ARLINGTON, Texas — Since Grayson Rodriguez was selected in the first round of the 2018 MLB draft, the right-handed pitcher, the organization and Baltimore fans have spent the past four and a half years envisioning what the 6-foot-5 hurler would look like in an Orioles uniform.
His major league debut wasn’t supposed to take this long. He was primed for a call-up last season as he dominated Triple-A batters, but a lat muscle injury sidelined the consensus top-10 prospect for three months. Rodriguez was then expected to make the Orioles’ opening day roster, but the team chose instead to start him in Norfolk after his uneven spring training.
Nevertheless, Rodriguez’s big league debut Wednesday was well worth the wait.
The 23-year-old impressed in his first big league start against the Texas Rangers in the Orioles’ 5-2 loss. After struggling in the first inning and giving up two runs, Rodriguez pitched four scoreless frames and looked every bit worthy of the hype.
Rodriguez, a Nacogdoches, Texas, native, had a large contingent of friends and family from his hometown in attendance, cheering him on from behind the third base dugout at Texas’ Globe Life Field in Arlington as he took the mound and for all 15 outs he recorded. He was promoted Wednesday morning to start the series finale, replacing starting pitcher Kyle Bradish on the 26-man roster after the second-year right-hander was put on the 15-day injured list with a bruised right foot he suffered in Monday’s win.
Manager Brandon Hyde said he wanted to see the youngster “calm down his emotions” and pound the strike zone, especially with his fastball. So, naturally, Rodriguez walked the first batter of the game, missing high on a 3-2 fastball to Rangers leadoff hitter Marcus Semien. But he didn’t walk another batter in his five innings while striking out five.
Rodriguez allowed three of the first five batters to reach base, with the Rangers barreling up his pitches as he struggled with his offspeed command. Adolis García and Josh Jung hit an RBI double and single, respectively, and Texas had an early 2-0 lead. The inning was starting to get away from Rodriguez, whose Achilles’ heel in his final three spring training starts was his inability to climb out of jams and end innings before they unraveled. But he got Robbie Grossman to ground out to second base to end the inning on his 30th pitch.
Including that final out, Rodriguez retired 13 of his final 15 batters after the rough start, allowing just two singles in his final four frames, inducing six groundouts and striking out five. He surrendered four hits and two runs with just one walk on 83 pitches (53 strikes) in his five-inning no-decision pitching opposite two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom. Rodriguez averaged 96.5 mph on his electric fastball, topping out at 98.2 mph. He got 14 whiffs on 44 swings for an elite 32% clip.
After Rodriguez’s exit, reliever Austin Voth allowed a two-run home run in the sixth, and Keegan Akin gave up an RBI double in the seventh. The Orioles (3-3) scored two in the fifth on a fielder’s choice by Austin Hays and an RBI single by Adam Frazier.
DeGrom struck out 11 batters, walked two, and allowed two hits and one earned run over six innings to earn the win.
