Wojciechowski on camp, the rotation and his message

As Orioles starter Asher Wojciechowski increases his innings and pitch count in camp, he'd also like to tear down the stigma of a rebuilding club and the narrative that he perceives as following it through the summer.

He can stomach the lowered expectations within the industry. But don't question the heart.

"We all believe in ourselves," he said today in a Zoom conference call with the media. "To be honest with you, I get really tired with people saying, 'Oh, they're rebuilding, they're not trying.' I mean, we're all here, we're all professionals, we're here to compete and to win and if you're not here to do that, then you shouldn't be here.

"We're all here to win, we're all here to compete, we're all here to get better and that's the goal."

So is making the club out of summer training camp.

Wojciechowski is battling for inclusion in a rotation that's going to feature John Means, Alex Cobb and Wade LeBlanc. The Orioles selected the contracts of LeBlanc and Tommy Milone last night and the latter could be used as a starter or reliever.

Kohl Stewart also is in the mix as the final days of camp melt away in the summer heat.

"I really like our rotation," Wojciechowski said. "When people say we're a rebuilding team, I feel like we have a veteran rotation, guys with a lot of experience. With Wade, Cobb, Milone and John with the experience he had last year. And then with the experience I had last year with the team as well, I feel like we're going to push each other, we're going to learn from one another. We all get along great. I think it's going to be an exciting year for us just moving forward, and we're going to get better and we're just going to go out there and compete every day."

LeBlanc, Milone and Stewart are the newcomers to the organization. Wojciechowski rejoined it on July 1, 2019 and posted a 4.92 ERA and 1.312 WHIP in 82 1/3 innings, with only one of his 17 appearances coming out of the bullpen.

Wojciechowski made two exhibition starts prior to the shutdown and allowed one run and two hits in five innings. He threw four innings worth of live batting practice on Sunday totaling 66 pitches.

"I think it's going well so far," he said. "Just going through the new schedule, the new ramp up. It's new to everybody, it's new to me. So coming in and just really ramping it up right away, it's an adjustment and we're all making it.

"I definitely feel like I'm ready for the season. Got two more starts before we're ready to go, so I'm looking forward to getting those and tuning some things up and then ready to roll."

The Orioles will bump up Wojciechowski to five innings and 75 pitches in two intrasquad starts before heading to Boston.

"I'm going to be ready to go six, seven innings when the season starts," he said. "I feel like my body, my arm is right where it needs to be and I'll be ready to go coming into the season."

The work done back home over the winter and later in Sarasota to develop a split-changeup has been scraped at Camden Yards.

"Coming into the first spring training, I really wasn't liking the action I was getting because, just when I was throwing it to hitters, it really wasn't doing what I wanted it to," he said. "In the second offseason, I started to develop just more of like a true changeup feel because that's a pitch that I have thrown throughout the years and just was trying to tinker with finger placement, with where I was holding it in my hand.

"I feel like I've come across a grip that is familiar to me. I've been throwing it since I've gotten back and I really like the action on it and I've actually thrown it to some hitters and liked the action on it. So it's more of a true changeup now and for being my fourth pitch, it's something I'll continue to work on and hopefully I'll be throwing it more and getting good results with. I'm excited to see how it plays out."

Wojciechowski has sat in the seats behind home plate for some of the intrasquad games, his long hair making him easy to identify.

Fans aren't permitted inside the ballpark. Wojciechowski allowed himself to become one.

"I was just kind of watching just to watch baseball," he said. "I hadn't seen baseball in a long time, so wanted to watch my teammates, wanted to watch how guys were throwing, see how everybody was looking out there. Just wanted to watch some competitive baseball, so mostly I was just there to catch some competition and also to prepare myself for my starts so when you walk on the mound it's not the first time that you've seen a baseball game.

"I wanted to kind of get that feeling, that adrenaline when you watch a game or when you get prepared for a game and just prepare myself for my outings."

Wojciechowski has projected a loud voice on social media against racial injustice and while supporting peaceful protests around the country, work that makes him prouder than anything he does on a mound.

An attitude and a passion instilled in him at a young age.

"My whole message is just love and unity," he said. "Being a kid that grew up on the mission field with my parents being missionaries, my dad being a pastor, I feel like I'm a pretty well-cultured kid. I got to travel the world, I got to see many different cultures and got to see the love of Christ all over the world. And that's just one thing that I try to do is just love people, no matter where they're from, no matter what they look like. To just spread that love and to love your neighbor.

"I think it's a simple message and it's something that I try to live by and try to show through my actions. It's just something that has been instilled in me since a little kid. To love your neighbor, love one another and I think that it's a good message. Things would be a lot simpler if everybody did that, so it's something I try to speak about and set an example for."

Note: Outfielder Yusniel Diaz, pitcher DL Hall and infielder Ramón Urías have been added to the player pool and assigned to the alternate camp in Bowie.

The Orioles have 56 players in the 60-man pool.