Orioles pitching prospect Chayce McDermott’s 2023 season is off to a good start with Double-A Bowie.
McDermott has pitched 20.1 innings in five appearances this season, allowing 13 hits and six earned runs for a 2.66 ERA. Hitters have batted .173 against McDermott, and the 6-foot-3, 197-pound right-hander has even picked up a save.
“I think it is just more getting settled into pitches and stuff like that,” McDermott said on Glenn Clark Radio April 27. “Understanding what I do well and when to use certain pitches, all that kind of stuff. I think it is the mental side more than the physical side in that sense.”
McDermott, 24, is a recent addition to the organization. He was traded to Baltimore from the Houston Astros as part of the Trey Mancini trade last summer ahead of the trade deadline.
“It’s definitely exciting to be traded to a team where you have some opportunities but also being in an org where we’re winning,” McDermott said.
The Astros drafted the right-hander in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Ball State University. McDermott has split time as a starting pitcher and a reliever, starting 25 games and appearing in 14 contests as a reliever. This season, he has started three games and appeared in two others in bulk relief.
During his three-year minor league career, McDermott has compiled an 8-5 record with a 4.77 ERA and 227 strikeouts in 145.1 innings pitched.
“I’ve definitely gotten more comfortable with a couple of the pitches,” McDermott said. “Last year I was throwing a changeup as my fifth pitch. I changed it to a splitter in the offseason and it’s progressively getting better pretty much every time I go out, so I think that will be a huge boost once I get that fully where I want it to be.”
McDermott is currently the No. 18 prospect in the Orioles system and one of nine pitching prospects on the Orioles Top 30 list, according to MLB Pipeline. The Orioles had the consensus top farm system in baseball entering the season but are generally thought to have more high-end position players than pitchers.
McDermott says that is a “huge misconception.”
“There are plenty of arms in our org that are very, very good and can definitely contribute to the big league team in the future,” McDermott said. “I don’t think they get enough credit and that’s a shame. But at the same time, for me personally, I have not put a ton of weight on myself about that. … I’m just trying to develop and be the best I can be and hopefully that leads me to being a huge part of the Orioles in the future.”
McDermott got married to his now wife, Lauren, in Indiana last September. The two are embracing the baseball life together, meaning they have grown close to a lot of different teammates and couples throughout the years.
That might make guest lists longer than one may hope, but McDermott and his wife got through it.
“For me it made it a little bit easier being a part of two organizations in one year just because I got traded so late,” McDermott said. “I got traded in August and my wedding was in September, so the list was set.”
For more from McDermott, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Joseph Noyes