Hyde: 'We're in dire need of rotation help'

BALTIMORE -- The sight of John Means back at Oriole Park this week, and then on the Princes Georges Stadium mound Friday during a rehab assignment at Double-A Bowie, served as a welcome sight to anyone with vested interest in the Orioles’ rotation. How could it not? Already incomplete and far from consistent, the O’s rotation began to nosedive when Means got injured in early June, and is now crawling into the All-Star break on the heels of one of the most futile first halves for a rotation in recent memory.

The numbers are startling, even given the context of the Orioles’ rebuild. It’s been 2 1/2 weeks since they had a starter complete six innings, a 15-game span. Before Jorge López tossed 6 1/3 innings on June 22, an Orioles starter completed six frames only once in the 17 games prior. Even with Means’ contributions, their rotation’s first-half ERA is 6.16, which would be the highest at the break of any MLB team since the Rockies in 2004, per the Elias Sports Bureau. Since Means’ last start on June 5, the rest of the O’s rotation is 3-19 with an 8.12 ERA.

“We’re in dire need of rotation help,” manager Brandon Hyde said.

All of which is to say that the two-plus innings Baltimore received from Thomas Eshelman in Saturday’s 8-3 loss to the first-place White Sox followed a familiar script. Enduring the shortest of five short starts this season, Eshelman surrendered four runs before giving way to Keegan Akin, the rookie moonlighting in long relief after his last start/bulk assignment was washed out by rain. Akin struck out six but allowed four runs in 4 1/3 innings, his ERA ballooning to 7.54. Eshelman’s is 8.35.

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“This is a tough stretch for us right now,” Eshelman said. “We’ve faced some pretty good offensive teams these past couple weeks. As a rotation, we just need to keep it simple, not look too far ahead, take things one thing at a time, and hopefully that translates to the second half. It’s a good break for us now to clear our minds a little bit, and look forward to what we can do come the second half.”

In a sense, Saturday served as an audition for both, as neither is guaranteed a role when Means returns from the injured list after the break, likely in Baltimore’s second set out of the break in Tampa Bay. The Orioles are also anticipating left-hander Bruce Zimmermann’s return from a left biceps issue, likely by early August. It’s fair to anticipate the second half also featuring larger contributions from several prospects, including Zac Lowther, maybe Alexander Wells, and perhaps rehabbing right-hander Michael Baumann. This current center simply cannot hold, even in a development-focused environment.

For now though, it’s worth examining the five starters the Orioles closed out the first half with:

Starter, ERA, IP per start
RHP Matt Harvey, 7.70 ERA, 4.22 IP per start
RHP Jorge López, 5.95 ERA, 4.7 IP per start, MLB-high 12 losses
LHP Keegan Akin, 7.54 ERA, 4.38 IP per start
RHP Thomas Eshelman, 8.35 ERA, 3.66 IP per start
RHP Spenser Watkins (1 career start)

… and their other immediate options:

RHP Shaun Anderson: 3-5, 5.40 ERA in 51 career games (16 starts)
RHP Dean Kremer: 0-7, 7.25 ERA in 12 starts in 2021
LHP Zac Lowther: 0-3, 5.18 ERA, 4.1 IP per start at Triple-A
LHP Alexander Wells: 5-3, 5.59 ERA, 4.1 IP per game at Triple-A
RHP Mike Baumann: 3 IP, ER Friday night on rehab at Double-A Bowie
RHP Conner Greene: 1-2, 6.67 ERA at Triple-A

Any other prospects, you may ask? The Orioles are excited about both right-hander Kyle Bradish (club No. 12 prospect per MLB Pipeline) and lefty Kevin Smith (No. 15), but neither are on the 40-man roster nor will be rushed up to the big leagues. Baumann is on the 40-man, but he has still yet to throw a pitch at Triple-A in his career. The Orioles have turned to Lowther and Wells predominately for relief depth thus far despite their prospect status, while giving starting opportunities to Eshelman, Watkins and others. Baltimore used 30 different pitchers in the first half, already the second most in a single season in franchise history. The revolving door isn’t likely to stop any time soon.

“I hope Means can come back and stabilize things," Hyde said. “And Bruce Zimmermann at some point. Right now, we’re definitely struggling in the rotation. We’re out of games early … It’s been very challenging.”

Worth noting
On Saturday, the Orioles acquired right-handed pitcher Hugo Beltran from the Dodgers for cash considerations. Beltran, 21, is a Colombia native who pitched for two of the Dodgers’ Dominican Summer League teams in 2019.