In chasing improved command, Chayce McDermott took nice step versus the Phillies

SARASOTA, Fla. – For young Orioles pitcher Chayce McDermott, the club’s Jim Palmer Award winner last year as the top minor league pitcher, his outing Tuesday in Clearwater was a nice step in his development.

Usually a starter, he pitched in relief and with not a ton of notice when he would throw. But he pitched scoreless ball in the seventh and eighth innings on 34 pitches versus the Phillies. And he was upbeat about the radar gun readings. His fastball averaged 95.4 mph and topped at 96.7.

“It was good, got some good feedback,” he said today of his second spring outing. “Felt good to throw out of the ‘pen too and kind of let it go a little bit. Threw harder than I normally do. But it was fun. Getting to watch some guys I grew up watching like (J.T.) Realmuto.

“There is some stuff to work on, but for the most part, it was good. Staying in the strike zone, getting strikeouts and not walking anyone.”

McDermott, 25, is ranked as the club's No. 8 prospect by Baseball America where his fastball and slider get 60 scouting grades and No. 9 by MLBPipeline.com.

Manager Brandon Hyde liked his outing in Clearwater.

"Thought he threw the ball really well," said Hyde. "I'm impressed. He's got really good stuff and for a guy who wasn't able to finish the Triple-A season with a minor injury, been watching him throw here quite a bit. Thrown a lot of live BPs and that was a nice two-inning stint yesterday. He's got a big fastball and good secondary stuff and he's working on a split."

But pitching out of the bullpen was a nice experience and if he gets his first big league chance this year, who knows what role they would use him in.

“That was my first time throwing in kind of a reliever role. I didn’t even know when I was throwing. Had a short time to warm up. That was the first time I have probably only had a half-inning to loosen. Gave me that real reliever feel,” McDermott said.

McDermott went 8-8 with a 3.10 ERA last year between Double-A and Triple-A. In 119 innings, he walked 68 and fanned 152 allowing only a .167 batting average against and .570 OPS. He had a 2.49 ERA in 10 games at Triple-A. 

He has a big career strikeout rate of 12.98 but also a walk rate that needs work at 5.3 per nine.

He feels he’s made some strides with mechanics this year on a small thing that could have thrown his timing off last year and led to missing his spots.

“Last year at times I’d get pushy with my hands, so out of hand break they would go out instead of down. Trying to limit that. Also, I need to keep my hips closed longer. Those were the big two. A few minor things we found like my hands breaking a bit late.”

Late last season, Triple-A manager Buck Britton discussed the in-zone success McDermott can have with his pitches, something Britton said should give any pitcher confidence. They don’t have to trick hitters or always get them to chase pitches to get outs.

"He’s got great stuff,” Britton said last September. “But understanding he can get outs in the strike zone I think helped him really take off. He’s commanding the ball well and I think he’s got a chance to impact our major league roster here in the near future.”

McDermott added: “Last year it was really cool to see (in zone success), especially in Triple-A with the automatic zone, that gave me the feeling I could be in the zone and still get outs. That was big for me. To not feel I always have to make everything better than it needs to be and try to get people to chase, then you realize you don’t always need to get chase. Yesterday I was throwing in the zone and letting it work. And then using pitches off in zone pitches to get them to chase.

In two spring games, McDermott, has now thrown 3 2/3 scoreless innings on three hits.