Orioles lineup for "Spring Breakout," plus more notes

BRADENTON, Fla. – The Orioles announced their lineup for tonight’s “Spring Breakout” game against the Pirates in Bradenton, the second half of a unique doubleheader.

The top two spots are occupied by the last two first-round draft picks – center fielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. and shortstop Jackson Holliday.

Samuel Basallo, who collected his first hit yesterday with a ninth inning single, is batting fifth as the designated hitter. He probably won’t be cleared to catch until late April due to a stress fracture in his right elbow.

Silas Ardoin is catching left-hander Cade Povich.

The first seven spots in the order are occupied by Top 30 prospects. Povich also counts at No. 10 per MLB Pipeline.

For the Orioles

Enrique Bradfield Jr. CF
Jackson Holliday SS
Connor Norby 2B
Coby Mayo 3B
Samuel Basallo DH
Dylan Beavers RF
Jud Fabian LF
Billy Cook 1B
Silas Ardoin C

Cade Povich LHP

The travel roster for today’s early game against the Pirates includes minor league catcher Cole Urman, infielders Anthony Servideo, Angel Tejada and Collin Burnes, outfielders Elio Prado, Reed Trimble and Tavian Josenberger, and pitchers Dylan Heid, Logan Rinehart, Graham Firoved, Kyle Virbitsky, Houston Roth and Dan Hammer.

The Pirates scratched Andrew McCutchen from their lineup.

Connor Joe RF
Bryan Reynolds LF
Ke’Bryan Hayes 3B
Jack Suwinski CF
Rowdy Tellez 1B
Henry Davis C
Nick Gonzales 2B
Billy McKinney DH
Alika Williams SS

Marco Gonzales LHP

The Orioles haven't made any roster cuts after removing eight players yesterday to get down to 50.

Povich and Chayce McDermott were reassigned to minor league camp. McDermott, the No. 9 prospect in the system per MLB Pipeline, didn’t allow a run in 6 2/3 innings and struck out 10 batters. Povich, the No. 10 prospect, surrendered one earned run (two total) with nine strikeouts in seven innings.

“A phone call away,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “I was really impressed with those guys. They threw the ball great and we have really high hopes for them. They just need a little more Triple-A experience, but they’re getting really close and they know it, and how they’ve thrown this sprig opened up a lot of eyes on the major league staff. We’re really impressed by them as people, but also their stuff.

“The right thing to do for them is get some more minor league innings at this point and hopefully they can help us sometime this year.”

Reliever Wandisson Charles also was reassigned after tossing four scoreless innings with two hits, four walks and four strikeouts. He flashed his upper-90s fastball and continues to work on his command after walking 28 batters in 30 innings last summer with Triple-A Norfolk.

“The whole thing with him is if he can throw his fastball over the plate, because the split and the off-speed stuff are really good,” Hyde said. “It’s major league stuff. He’s just got to have the ability to get to it. He had some good moments here, he had some moments when he was behind in the count, so we’re hoping he can go to Triple-A and continue to work on that. But we’re really excited about the progress he’s made in a full year.”

Félix Bautista acts as a mentor to Charles and provides a nice example of how a big, hard-throwing reliever with high walk totals can develop into a major league reliever – and in Bautista’s case, an All-Star closer.

“That was something we talked about with Charles yesterday was, look at Bautista, somebody who has similar size and stuff,” Hyde said. “It took Bautista a little while to kind of harness that command. Hopefully, Charles can do something similar.

“Bautista figured it out a little bit later. Guys’ calendars are all different and when guys figure it out is never the same. It took Bautista a little bit longer. Maybe it will be the same thing with Charles.”