McDonald offers opinions on Povich, Young, Martinez and Baker

SARASOTA, Fla. – The first exhibition game is done, which brings us to the first road exhibition game. Gas up the rental and head northwest to Clearwater.

If you reach Dunedin, you’ve gone too far.

Left-hander Cade Povich starts against the Phillies after posting a 2.60 ERA and 0.868 WHIP in five September outings and holding opponents to a .162 average. He could be the first alternative if a spot opens unexpectedly in the rotation.

“Povich, what he did in the month of September kind of speaks for itself,” said MASN analyst Ben McDonald, who’s in camp as a guest instructor. “All I heard about him was his stuff was good in the minors, but could he get it over the plate, and I feel like he did in September. His stuff was pretty good.”

The exposure to major league hitters has accelerated Povich’s development.

“I think similar to, we talked about our hitters kind of getting the experience and making adjustments along the way. Cade had some good starts for us and I think he’s taking that into this year,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

“He’s put some good size on, he looks different physically. It looks like he’s walking around here with a lot of confidence right now. Looking forward to watching him pitch this spring. Talking with him, there’s some things he wanted to improve on this offseason and in his side work, and the pitching coaches are happy with the progress he’s made in some pitch development things. I think he’s come a long way.”

Brandon Young will be in the bullpen today, but he’s going to start for Triple-A Norfolk and hope to finally make his debut this summer.

“I really like Young,” McDonald said. “I’ve been watching him throw a couple bullpens and it’s a mid-90s fastball, and then watching the analytical data, it’s got some hop on it. It’s got some good carry through the zone, his four-seamer. His off-speed stuff seems to be coming.”

Rodolfo Martinez remains a camp curiosity with his blazing fastball, secondary stuff that includes a slider, splitter and sinker, and his absence from affiliated ball since 2019.

McDonald watched Martinez in the bullpen and live batting practice and said, “That’s big. That’s big stuff.”

Veteran Bryan Baker also has impressed McDonald, and he retired the three batters faced yesterday.

Baker is on the 40-man roster but out of options. He might not make it through waivers.

“Sitting 96-98 mph,” McDonald said. “His bullpen (Friday) was pretty crisp, and he’s got a new grip on that changeup. There was a time a couple years ago when I felt like Bryan would kind of slow his motion down a little bit on his changeup and hitters could pick it up. He’s trusting it and throwing it now.

“But look, even if you don’t make the club out of spring training, you’re gonna need arms, and that’s just the course of 162 games. You’re gonna need a lot of guys, cause unfortunately, injuries are gonna happen.”

* A question posed by one of the beat writers:

Who makes more starts in 2025, Povich or Kyle Bradish?

You go first.

* The Orioles are sending pitcher Ben Vespi to today's game as one of the extras from Twin Lakes Park.

Why is this noteworthy? Because older brother and former Orioles left-hander Nick Vespi is with the Phillies, and he's expected to pitch. They'll be on the field together.

This is a big deal for the family.

The Orioles signed Ben as an undrafted free agent in July 2024 out of UCF.