Are the O's considering Tanner Scott a future starter?

When it was announced last Thursday that hard-throwing Double-A Bowie left-hander Tanner Scott was selected for the All-Star Futures Game, manager Buck Showalter made some nice comments about Scott and the strong season he is having.

He also said this: "Who knows, he might even be a starting pitcher one day. If he can grasp the changeup like he's grasped the slider, who knows? He's doing well and has really gotten a grip on his walks. He's been fun to watch and we've had a good plan."

The Orioles' plan for Scott this year has worked very well. A reliever for most of his first three seasons on the O's farm, they moved him to a starting role this year at Bowie. But Scott was not converting to a starter. They just wanted him to throw three-inning outings. This would allow him more work on his pitches and controlling them better, plus he would have a bullpen between starts to further work on all the above. With a fastball that has touched 100 mph, if Scott could improve his slider and lower his walk-rate, his path to making the Orioles roster one day would become smoother.

But Showalter wondering if Scott could be a future starter was not just an off-the-cuff remark. The Orioles are at least considering it. At a time when their major league rotation is among the worst in baseball, they need to develop more young starting pitchers.

If Scott can do well throwing three innings, what about going five? What about seven? Can he be stretched out as a starter?

During an interview with me Sunday on "Orioles Baseball Tonight" on 105.7 FM The Fan, executive vice president Dan Duquette said the Orioles have pondered Scott as a starter during internal discussions.

"Well, we're building on his innings," Duquette said. "I think he pitched like 80-85 innings last year between his time in our farm system and he went to the Arizona Fall League, too. So he's probably good for over 100 innings this year and he's on a good pace.

"I would like to see him develop an off-speed pitch. He's got a really good slider and a powerful fastball. He's emerging with much better command of both of those pitches.

"I would like to see him develop an off-speed pitch. If he does, certainly we could consider him as a starter. There are people in the organization that believe he could be a starting pitcher long-term. I think the important thing is to get him the reps on the mound. Get him familiar with his delivery and have him develop the pitches. He'll end up (with his progress) deciding where he's going to pitch in the big leagues."

Scott's much-discussed control and command has indeed improved this year. Over his first five starts, he walked 15 batters in 15 innings for a walk-rate of 9.00 per nine innings. But in his past 11 games, covering 33 innings, he has walked 17 for a more manageable 4.6 walk-rate. He's made progress with his slider in both the quality of the the pitch and the command with it.

"Our scouting department recommended that he get a lot of innings," Duquette said. "He's a converted outfielder. He played the outfield in high school. I don't think he pitched very much until he went to junior college. I am certainly encouraged by how he is throwing."

In 16 games for Bowie, Scott has an ERA of 1.88. Over 48 innings, he has allowed 30 hits with 32 walks and 61 strikeouts.

Once his ceiling was seen as late-inning power arm, possibly a future closer. Could that now be shifting to future starting pitcher?

By handling the three-inning outings so well and by taking a big step forward in his development, Scott has advanced his career. He is presenting himself now not only as a future option for the Orioles but a future option as more than a reliever.

As the rotation turns: Speaking of starting pitchers, the Orioles continue to have problems with theirs. In a turn of events, Dylan Bundy and Wade Miley, who were in the American League's top 10 in ERA earlier, are now struggling. Meanwhile, struggling pitchers Ubaldo Jiménez and Kevin Gausman have thrown scoreless starts recently. Chris Tillman continues along with an ERA of 7.90.

In the last 27 games, the Orioles have five quality starts and a rotation ERA of 8.05. No AL team has a rotation ERA for the season above 5.00 - expcept for the Orioles. They are way above that at 5.65. Captain Obvious said their rotation has been terrible.

At the same time, the Orioles offense yesterday scored three runs or less for the 41st time in 82 games. They are 10-31 in those games.

Team management hopes under-performing veterans will pitch and hit much better in the second half. That is probably a reasonable expectation.

But at the same time, it is reasonable for fans to see a rotation that is the worst in the league and a very inconsistent offense and be skeptical about a good second half. It might happen and the Orioles have plenty of time to salvage this season. But anyone that has watched the first 82 games has plenty of reasons to be concerned about the next 80.