Now with Double-A Chesapeake, Orioles prospect Trey Gibson is eager to prove himself.
The right-handed pitcher signed with the Orioles as an undrafted free agent out of Liberty in 2023. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound starter posted a 4.91 ERA, struck out 142 hitters and walked 51 in 121 innings for Liberty from 2021-2022.
Gibson is happy the Orioles took a chance on him, and he wants to prove himself a worthy signing.
“Growing up as a kid, I’ve always had confidence in myself as a pitcher,” Gibson said on Glenn Clark Radio June 12. “… I was really lucky to get this chance by the Orioles, and I’ve been trying my best to make the most out of it.”
Gibson believes he has always been able to miss bats, and he has been making even more strides forward since entering the Orioles organization.
The 23-year-old put in the work to show his growth during his first full pro season in 2024. Gibson had a 3.72 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 118 strikeouts in 92 innings of work between Low-A Delmarva and High-A Aberdeen.
“I’ve kind of always been a little strikeout-prone as a pitcher,” Gibson said. “I’ve always had a pretty good 12-6 curveball, but it wasn’t until I got into pro ball where I really put together the sweeper, and then also started throwing the gyro-cutter more consistently. And this year, I’ve also picked up a new pitch. They call it the death ball.”
The death ball is a type of breaking ball with a lot of vertical movement but very little horizontal movement. Jordan Montgomery is credited with starting the pitch that grew in popularity during his World Series run with the Rangers.
“I’ve been throwing four breaking balls so far this year,” Gibson said. “I’ve always been able to spin the baseball well, but this year has been the first year where I’ve really put four pitches together like that.”
Gibson was called up to Chesapeake earlier this month. In two starts with the Baysox, he has a 0.77 ERA, 0.514 WHIP and 13 strikeouts in 11.2 innings. The right-hander had a 5.12 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 38.2 innings with the IronBirds prior to his call-up.
Gibson is excited to prove what he can do at a higher level.
“I think I was ready for it,” Gibson said. “The season I’ve had, I’ve just been feeling pretty good. And I’m just trying to keep riding the wave that I’ve been on.”
Gibson has noticed how players carry themselves with the confidence and professionalism of big leaguers in Double-A.
“It’s obviously much more professional, but when it’s on the field, you kind of just see everyone holds themselves with their own type of confidence,” Gibson said. “I definitely can see how there’s a ton of big leaguers here in Double-A. It’s only the second week up here, so I still have a lot to learn.”
Gibson knows he has more to prove. His priority is developing as a starting pitcher.
“My goal the rest of the year, probably carrying into next year, is trying to be the most efficient I can as a starting pitcher,” Gibson said. “I look back on so many at-bats so far this year where I feel like I’ve been ahead, or it’s been even, and I feel like I’ve just lost that at-bat. And due to whether it may be a mental focus or just an execution, I just feel like there [are] things I can do to be more consistent.”
For more from Gibson, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Grace Hoppel/MLB