Ryan Meisinger is among the latest young arms to get bullpen chance

As the Orioles continue to look at a series of younger pitchers in their remodeled bullpen, right-hander Ryan Meisinger returned to the team Aug. 17 for his second stint this year in the majors.

An 11th-round pick out of Radford University in Virginia in 2015, Meisinger was with the Orioles from June 29 to July 10. He allowed two runs and four hits over six innings.

The 24-year-old Meisinger first made it to Double-A Bowie in 2017. This year he's played at three levels, starting with Bowie before moving on to Triple-A Norfolk and then Baltimore.

To begin his second stint with the big club, Meisinger got a double play grounder in a one-pitch outing Aug. 19 in Cleveland. But he's allowed two homers and three runs in 2 2/3 innings in his past two games.

For now he's soaking up every day he can in the majors, trying to gain knowledge and big league experience.

"Definitely learning every day," Meisinger said. "The little things. The older guys, when I was here the first time, I was learning from guys like Brad (Brach) and (Zach) Britton, and now as I came back, obviously, they are not here. So picking the brains of (Andrew) Cashner and Caleb (Joseph) and Dylan (Bundy). Just little things with video and how they approach the everyday grind of it. And getting into a routine, that is probably the biggest thing."

Meisinger went a combined 2-0 with a 3.13 ERA this year between Bowie and Norfolk. He actually had better numbers at Triple-A, going 2-0 with a 2.21 ERA in 28 games, with 10 walks and 36 strikeouts over 27 2/3 innings.

Meisinger was on the Triple-A disabled list from July 27 to Aug. 14, right before he was recalled to the majors.

"Had some shoulder tendinitis and got a cortisone shot, and that took care of it. Just have to stay on top of it now so it won't flare back up and it gets stronger," he said.

Now Meisinger is trying to do what almost every young pitcher has to do eventually if they want to make it in the big leagues: translate the success they had in the high minors to the majors. Buck Showalter calls it in the biggest jump in pro sports.

"I think the biggest thing will be consistency," Meisinger said. "Some of the pitches you can get away with at the lower levels, they will take full advantage of those mistake pitches here. But, other than that, just learning every day and try not to make the same mistake twice. The slider has definitely been my big out pitch. My fastball location hasn't been the greatest lately. But I'm just working on it every day."

Meisinger is a native of Prince Frederick, Md., in Calvert County. So he is playing for his hometown team. That makes putting on a big league uniform even more special.

"I've followed the Orioles ever since I was younger. I would come to the games with family. The Nationals were not here yet when I was younger, so I've always followed the Orioles. There are a lot of family and friends that come see me play, so that is really nice," he said.