These Orioles are having the biggest camps so far

A few O’s players needed to have big springs, and they are delivering.

I know that CC readers are too sophisticated to fall for the old “Jake Fox” trick. And by that, I’m referring to the journeyman catcher who, in 2011, set the Grapefruit League on fire with an incredible 10 home runs and 17 extra-base hits in 74 at-bats, landed on the Opening Day roster, and then… didn’t do much else of note, actually.

So: take this with however many grains of salt you like, but I thought I’d highlight a few people who are lighting up the box score early in camp.

Coby Mayo

Is there anything this guy can’t hit? He’s 5-for-9 and is flashing plenty of power, with three doubles, two runs scored, two RBIs, and three walks. On Wednesday, the prodigious power hitter hit a loud RBI double off the left-center field fence, clocked at 109.9 mph off the bat, to put the Orioles’ lead over Minnesota at 11-1. Check out the swing—it has “masher” written all over it.

Mayo finished last season with 62 games in Triple-A, enough time for him to hit 12 homers while slugging .512, despite being more than five years younger than the competition. Brandon Hyde is taking notice: “Coby’s so young, he’s got so much raw power. He top-spun that ball off the fence in left field.” Could he steal a spot on the bench, despite his age?

Dillon Tate

Last season was a wasted one for Tate, who was shut down with a right flexor forearm strain. But after not pitching for over a year, he threw a perfect third inning on Tuesday, facing three Detroit hitters and retiring them all on a flyout, a called strikeout and a weak tapper. It is said that his stuff is looking sharp.

One of the Orioles’ biggest struggles last season was finding people to bridge the innings between the starters and their late-inning wizards Yennier Cano and Félix Bautista. A healthy Dillon Tate would really stabilize the ship.

Cole Irvin

The news that last year’s best Orioles starter, Kyle Bradish, had suffered a partial UCL tear in the offseason was a devastating blow to the rotation. The No. 4 finisher in last year’s Cy Young Award voting is apparently doing well after a platelet injection, and has been doing long toss in spring training this week. Even so, he won’t be back in the rotation until May, at the minimum, so it is good to hear that others are stepping up.

Irvin dazzled with two innings of no-hit, three-strikeout ball on Sunday. Observers were wowed, above all, by an increase in velocity. Irvin credits it to changes in diet and the weight room, plus some mechanical stuff he’s understandably none-too-eager to divulge. His best season was a 3.98 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP in 30 starts for Oakland in 2022. If he can provide something close to that as a fourth or fifth starter option, he’ll add great stability for as long as he’s in it.

Colton Cowser

Like Kyle Stowers, Cowser is in the “prospect whose momentum stalled last season and needs to make a big impression” boat. He debuted with the club last season in July, but couldn’t get comfortable and hit a lowly .115 with a .434 OPS in 26 games.

Now, through six games, he’s apparently looking comfortable. On Wednesday, Cowser reached on an infield single and hit a three-run homer in the third. That’s to go with a walk-off home run on Saturday, his first game of 2024. He is currently 3-for-6 with two homers, five RBIs and three walks.

Says Brandon Hyde: “Colton is way more aggressive at plate. Taking really good swings. He’s got a lot of ability. He’s got a lot of tools. He’s got some power, he can run. I like the way he’s playing center field, also.”

Honorable mentions: Justin Armbruester, Alex Pham, Matt Krook

These guys are three rather-unknowns with somewhat long odds to make the team, but they haven’t hurt their chances so far. The Orioles’ No. 18 prospect, the 6’5, 250-lb. right handy Armbruester posted a 2.47 ERA at Double-A Bowie last season with 43 strikeouts in 62 innings and just 19 walks. He’s perfecting a nasty cutter to go along with a sweepy slider and a fastball that can touch 97 mph. On Feb. 26, he racked up four strikeouts in three innings of work, with no earned runs and one hit. He pitched the fifth, sixth and seventh innings in a split-squad game against Tampa Bay on Saturday, so this isn’t quite cutting-edge competition, yet, but it’s a good sign. Here he is blowing some heat by some unsuspecting prospect:

Meanwhile, despite an impressive 2023, the Orioles’ No. 29 prospect, Alex Pham remains something of a dark horse. He’s undersized, at 5’11, and needs to cut down on walks, but after a 2.57 ERA, 1.018 WHIP, and 10.4 K/9 between High-A Aberdeen and Double-A Bowie last season, he’s playing himself into the conversation for bullpen depth. Thus far in camp, he hasn’t allowed a baserunner in two innings of work, striking out two and earning a save in a 5-2 win on Tuesday. He was—you guessed it—Pham-tastic.

Meanwhile, it’s a little early to crown Matt Krook the next Craig Kimbrel, but the southpaw did earn himself some good will by throwing one inning against the Atlanta Braves’ A-team on Saturday (Matt Olson, Marcell Ozuna, Michael Harris II, and prospect Tyler Tolve) and striking out the side with one single allowed. Five earned runs in twelve innings last season with the Yankees isn’t doing him any favors, but he is known as a K machine who in 2022 finished second among all Triple-A pitchers in strikeouts and tied for third in wins.