Orioles spring training leftovers for breakfast

SARASOTA, Fla. – Albert Suárez turned in his second consecutive impressive outing yesterday to stay in the thick of a two-man rotation battle. Ryan Mountcastle hit his first spring home run. Relievers Cionel Pérez and Yennier Cano each tossed a scoreless inning. But nobody puts Zach Fruit in the corner.

The Orioles’ ninth-round draft pick in 2023 tried to steal the show with his three scoreless innings, five strikeouts and plus velocity that delivered a save in a 6-2 victory over the Yankees in Tampa.

“Kid is interesting,” said a scout from another organization.

And not just his name.

Fruit, 24, fanned the side in the ninth. His first two pitches were clocked at 98 and 98.1 mph to retire Dominic Smith on a fly ball. He went 92.5 mph cutter, 95.7 sinker, 100.3 four-seam fastball – the highest reading from an Oriole this spring - and 91.3 cutter on Oswaldo Cabrera’s at-bat that ended with a single, and he registered 98.5, 97.6, and 97.4 twice to Andrew Velazquez before getting a called third strike with a 94.6 mph cutter.

The strikeouts in the ninth came with his 97.4 mph fastball, 87.8 cutter and 81.8 slider. The last at-bat began with a 97.2 mph sinker.

This could be an example of cherry-picking, but Fruit already opened some eyes with his 3.03 ERA last season in 25 games (21 starts) with High-A Aberdeen and 113 strikeouts in 107 innings. Baseball America ranks him 30^th among the system’s prospects. MLB Pipeline omits him from its Top 30.

“Like the arm,” the scout said. “Think the delivery needs some refining and think he is a reliever long term.”

“Fruit seems to really embody the growth mindset mentality that’s preached by the organization,” said Nick Stevens, co-host of On the Verge, a respected Orioles prospect podcast. “He’s added a few new offerings since joining the organization and added more velocity, now sitting in the upper-90s and touching 100 mph. He may get overlooked some because he was a fifth-year senior sign, but with multiple above-average to plus offerings, there’s a potential starter here.”

Fruit was the continuation of some impressive performances from the organization’s minor league pitchers over the past few days. Levi Wells tossed two scoreless innings in Bradenton and struck out three batters, and he topped out at 100.1 mph. No. 14 prospect Luis De León allowed one run and one hit in his two innings, and he struck out the Pirates’ Matt Gorski.

“It was great to see some young guys get in there,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “Fruit at the end, that was impressive to watch. It was a lot of fun. Some really young, good arms last night, and then Fruit today. So I’m excited about the future of our pitching.”

* Robinson Chirinos’ impact as bench coach can occur behind closed doors or out in the open.

Chirinos was a mentor for Adley Rutschman when the future All-Star broke into the majors in 2022, and he’s doing the same in camp for 20-year-old Samuel Basallo.

“Robbie’s not that far removed from being behind the plate. That recent experience is extremely helpful,” Hyde said.

“They talk every inning. There was a game a few days ago where Sammy wasn’t scheduled to play at all, and they sat next to each other for the first six or seven innings. Just eyes and ears a little bit, and Robbie explaining some stuff to him and Sammy bouncing questions back. I got to listen to it a little bit. It was a good moment.”

* Seranthony Domínguez will return to his role as an alternative at closer, as the Orioles exhibit extreme caution with Félix Bautista early in the season. The Mountain will be brought along slowly if he’s in Toronto for Opening Day. Either way, the Orioles must be able to depend on Domínguez.

Hyde isn’t bailing on Domínguez, who’s been scored upon in all three outings and allowed nine runs and 10 hits in three innings. He’s surrendered four home runs.

The last appearance was the worst, with the Rays collecting five runs and five hits.

Domínguez recorded 10 saves after the Orioles traded for him at the deadline, but he also served up six home runs in 22 2/3 innings. The ball is flying again.

“I’m not concerned right now on March 8,” Hyde said recently. “He’s gonna have four or five more appearances left. Not at this point, no.”

* Left-hander Gregory Soto, another former Phillie acquired at the deadline, has put together back-to-back scoreless appearances with one hit, no walks and three strikeouts in two innings. He rebounded nicely from his debut against the Tigers, when he allowed two runs and three hits in an inning, but also fanned two.

Soto is mentioned as another closer possibility. And it’s unfortunate that so many people judge him on a pair of four-run disasters within his first three Orioles appearances, rather than the two earned runs allowed over the last 20.

“I think Soto’s been throwing the ball great since he got in camp,” Hyde said. “Kind of picked up where he left off the end of the season. Really determined, showing really good stuff. He’s been throwing the ball great ever since the first side out here.”