No. 6 prospect Hall stretching out at Triple-A

BALTIMORE -- The first four outings of DL Hall¡¯s 2023 season have been a continuation of his Spring Training build-up. The Orioles optioned the 24-year-old left-hander -- who was slowed early in camp by right lower lumbar discomfort -- to Triple-A Norfolk to open the year so that he could get fully stretched out as a starter.

That¡¯s exactly what happened. In his past two appearances, Hall has thrown 89 and 85 pitches. On Friday, he went five innings in Norfolk¡¯s 3-2 win over Rochester, marking his longest outing since last Aug. 7, when he tossed 5 1/3 innings for the Tides.

Hall¡¯s mindset is beginning to shift as April winds down.

¡°To just be able to throw that many pitches and just get through five innings, that was just a big step in the right direction,¡± said Hall, Baltimore¡¯s No. 6 prospect and MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 89 overall prospect. ¡°Now hopefully, after that, we can start moving toward some more result-oriented outings and just focusing on winning and pitching to the level that I should be.¡±

Even if Hall hasn¡¯t been too worried about numbers other than his pitch count and his innings so far, he¡¯s been pitching fairly well, having allowed two runs or fewer in each of his past three outings. The southpaw has recorded 20 strikeouts over 16 1/3 innings and owns a 4.41 ERA.

Another part of Hall¡¯s progression has been relearning what it¡¯s like to pitch with slightly lower, sustained velocity, now that he¡¯s no longer appearing in short spurts. When he worked out of the Orioles¡¯ bullpen last September, his four-seam fastball routinely sat in the 96-98 mph range. In his most recent start for Norfolk, his heater averaged 93.9 mph and maxed out at 95.8, per Statcast.

Hall¡¯s top priority remains the same -- getting back to the Majors, where he posted a 5.93 ERA in 11 games (one start) during his first taste of the big leagues in 2022. But he realizes the competition is stiff. Baltimore¡¯s rotation has a 1.45 ERA over its past five games, a stretch that included a 29 2/3-inning scoreless streak for the starters.

¡°The guys up there, they don¡¯t make it easy. Our staff, our team up there is unbelievable,¡± Hall said. ¡°So it¡¯s going to be tough to force the hand. But all I can do is keep pushing and keep doing what I can do, and I¡¯m just excited to get up there and help them in any way I can.¡±

Here¡¯s a look at a few more players who had notable showings for the Orioles¡¯ other three Minor League affiliates in the past week:

Double-A Bowie: RHP Justin Armbruester
Armbruester continued his strong start to the 2023 season with 5 1/3 scoreless innings in Bowie¡¯s 2-1 loss at Altoona on Thursday. The 24-year-old right-hander, who was selected by Baltimore in the 12th round of the 2021 MLB Draft, has a 1.26 ERA through three starts.

Although Armbruester isn¡¯t among the Orioles¡¯ Top 30 prospects, he¡¯s another high-potential arm in the system, as he¡¯s continuing to prove. Last year, he had a 3.85 ERA in 26 games (22 starts) with Bowie and High-A Aberdeen, including a 3.69 ERA in his first taste of Double-A.

High-A Aberdeen: 3B Max Wagner
Wagner, Baltimore¡¯s No. 13 prospect, has gotten off to a bit of a slow start in his first full professional season, going 5-for-43 (.116) over his first 12 games for Aberdeen. However, the 2022 second-round Draft pick showed what he¡¯s capable of during the IronBirds¡¯ 6-3 loss to Jersey Shore on Thursday.

Wagner recorded his first multi-hit performance of the season, going 2-for-2 with two singles, two walks, one run scored and his first two stolen bases of the season. It could be an example of what¡¯s to come more regularly for the 21-year-old as he keeps gaining experience.

Single-A Delmarva: SS Jackson Holliday
Holliday, the Orioles¡¯ No. 2 prospect and MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 10 overall prospect, continues to steal the show for the Shorebirds. The 19-year-old swatted his first two homers of the season in Delmarva¡¯s 16-4 win over Fredericksburg on Friday as part of a 3-for-6, four-RBI performance.

The 2022 No. 1 overall pick entered Sunday slashing .404/.533/.681 with eight extra-base hits and 14 RBIs through 12 games to open his first full pro season.