Orioles pitching prospect Cameron Weston has had some ups and downs in 2025, but he’s been able to make every start for Triple-A Norfolk this season.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound right-hander has a 4.71 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 72.2 innings (16 starts) this year. Weston credits Orioles top catching prospect Samuel Basallo for some of his success on the mound.
“We spent a lot of time together last year as well, so we’re a bit more familiar with the mix and how we want to go about it,” Weston said on Glenn Clark Radio June 27. “The experience he’s been getting this year, like with pitch-calling and whatnot, has improved greatly. I mean, he’s been doing a great job back there with mixing it up, keeping people off certain things. So it’s just been an improvement overall, really.”
Weston and Basallo have made five starts as a battery this year: May 13, May 24, May 30, June 24 and June 29. It’s easy for observers to miss how much Basallo has improved behind the plate, according to Weston.
“I mean, his bat’s pretty good,” the pitcher said. “I just don’t think they think about it at all.”
Weston, 24, believes his hard work and the adjustments he has made are now paying off as well.
“Throughout the season, we’d be making a lot of adjustments, like the [arm] slot — it was probably about a month ago, anchoring that in,” Weston said. “Besides that, I’m trying not to change too much with anything, just trying to execute more often, being more in the zone.”
The 2022 eighth-round pick out of the University of Michigan believes that staying consistent with his execution has helped fuel him this year.
“Having confidence, like staying with it and everything,” Weston said. “Not trying to change too much, just trying to execute more efficiently and better.”
Weston wants to continue working on the consistency of his execution moving forward.
“I’ve done a pretty good job this month, but just staying consistent, trying to stretch it for an entire year of just consistently doing the same execution throughout every start,” Weston said.
He knows there is always pressure looming at the Triple-A level when the trade deadline is approaching, but Weston tries to focus his energy on the day-to-day.
“That’s like the one thing good about the season is how many games, it’s kind of easy to put your head down and kind of just focus on day-to-day, just focus on every game,” Weston said. “I mean, there’s one every day. It’s pretty easy to just kind of block it out.”
For more from Weston, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Jaden Morton