Orioles minor league right-hander Justin Armbruester was promoted to Triple-A Norfolk on June 18, part of a wave of promotions across the farm systems.
The 6-foot-4, 235-pound right-hander is joining a Tides squad that is 45-23 and in first place in International League’s East Division. Teammate and infielder César Prieto also got bumped up to Triple-A. The Tides roster already includes top prospects in outfielder Colton Cowser and infielder Jordan Westburg.
“It’s so much fun to be in this organization,” Armbruester said on Glenn Clark Radio June 15. “Guys are pushing each other every day. … It’s really cool to see everybody working together and trying to push toward the same goal to get the Orioles back to the playoffs.”
Armbruester started 12 games for Double-A Bowie this year, posting a 3-2 record. The 24-year-old posted a 2.47 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 19 walks in 62 innings. His pitching arsenal consists of a fastball, slider, cutter and curveball.
Armbruester credits his strides this season to the work he put in this past offseason in his home state of Washington.
“Not only did my stuff get better over the offseason, I had the opportunity to work on TrackMan pretty much the entire offseason in a facility up in Washington [helped],” Armbruester said. “Me and [pitching coach] Forrest Herrmann have been emphasizing, ‘Let’s just force weak contact and attack the zone.’ And that’s really helped my numbers play up, too.”
Armbruester was drafted by the Orioles in the 12th round of the 2021 MLB Draft after his senior season with New Mexico. The pitcher sported a 3.58 ERA his senior season with the Lobos. He spent time in the Florida Complex League and with Delmarva following the draft, posting a 1.93 ERA in eight appearances in 2021.
Armbruester began the 2022 season with High-A Aberdeen but finished it in Bowie. The right-hander combined for a 6-2 record with a 3.85 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 117 innings.
Coming out of high school, Armbruester only had one college offer — Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wash. He spent his freshman and sophomore season with the Lancelutes before transferring to the New Mexico of the Mountain West Conference.
“I honestly almost gave up baseball at the end of my high school career, I didn’t really know if I loved it,” Armbruester said on GCR last August. “I kind of got that one opportunity … and kind of found this new passion toward baseball. … Getting one offer right out of high school put a little bit of a chip on my shoulder and I just kind of strive to get to the highest level I can.”
While Armbruester hasn’t found himself on any prospect rankings yet, it hasn’t deterred his confidence.
“I talk to the big leaguers and they come down and all they keep telling me is, ‘Hey, just control what you can control. Don’t worry about the other stuff. Go out there and have fun when they give you the rock. It’ll all fall into place one day,'” Armbruester said.
For more from Armbruester, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Joseph Noyes