Last summer, the Orioles traded reliever Jorge López to the Minnesota Twins for a package of prospects that included pitcher Cade Povich, who began the 2023 season at Double-A Bowie. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound left-hander entered the campaign having posted a 4.21 ERA with 167 strikeouts and 41 walks in 124 minor league innings since being drafted out Nebraska in 2021.
So far this season, he has a 4-4 record with a 4.50 ERA in nine starts, striking out 61 and walking 17 in 40 innings pitched with the Baysox.
Bowie manager Kyle Moore and South Mountain Community College (Ariz.) baseball coach Todd Eastin chatted with PressBox about the 23-year-old Povich.
PressBox: What makes Povich special? What sets him apart?
Todd Eastin: I’ll share a little story with you. He came and threw a bullpen for us his senior year of high school and could barely touch 80 mph on the radar gun. He was probably 5-[foot]-10, but he could locate the ball wherever he wanted it and throw multiple pitches for strikes. We said, “Come on board. Let’s see what we can do in terms of development.” He shows up about eight or nine months later and he’s grown. Now he’s 6-2, 6-3. Still was a low-80s guy but kind of developed near the end of his freshman year with us. He was only here one year. Near the end of his freshman year, he was a guy that was able to touch that 88, 89 but still pitch 85-87 and throw four pitches for strikes. [He] moved on to Nebraska after his freshman year, and it’s been really cool just to see the development and how the velocity has increased over the years. I tip my cap to his work ethic. I mean, nobody’s going to outwork that guy.
PB: What kind of relationship did you develop with Povich?
Kyle Moore: It was pretty cool to be able to welcome him to the Orioles and let him know what we stood for in Double-A and the way our staff did things. I’m sure we all do things the same, but I think he responded really well to the way I treat the starters like professionals. I don’t really micromanage them. I don’t really make them show up and treat them like college players. I think he really responded to the fact that his career was in his hands and he had to take complete ownership of it, and I was really happy with how he responded to that. That was kind of my relationship with him. It was just like, “Hey dude, this is Double-A baseball now. I’m not going to micromanage you. I’m not going to give you a stretch time. I’m going to tell you what time your bullpen’s going to be. I’m going to tell you what time the game starts. You need to develop a plan to get ready to be your best.” He did exactly what you hoped he would do.
PB: What’s your favorite Povich story?
KM: I remember him giving up a really cheap homer in Bowie. You can give those up in Bowie because right down the lines is just kind of ridiculous. He threw a good pitch, executed it and this big lefty just kind of clips one on him right down the line, should not have gone out of any park. … And I just remember watching how he responded in the dugout the next inning. He just sat his glove down and it wasn’t fake at all, it was just a coolest, calmest, no-worries approach I’ve ever seen from a young kid early in his Double-A career. And I thought, “Wow, that really didn’t bother him at all. It didn’t even faze him.” And he went out and gave us a couple more good innings and I thought, “That’s a really good quality to have as a starter” … because you see other kids that just unravel when something like that happens. When they give up a homer they shouldn’t have given up, that’ll just put them under for a week sometimes. Not with Cade.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles
Originally published April 19, 2023. Updated June 1.