Pitcher Trace Bright looks to make his mark at Bowie this season

BOWIE, Md. - For Orioles minor league pitcher Trace Bright, his move from High-A Aberdeen to Double-A Bowie went well late last year. And again, in his first outing versus Reading over the weekend.

With that big curveball, Bright has swing and miss stuff and now the results are showing up to prove that.

Ranked as the O’s No. 16 prospect per MLBPipeline.com and No. 21 via Baseball America, Bright went 3-6 with a 3.97 ERA and 13.3 K rate last season pitching in 22 games with Aberdeen and four at Bowie where his ERA was 2.12 in 17 innings.

Then he pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings on two hits in Bowie’s win Sunday with two walks and six strikeouts. The strikeouts may have elevated his pitch count and he was removed at 71 pitches.

But now, in five career Double-A outings, Bright has a 1.74 ERA over 20 2/3 innings with 10 walks and 26 strikeouts.

Taken in round five (No. 137 overall) of the 2022 draft out of Auburn University, Bright has a career 12.90 K rate per nine. He was the highest-drafted pitcher the Orioles signed out of that 2022 draft.

“I think it (a strong strikeout rate) comes from knowing who I am as a pitcher and attacking that plan night in and night out. Some nights you may not have your best stuff and you have to work through it," Bright told me at Prince George's Stadium at Bowie's recent media day. 

But he clearly gets a lot of strikeouts off a curveball that got a 60 grade from MLBPipeline and Baseball America and is a top secondary to use beyond his fastball which sits between 91 and 94 mph and plays well at the top of the zone.

That breaking ball was on big display on MLB Network in mid March in the Spring Breakout prospects game versus Pittsburgh when Bright fanned four Bucs prospects in three innings.

“That is my pitch, definitely my pitch,” Bright, 23, said of his impressive curveball. “But that is also one of the best nights I’ve had with it. Kind of got some good adrenaline going and was amped up for that game. But that is my go-to pitch, my bread and butter offspeed pitch.”

But it’s not the only pitch he gets strikeouts with.

“It’s one of them. I like to pride myself on having three pitches I can strike guys out with pretty consistently. I think that is probably the top one, but being able to attack guys on two strikes with multiple pitches helps me generate the strikeouts that I do," he said. 

After a solid 2023 season, his first full pro season, Bright came to spring training this year looking for continued growth and improvement.

“I think it is just about refining your craft. But there are aspects of the game you want to get better at and tune in for the season. At spring training, you try to set yourself up for success throughout the season.,” said Bright, who had a 4.35 ERA in 2023 with Aberdeen.

Now comes the challenge of Double-A, a level loaded with up and coming prospects.

“I think the hitters will have more of a book on me as a pitcher," said Bright who needs to work on his career 4.9 walk rate. "A lot more video to watch on me. So you have to refine your craft and be able to attack Double-A hitters that will have a good approach. That is the biggest thing. Those guys know what they are doing so have to attack with multiple pitches and keep them off balance.

"I have a few goals (for this season). But really just want to be consistent throughout the year. Had some ups and downs last year and want to be consistent. Not too high, not too low. Want to keep striking guys out and just consistently get guys out at a high level."

Bright has a fan who works in the O's TV booth on MASN in Ben McDonald. Not only did they both play in the SEC in college, but Big Ben coached his son's travel ball team in high school and Bright played on that club. He was able to get some tips from a pitcher who broadcast one of his starts at the 2022 College World Series. 

In a top-ranked O's farm system dominated by hitters right now, Bright can foresee O's farm pitchers starting to create their own successes and moving up prospect ratings.

“I think there is a lot of analytics on our side for the pitching," he said. "I don’t think some of our guys get enough credit. Some of our hitters are so good that they kind of overshadow some pitchers in this org, but we have great pitching talent throughout.

“I think being able to sit down with these coaches and our coordinators about ‘what works well for me’ we dive into the deeper aspects of the game. It’s definitely been an eye-opening experience with the technology and data we have. That has helped me mature as a pitcher as well.”

So far on the farm: Triple-A Norfolk, rightly so, has dominated O's farm news thus far with its 7-2 start that is the best of any of the 30 Triple-A teams. The Tides 100 runs scored is a lot more than the next closest Triple-A team which is Reno of the Pacific Coast League with 67.

MLB announced Monday that Norfolk's Heston Kjerstad won International League Player of the Week while lefty Cade Povich was named IL Pitcher of the Week. Kjerstad hit .444 (9-for-27) with nine runs, three doubles, six home runs, 21 RBIs and five walks while hitting .531/1.222/1.753. Povich made two starts at Charlotte during the week, allowing a 0.82 ERA (1 ER, 11.0 IP), a 0.55 WHIP and a .083 opponent’s average with 14 strikeouts on his way to a 1-0 record.

Bowie's Collin Burns set a career-high by driving in seven runs Saturday night as Bowie routed Reading 19-1 during a 2-1 start over the weekend. Frederick Bencosme went 3-for-3 and scored three runs in that game. Samuel Basallo is off to a 3-for-14 start.

At High-A Aberdeen, 2023 top draft pick Enrique Bradfield Jr., went 3-for-9 in the first three games with a double, four walks and two stolen bases.

Low-A Delmarva is 0-3 but its starting pitchers in Jacob Cravey, Blake Money and Luis De Leon have combined to throw 12 innings allowing five hits and two earned runs with two walks to 17 strikeouts. Catcher Aneudis Mordán, 19 from the Dominican Republic, is 4-for-8 with a homer. 

We can see how the younger pitchers are not as built as the more veteran guys by pitch counts thus far. At Delmarva and Aberdeen, the starters have all thrown between 55 and 61 pitches. At Bowie they've thrown 68 to 71 and already at Triple-A, Bruce Zimmermann and Chayce McDermott have reached 88 pitches. 

O's in Boston: The Orioles (5-4) begin a three-game series this afternoon at Boston (7-3) where the Red Sox started on the West Coast, going 2-2 at Seattle, 3-0 at Oakland and 2-1 in Anaheim. 

Through 10 games, Boston pitchers lead all of MLB with a team ERA of 1.49. Red Sox hurlers rank first in WHIP at 0.96 with the Orioles second at 1.02. Boston starters have pitched to an ERA of 1.53 and their bullpen pitchers have an ERA of 1.45.