Orioles finally get pitching and it’s a Cy Young Winner?

After an offseason riddled with teams waiting for a big move to happen one after the other the Orioles finally decide to get in the mix trading for disgruntled star pitcher Corbin Burnes. What a move for an Orioles team that has been criticized for their lackluster offseason after coming out of nowhere and winning the division last season. Every baseball fan knew they were a starter or two away from being a real contender and now with Burnes they seem to be one. The Brewers didn’t come away empty handed though as many on social media seem to believe. Let's take a look at what they received. 

Brewers return:

The Brewers looking to retool are getting two big league ready prospects and a high pick in the upcoming draft. Both DL Hall and Joey Ortiz have massive flaws in their game currently but they could be fixed and become massive stars. Joey Ortiz put up great stats last season in AAA with a .321 average and a 121 wRC+. He showed his gap to gap power hitting 30 doubles and 9 homers. He makes highlight reel plays on defense and has above average speed. He has three major flaws though that hold him back from being a top tier prospect. For one he chases way too much, swinging at 34% of outside the zone pitches. Ortiz has a great contact bat and he reaches almost all those chases. This leads to him walking less something he hasn’t done well since A ball, with his highest season being only 9% walk rate in AA and not walking a single time during his 34 big league at bats last season. His last flaw is his scary low barrel percentage. Don’t get it wrong though he has a great hard hit rate at 46% but his barrel rate sits at only 2.1% mainly due to the fact that he consistently hits the ball into the ground. His high ground ball rate is something that can be fixed likely with a swing change but it’s also something that has killed many careers. With the blockage in the infield for the Orioles for the distant future he needed to be traded somewhere and Milwaukee seems to be somewhere Ortiz can play especially if the rumored trade of shortstop Willy Adames comes to fruition. Ortiz will likely have his pick of anywhere in the infield and should play well there. I don’t expect him to turn around his bat immediately next season and would expect him to be a guy who hits below league average.

The next trade addition DL Hall is a former top prospect who again has one major flaw. The good news is the stuff is elite. His extension off the mound makes his 95 mph fastball get a 30% whiff percentage. If he can continue to locate it up in the zone nobody will touch it. His slider has the stuff to be a plus pitch but he can’t command it very well leading to a lot of balls. His changeup he exclusively throws to righties is a great pitch when located. When looking at that someone has to ask how the hell is this guy not a top prospect still well it all comes with command. At almost every stop in the minors Hall’s walk rate has been 10% or higher. He seemed to figure it out in the small sample size of the 18 games he came out of the bullpen last year. This seems to be the floor for Hall, a late game bullpen pitcher who has elite stuff but command issues. It seems that on the trajectory of Hall’s career he could end up being a great closer at the very least. I would suggest to the Brewers front office that they give him this year to start. Their rotation is surprisingly weak except from the top of Peralta and Miley. The next 3 spots in the rotation are all up for grabs with Colin Rea, Joe Ross, rookie Robert Gasser, Aaron Ashby, Jason Junk, and DL Hall all trying for the final 3 rotation spots. I would beg the Brewers to try Hall as their 5th starter at least I think he’ll excel.

Orioles return:

There’s not much to say about the former Cy Young award winner who has been a top 3 pitcher in baseball since 2020. He has a top five pitch in baseball with his cutter which is gross. There is a slight cause for concern though. His numbers have gone down as his command has gotten slightly worse the last two seasons. Not to say that Burnes isn’t still a top 3 because he most definitely is but would I sign him to a massive contract extension probably not. The Brewers knew this and decided to get a good return for him while they still can. With Burnes being in Baltimore in a park like Camden Yards that doesn’t allow homers to left field he could have his best season ever which is saying a lot. He joins an underrated top 3 of himself, Kyle Bradish, and Grayson Rodriguez who all ranked in the top 15 of stuff+ and could become the best top of the rotation in the league next season if everything goes to plan. They also have an average enough Dean Kremer and John Means looking for a bounce back season.