The circumstances leading to Grayson Rodriguez’s major league debut against Texas weren’t ideal.
The Orioles certainly didn’t want to lose starting pitcher Kyle Bradish, who landed on the 15-day injured list after taking a line drive off his right foot in the second inning on Monday night. The 26-year-old was arguably Baltimore’s best pitcher after the All-Star break last season and brings his own upside that this club needs to contend in 2023.
It was just over a week ago that the 23-year-old Rodriguez was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk after a rough spring that included a 7.04 ERA in the Grapefruit League, leaving him on the outside looking in for a spot in the Opening Day rotation. His season debut for the Tides wasn’t great either as the 6-foot-5 right-hander walked four and labored through four innings at Durham. Yes, the apparent preference was to give Rodriguez a chance to exhale, rediscover his command, and get into an early groove — don’t forget he missed three months with a lat injury last summer when he was on the verge of a major league promotion — before calling him up for good in the near future.
But with the playoff-hopeful Orioles wanting to win games and needing to shuffle their starting rotation over the first two games of the series against the Rangers and Rodriguez on regular rest Wednesday, he was simply the next man up to pitch the finale in Arlington. That Baltimore was playing just a few hours from his hometown of Nacogdoches, Texas was a bonus as plenty of family and friends were able to be at Globe Life Field for Rodriguez’s debut.
He didn’t disappoint over five strong innings despite the Orioles falling 5-2 to the Rangers to finish a 3-3 road trip to begin the 2023 campaign.
With nerves apparent and understandable, Rodriguez battled through a 30-pitch first inning, giving up two runs and struggling to command his pitches. But after that, you wouldn’t even know he was making his major league debut or that he was opposed by all-universe pitcher Jacob deGrom, who typically leaves the opposing hurler and his club a microscopic margin for error.
Rodriguez retired 13 of the final 15 hitters he faced, striking out five and inducing 14 whiffs on 44 total swings. His fastball touched 98 mph and averaged 96.5 as he twice struck out three-time All-Star shortstop Corey Seager swinging on that pitch. And after much was made about his struggles going through the order a second time in spring training, Rodriguez allowed only two hits after that opening frame, keeping the Orioles in the game despite deGrom being perfect and striking out eight through the first four frames.
Rodriguez’s five-pitch mix was impressive — particularly the fastball, changeup, and slider — and certainly made the 2018 first-round pick look like he belonged. Of course, it’s no accident that he’s been a consensus top 25 prospect in all of baseball for a few years now.
The worst you could say about the young hurler after that rocky first inning was that he wasn’t as dominant as deGrom, but even mentioning him in the same breath as one of game’s elite pitchers was exciting enough. With the Orioles having not developed many arms who’ve approached appointment viewing status for decades now, fans are dreaming about Rodriguez becoming their own deGrom — or more realistically, the legitimate ace that’s eluded the club for so long — at some point.
Even in defeat, Wednesday was fun as watching Rodriguez’s father, Gilbert, living and dying with every pitch was a scene that never gets old for those who’ve loved the game at any level. The postgame embrace between the two was even better.
Asked about potentially making another start with Bradish not eligible to return until April 19, Rodriguez let his two-run, 83-pitch performance do most of the talking.
Why wouldn’t he after such a promising debut?
”Really, just whatever they tell me,” Rodriguez told reporters in Arlington. “If they want to give me another start, I’ll be ready for it.”
He certainly was on Wednesday — even under less-than-ideal circumstances.
