Chris Lee on delivery tweaks, his velocity gain and more, plus other notes

For Orioles left-handed pitching prospect Chris Lee, a trade from the Houston Astros to Baltimore last May has really advanced his career.

With Houston, he pitched in rookie ball three straight seasons, from 2011-2013, and was in low Single-A ball all during the 2014 season and was back at that level to start last season. But the Orioles then acquired him May 18 for two international bonus slots.

He finally moved past low Single-A ball when the Orioles assigned him to Single-A Frederick of the Carolina League. Later, they promoted him to Double-A Bowie. He was moving at a snail's pace in one organization and like a world-class sprinter in another.

"It was a fresh start. It was a blessing to get traded and have an opportunity to showcase my talents," Lee said last week on the Orioles "Hot Stove Show" on the flagship station, 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore.

In 21 starts between Frederick and Bowie, the 23-year-old Lee went 7-8 with an ERA of 3.07. Over 114 innings, he allowed 96 hits (just one home run) with 49 walks and 74 strikeouts.

Lee's fastball was also on the rise last year. Clocked between 88 and 91 mph early in the season, later in the year he was throwing 91 to 96 mph for the Keys and Baysox.

The Orioles made some tweaks with him to shorten his stride and help him repeat his delivery more consistently, while adding some athleticism to his delivery. Those changes along with an aggressive offseason program leading into last year helped his fastball gain steam.

"My offseason program, I pushed it up," Lee said. "I got with a new trainer at Sports East Performance in Tampa. He really preaches about explosive performance. So I worked on that and I just coordinated that with my new pitching mechanics and it all just worked out.

"I got my legs a lot stronger and that puts less stress on my arm because I have a lot of arm speed. Having stronger legs let's me go down the mound more easier. I didn't really pay attention to the gun. Was just looking to throw strikes and get outs."

Lee throws a fastball, changeup and slider. He said he actually now throws two different sliders.

"One is more like a slider-cutter and one has more depth to it. It is more like a sweeping slider, kind of a slurve," he said. "Same arm speed and same rotation. I was working on it a little bit when I first got traded. Has been effective against lefties and righties and it has been a good pitch for me."

A Tampa, Fla., native, Lee was originally drafted by the White Sox in Round 37 of the 2010 draft, but did not sign. He did sign when Houston drafted him in Round 4 (No. 130 overall) a year later. He signed for a $215,000 bonus and was ranked as Houston's No. 22 prospect at the end of 2013. Last December, he was ranked as the O's No. 6 prospect by Baseball America and the O's No. 5 by ESPN.

After the Orioles added Lee to their 40-man roster last November, ahead of the Rule 5 draft, now he finds himself in big league camp in Sarasota, Fla. While Lee is unlikely to make the Orioles' opening day roster, he could begin this year in the rotation for Bowie or Triple-A Norfolk. He could be knocking on the door at some point this year.

He got into the Orioles' spring training opener on Tuesday. He gave up two hits, but pitched a scoreless inning in the Orioles' 4-4 tie with Atlanta.

"It's been unbelievable," Lee said. "It's my first big league camp and the guys are welcoming me in pretty good. I'm enjoying myself. Just here to work hard and keep moving up."

That work for Lee continues right after he pitches at times. He likes to quickly review his night's work with other players and coaches.

"I'm just really passionate about the game. I love baseball. I could talk baseball all day, every day. Just real excited with anything about baseball," Lee said.

That fastball will sit idle for a while: The Yankees are going to have to wait a while before they unleash their trio of late-inning relievers on other teams. They'll have Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances on opening day, but lefty Aroldis Chapman will begin the year serving a 30-game suspension after facing domestic violence allegations. Chapman will miss 15 games against American League East opponents, including three with the Orioles May 3-5 at Camden Yards.

But perhaps the biggest takeaway from the suspension for an Orioles fan is that this allows Chapman to still be a free agent after the 2016 season. Had he gotten a longer suspension, he possibly would have remained under Yankees team control through 2017. That would have allowed the Yankees to actually benefit from a suspension, which is certainly not the intent of one. They could still re-sign Chapman, but now his free agency will start after this season.

Reyes rising: Orioles infield prospect Jomar Reyes has been ranked as the No. 9 third base prospect in the sport by Baseball America. Reyes, rated as the O's No. 4 prospect overall having just recently turned 19.

Reyes hit .278 last summer for Single-A Delmarva in 84 games with five homers, 44 RBIs and a .774 OPS. He is expected to move to Single-A Frederick for the 2016 season.

Earlier, Baseball America rated Chance Sisco No. 8 at catcher and Trey Mancini No. 13 at first base. The publication rated the top 100 right-handed pitchers with Dylan Bundy No. 31, Hunter Harvey No. 32 and Mychal Givens No. 80.