. The major difference from the previous season was Bradish threw fewer four-seamers while upping sinker usage as well as adding velocity and spin to his curveball. The cumulative effects generated more grounders and swinging strikes. However, his ascent to the top of the Baltimore rotation suffered a setback in February when it was reported that Bradish had been diagnosed with a sprained UCL in his right elbow. While the plan is to go the rest-and-rehab route, the threat of Tommy John surgery will hang in the air like a dark cloud. The Orioles are already saying that he will miss the start of the season, though Bradish is expected to start a throwing program relatively early on in camp.

Bradish was the exact oppostive of everything we would expect from a righty pitcher in Baltimore in 2022. He had a 5.00 ERA and a .288/.348/.479 triple-slash at Camden Yards and a 4.77 ERA with a .239/.331/.349 triple-slash pitching anywhere else. Doubling down on the confusion was a .280/.347/.456 against righties and a .235/.326/.346 against lefties despite a repertoire that portends the exact opposite situation. He had a disastrous first half, but after returning to the big leagues, he posted a 3.28 ERA and twice shut down the World Champion Astros over 8 innings while scattering 2 hits with 16 strikeouts. The minor league numbers have been dominant, but it wasn't until that first outing against Houston in late August that it finally came together at the big league level. The final second half numbers would have been even better if not for a disastrous outing against Boston at the end of September. An interesting note: the names of similar pitches to Bradish based on velocity and movement on StatCast includes names like Corbin Burnes, Zac Gallen, and Drew Rasmussen. The last name on that list is a very interesting comp given the step forward Rasmussen took in 2022 despite similar challenges in developing an effective changeup.

Bradish was added to the Orioles' 40-man roster in the offseason and is poised to make his big-league debut in late-April against the Red Sox. Through three starts at Triple-A, he cut his walk rate to 5.3 percent - a significant improvement from the 10.3 percent rate he logged in 86.2 innings at Double-A a season ago. He also sports a career-best 50 percent groundball rate. Bradish has a mid-90s fastball, a power mid-80s slider and a low-80s curveball that he uses to neutralize left-handed batters. He is a legitimate prospect who may have improved his skills this past offseason and could find success as a rookie, especially now that Oriole Park at Camden Yards is playing like a pitcher's park.