Wells impresses with slider in fight for rotation spot

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Continuing his bid to try to win a spot in the Orioles¡¯ rotation, Tyler Wells took the mound at BayCare Ballpark on Thursday afternoon with an aggressive mindset against a Phillies lineup stacked with starters. It didn¡¯t quite work out great to start.

Wells immediately threw two balls to leadoff hitter Bryson Stott, who then jolted the right-hander¡¯s third offering a Statcast-projected 404 feet to right-center field for a homer. Did that provide a bit of a wake-up call for Wells?

¡°It pissed me off, if that counts,¡± Wells said. ¡°For me, I think that that¡¯s what happens whenever you fall behind 2-0 to the first guy of the game. You kind of throw him a cookie trying to get ahead, and he hit the ball well.¡±

Things went much better for Wells afterward. That was the only run allowed by the 28-year-old, who struck out five over 2 2/3 solid innings in Baltimore¡¯s 7-6 loss. He followed the leadoff homer to Stott by fanning Rhys Hoskins, Nick Castellanos and Alec Bohm consecutively.

It was an encouraging step forward for Wells after he allowed three runs on five hits over two innings in his Grapefruit League debut against the Braves last Saturday.

¡°Very happy with the result today, but still more work to do,¡± Wells said.

Wells reached his pitch limit of 55 before completing the third due to a pair of lengthy at-bats. Stott had an eight-pitch flyout to open the frame. Then, Wells¡¯ outing ended with a 10-pitch strikeout of Hoskins, who swung through a high outside four-seam fastball clocked at 92.6 mph.

¡°It¡¯s a long gruesome battle out there, and even in my head, I¡¯m just sitting there, I¡¯m like, ¡®Good lord, this guy¡¯s just going to keep fouling them off,¡¯¡± Wells said. ¡°It was a great at-bat by him and definitely happy that I came out on top.¡±

Each of Wells¡¯ outings is important this spring, considering the battle for spots in the Orioles¡¯ rotation is tight. Kyle Gibson and Cole Irvin are locks. Grayson Rodriguez (the club¡¯s No. 2 prospect and the No. 7 prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline) is likely to make it. That leaves only three openings for a remaining group that most notably includes Dean Kremer, Kyle Bradish, Austin Voth and Wells.

Wells, who came to Baltimore via the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, was a reliever in ¡®21 before getting converted to a starter in ¡®22, when he posted a 4.25 ERA over 23 outings. Would the O¡¯s consider moving him back to the bullpen in ¡®23? That¡¯s a decision they may need to make as they sort out the rotation picture.

The biggest takeaway from Thursday¡¯s outing for manager Brandon Hyde was the effectiveness of Wells¡¯ slider, which he threw 15 times and froze Castellanos with for his second strikeout in the first.

¡°Loved the slider today,¡± Hyde said. ¡°Sometimes that slider went in and out last year, but today, he had the slider that he had out of the bullpen two years ago.¡±

Westburg benefiting from first big league camp

Jordan Westburg, Baltimore¡¯s No. 5 prospect and the No. 74 overall prospect in baseball, started at second base and went 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored. The 24-year-old doubled in the second, hit a sacrifice fly in the third and singled in the fifth.

Westburg, who is 6-for-20 with three doubles and three RBIs in eight Grapefruit games, is enjoying his first Major League camp experience since getting taken by the O¡¯s with the No. 30 overall pick in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft.

¡°It¡¯s been a blast for me, obviously, getting to be around guys like [Adam] Frazier, [Jorge] Mateo, [Ram¨®n] Ur¨ªas, Gunnar [Henderson] -- guys who have experience now, have had success, and then just picking their brains, learning from them, watching them,¡± Westburg said. ¡°Wherever I start [the season], I know that I¡¯ll only be better for being at this camp and being surrounded by great players.¡±

More from the game

? Gunnar Henderson, MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 1 overall prospect, made a great defensive play in the fifth. The 21-year-old, who got the start at shortstop, dove to rob Bohm of a hit for the second out of the inning. Henderson continues to impress with his glove on the left side of the infield this spring, as expected.

? Joey Krehbiel notched a pair of strikeouts in a 1-2-3 eighth. It was a bounce-back showing for the right-hander, who had allowed eight earned runs in 1 2/3 innings over his first two Grapefruit outings.

¡°Looking way more aggressive, on the attack, some really good changeups,¡± Hyde said. ¡°The fastball had great life to it. I know he scuffled early, but good to see him come back to show who he is.¡±