'It's been awesome to watch': Could Povich's evolution force O's hand?

SARASOTA, Fla. -- As Orioles manager Brandon Hyde rattled off the pitchers in his club¡¯s rotation mix on Friday afternoon, he seemed to make clear what most had already thought.

The five starters who will be in Baltimore¡¯s Opening Day rotation might be set, barring injuries.

¡°If everybody stays healthy throughout camp, you¡¯ve got five guys, plus Albert [Su¨¢rez] is the sixth and [Cade Povich] is the seventh,¡± Hyde said. ¡°It¡¯s so early in camp right now. You¡¯re just keeping your fingers crossed these guys can get built up and stay healthy at the same time.¡±

Zach Eflin, Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer are the returnees to the O¡¯s rotation, while Charlie Morton ($15 million) and Tomoyuki Sugano ($13 million) signed one-year deals to join the staff. Su¨¢rez, who is out of Minor League options, could be shifted to a multi-inning relief role out of the bullpen -- where he has some experience -- after his breakout 2024 season.

So the 24-year-old Povich could be squeezed out and sent back to Triple-A Norfolk. But the 6-foot-3, 185-pound left-hander is doing everything he can to prevent that from happening and give the Orioles a tough decision to make in three weeks.

Povich¡¯s strong start to the spring continued Saturday afternoon, when he racked up six strikeouts over three scoreless innings in Baltimore's 5-2 loss to the Pirates at Ed Smith Stadium. The southpaw stayed aggressive, throwing 31 of his 43 pitches for strikes.

¡°I mean, other than throwing a perfect game or a no-hitter, you can¡¯t really get much better than that for three innings of spring,¡± said Povich, who has tossed five scoreless frames over his first two Grapefruit League outings.

Povich outdueled Pittsburgh right-hander Paul Skenes, who threw three innings of one-run ball in his first spring start. It was a rematch from last year¡¯s Spring Breakout prospect showcase, when both hurlers were still top prospects who hadn¡¯t yet reached the big leagues.

Although Povich¡¯s 2024 debut season might not have been as strong as Skenes¡¯ National League Rookie of the Year Award-winning campaign, the Baltimore lefty showed great growth. After posting a 6.58 ERA in 11 starts through August, Povich pitched to a 2.60 ERA over five September starts to earn a spot on Baltimore¡¯s American League Wild Card Series roster.

It appears Povich might be an even better pitcher now following an offseason of work that featured a primary focus on the grip for his changeup, which could become a more impactful offspeed offering for him in 2025. Saturday provided a good test run after he threw it only three times during his 26-pitch outing against the Phillies on Sunday.

¡°He threw, honestly, probably more changeups than we were expecting,¡± catcher Adley Rutschman said. ¡°In the bullpen, when he was working through it a little bit, I¡¯m like, ¡®I don¡¯t know if we¡¯re going to have it today.¡¯ And then we got out there, and it was pretty lights-out. Just a gamer.¡±

Rutschman has been impressed by the overall improvement shown by Povich since the University of Nebraska product arrived in the big leagues on June 6.

¡°It¡¯s been awesome to watch,¡± Rutschman said. ¡°I think everyone knows how good he is, but just getting comfortable pitching in the big leagues, knowing that his stuff plays and that he can get guys out with the stuff that he has and he doesn¡¯t need to be anything other than who he is, that¡¯s what I felt like you kind of saw today, is just him being comfortable in that role.¡±

Povich understands the math behind the Orioles¡¯ upcoming roster decisions. He realizes there are six other big league-caliber starters in the mix, with Su¨¢rez potentially taking the eighth and final spot in the bullpen.

At the same time, though, Povich thinks it¡¯s a positive for himself and the club.

¡°Competition is good in general. I think it¡¯s what makes teams good overall, too,¡± Povich said. ¡°If you look at championship teams, there are a lot of guys in there competing for spots. So it¡¯s good.¡±

The lone healthy lefty in the starting mix, Povich can only focus on his individual work and try to build a strong case that forces his way onto the roster somehow. And by the end of camp, Hyde could at least have something to consider.

¡°You can¡¯t have enough [starters]. We learned that last year,¡± Hyde said. ¡°Hopefully, we have tough decisions to make at the end of camp. We have a lot of guys throwing the ball well.¡±