As the Orioles find themselves at the top of the American League and poised for a playoff run, the Baltimore farm system stands among the best in all of baseball as well.
Baltimore has eight prospects in MLB Pipeline’s top-100 prospect list, tied for most in the league with the Dodgers. One prospect who hopes to find himself on the ranking soon is right-handed pitcher Connor Gillispie.
Gillispie, 25, was drafted by the Orioles in the ninth round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of VCU after three collegiate seasons. After spending the last two seasons with High-A Aberdeen, Gillispie has pitched for Double-A Bowie this season. He is currently sporting a 5-4 record with a 4.13 ERA in 19 appearances this season, featuring a fastball, curveball, slider, changeup and cutter.
“I’ve definitely learned a lot this year,” Gillispie said on Glenn Clark Radio July 20. “The biggest thing is just being in the zone constantly. It changes the whole outcome of the game, moves things along. The hitters know they’ve got to swing. So it’s really just been attacking.”
The 5 foot-11, 185-pound right-hander has both come out of the bullpen and started for the Baysox this season. Gillispie has compiled a 3.54 ERA in six starts with the Baysox this season, earning a 2-3 record in the outings. He has a 4.47 ERA in 13 outings out of the bullpen this season. He had previously split time between the starting rotation and bullpen in Aberdeen.
“Sometimes I’ll come out of the ‘pen, sometimes I’m starting. It all just depends on the week,” Gillispie said. “It’s been a good year. I’ve been staying steady, staying strong, just trying to enjoy the process and get better every day.”
Gillispie’s goal at the beginning of the season was to get promoted to Triple-A Norfolk. While the pitcher is unsure if a promotion will still happen, he hopes that he will be invited to big league spring training next year.
“I don’t know if I’ll make my debut this year just because of how well [the Baysox are] playing. But [I need to] just put myself in a position to maybe get a big league spring training roster invite, or just put myself on the radar for next year,” Gillispie said.
The Baysox are currently in fourth place in the Eastern League Southwest division second-half standings at 13-14. The minor league playoffs are set to begin in late September. Meanwhile, the Orioles are currently 64-41, the best record in the American League. Gillispie was one of the first players drafted in the new Orioles regime under GM Mike Elias and has seen the transformation over the past four years.
“It’s a really, really exciting time to be a part of the Baltimore Orioles,” Gillispie said. “I just think we’re going to keep getting better. And I think we’ll be World Series contenders for many years to come. And it’s super exciting. It’s been amazing just watching the transformation and the amount of talent we have on the field at each level.”
For more from Gillispie, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Joseph Noyes