No. 9 prospect will make his MLB debut today at Toronto
*Cover Photo Credit: The Baltimore Banner
Yesterday, Cade Povich was on the Orioles' taxi squad, anxiously waiting to see if the team would pick up his contract from Triple-A Norfolk.
As of today, the southpaw is officially a big leaguer.
Povich, the Orioles' No. 9 prospect, has officially had his contract purchased by the Orioles and has been added to the active roster. He will make his Major League debut today as he gets the start against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. LHP Nick Vespi was the corresponding move as he was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.
Povich's journey to the show did not originally begin with the Orioles organization. The Reno, Nevada native waas a third round pick of the Minnesota Twins out of the University of Nebraska in 2021. The following year, the Orioles plucked him from the Twins along with Yennier Cano and two other pitching prospects in exchange for All-Star closer Jorge Lopez. In a year of uncertainty and resurgent .500 baseball for the Orioles, this turned out to become one of Mike Elias' many genius decisions.
The 24-year-old southpaw has risen as one of the organization's top pitching prospects. Last season was his first full season in the organization and even amidst an elavated 5.04 ERA, Povich showed great ability to collect swings and misses with 171 strikeouts in 126.2 innings with Bowie and Norfolk (12.2 K/9). He controlled the baserunners by allowing only 66 walks, and he posted a 1.358 WHIP. His signature moment that season came in the International League championship game when he was tasked with the start for Norfolk and tossed 4 shutout innings to lead the Tides to the International League championship.
2024 has been a huge step up for Povich. He was named the International League April Pitcher of the Month after posting a 1.03 ERA with 40 strikeouts over 26.1 innings. Overall this season, he has a 3.18 ERA at Triple-A with a 1.112 WHIP. He has a winning record of 5-1 and his strikeout numbers remain elavated as he has K'd 75 batters through 56.2 innings.
There is some space in the Orioles' starting rotation right now due to unfortunate injuries and arms simply needing extra rest. John Means and Tyler Wells are unfortunately down for the remainder of the 2024 season with elbow surgeries impending. Kyle Bradish, who is coming off a UCL sprain recovery, may need extra rest as he has been working the every fifth day schedule and his fatigue may have shown after he got roughed up for 5 runs against Tampa Bay last Saturday. Grayson Rodriguez is not far removed from his own IL stint from elbow inflammation.
The Orioles expect all available arms to be at the ready, but Povich is the next guy that they will call on to step up and aid the heavily used starting rotation. They technically cannot go wrong with several starters at the Triple-A level right now but for the time being, Povich has earned his first shot at the big leagues. This is a hard-throwing lefty who brings youthful energy and passion to the mound, gains strikeouts with a tremendous fastball-slider-changeup trio, and can bounce back even after things may not go his way right off the bat.
This is an exciting time for Birdland. As many of the Orioles' top prospects are flocking their way to the highest level, as Elias' blueprints are coming to fruition, Povich's arrival should further excite the fanbase and the fact that the talent from the best farm system in baseball is ready to help bring a World Series trophy home to a city that has waited 41 years for it.
Povich gets the ball against Toronto today at 1:07 pm. Keep track of the game on MLB Gameday.
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