Is window of opportunity ajar for Povich?

The Orioles are in a different era. 

Consistently competing in the American League East, Baltimore can’t afford to give guaranteed, consistent playing time to prospects. Development, while still important, has to give way to winning baseball games at the big league level. 

Of course, this wasn’t always the case. 

Pitching prospects like Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer were never top 100 prospects according to MLB Pipeline, nor were they considered to be in the upper echelon of the O’s top youngsters. However, with a rebuilding phase at the big league level, they were still able to find pathways to relatively consistent playing time in the majors. 

Both players have been able to carve out roles in Baltimore: Akin out of the bullpen and Kremer as a mainstay in the starting rotation. They were given a chance to prove that they had big league ability and they made the most of their opportunities. 

“Open” may not be an accurate description for the window of opportunity for current O’s prospects. “Ajar” feels more fitting. Winning is the priority, not a “wait and see” approach with a young player that you’re hoping pans out. 

Cade Povich, 24, needed to make a quick splash in the big leagues last season if he was going to stick around. The lefty did just that. 

“Slim,” as he’s affectionately monikered, tossed six scoreless innings against the Braves in just his second career start. In his third, the lefty threw 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball against one of the best lineups in baseball in the Yankees. 

The strikeout numbers weren’t gaudy and keeping the ball in the strike zone seemed to be feast or famine every fifth day, but the potential was obvious. Couple that with injuries throughout the starting rotation and the window went from ajar to temporarily open. Povich earned himself 16 starts on the season.

Heading into 2025, a pathway to toeing the Camden Yards rubber seemed murky. Those finicky windows. 

The O’s addressed their starting rotation depth in free agency, adding veterans Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano on one-year deals. They joined Zach Eflin, Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer, three well-established members of the rotation. Povich’s name was hard to fit into a big league conversation. 

Regardless, it would’ve been a safe bet to assume that Povich would start a game for the Orioles at some point. Thirteen different players made starts for Baltimore last year, and even a much healthier season in 2025 would require at least eight or nine starters. Povich is certainly among the first nine on the call sheet. 

His number could be called much earlier than expected. 

With the news that Rodriguez will be missing some time, Povich, along with Albert Suárez, could be in line to be the No. 5 starter come Opening Day. 

If Brandon Hyde opts to use Suárez out of the bullpen and Povich’s number is called for the rotation, what could we expect out of the young lefty? 

Hopefully, a lot of what we saw down the stretch. 

Povich was on fire in the month of September, to the tune of a 2.60 ERA in his five starts in the month. Opponents hit just .162 with a .224 on-base percentage and a .558 OPS. 

Like many pitching prospects, Povich’s biggest hurdle has been keeping the ball in the strike zone. But trusting his six-pitch mix, throwing strikes and limiting walks has raised the ceiling of what the Nebraska product can be in the majors. 

In his five starts in September, Povich threw 68 percent of his pitches for strikes and still struck out over 10 batters per nine innings. In the 11 starts prior, that number was down at 63 percent. He walked at least four batters in four of those 11 starts and only walked eight total batters in his five starts to end the season. 

The window was never going to be wide open for Povich. Even now, there is still competition with Suárez for the last spot in the rotation. But if Povich is the choice, his month of September gives plenty of reason for optimism that he can muscle his window from ajar to open. 

Even if his arm is a bit “slim.”