Orioles pitching prospect Garrett Stallings has learned what works for him through a minor league journey that he hopes takes him to the major leagues.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound right-hander for Double-A Bowie has strung together some impressive starts recently. Three of Stallings’ last five starts have been five-inning shutout efforts. Most recently, he allowed one hit and no walks in five innings on May 30 and three runs and five hits in four innings on June 4.
He credits his recent success to understanding his responsibilities but not overcomplicating the process.
“Really, I’ve just been sticking to my process. A lot of times it’s really just simplifying it,” Stallings said on Glenn Clark Radio June 1. “A lot of the times we got a lot of things on our mind, a lot of scouting reports, a lot of different moving parts and I think sometimes we can overcomplicate it.”
Stallings, 25, was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the fifth round of the 2019 MLB Draft after playing college ball at the University of Tennessee. He was later traded to the Orioles in a package for shortstop José Iglesias following the 2020 season. The deal brought the Chesapeake, Va., native close to home.
Stallings split time between High-A Aberdeen and Bowie in 2021, then pitched for the Baysox again in 2022. During the 2022 season, he pitched to a 6.28 ERA and allowed 140 hits and 90 runs across 119 innings.
However, Stallings has made a big leap this season in Bowie. He has posted a 4.64 ERA with 43 strikeouts and nine walks in 42.2 innings so far. Stallings expressed the importance of taking each day at a time. Through the course of the season, there will be ups and downs.
“I feel like I’ve really kind of handled the things I need to do, and I’ve really have just gone out there and attacked guys and really just trusted myself,” Stallings said. “Baseball’s such a present moment. You have a good one, it feels like you’re on the top of the world. You have a bad one and you feel like you’re in the bottom of a pit. I think you’ve just got to take care of each day and I think ultimately a lot of the things take care of themselves.”
Stallings’ best performance came on Mother’s Day last season when he combined with fellow right-hander Morgan McSweeney for the 11th no-hitter in Baysox history. Stallings pitched all but the seventh and final inning, allowing just two walks.
Stallings understands that not every outing is going to be like his Mother’s Day performance. As one of the older players in the Baysox clubhouse, he has learned to maintain a balance to perform consistently at a high level.
“I’d be lying if it wasn’t on your mind to go out there and perform at the best, but again you focus too hard and you press a little bit too hard it can end up biting you in the rear end too. So, it’s kind of a mix in between,” Stallings said. “… There is a fine line of trusting what you can do and doing what you can do well, rather than going out and trying way too hard.”
For more from Stallings, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Joseph Noyes