No. 6 prospect Hall stretching out at Triple-A

BALTIMORE -- The first four outings of DL Hall’s 2023 season have been a continuation of his Spring Training build-up. The Orioles optioned the 24-year-old left-hander -- who was slowed early in camp by right lower lumbar discomfort -- to Triple-A Norfolk to open the year so that he could get fully stretched out as a starter.

That’s exactly what happened. In his past two appearances, Hall has thrown 89 and 85 pitches. On Friday, he went five innings in Norfolk’s 3-2 win over Rochester, marking his longest outing since last Aug. 7, when he tossed 5 1/3 innings for the Tides.

Hall’s mindset is beginning to shift as April winds down.

“To just be able to throw that many pitches and just get through five innings, that was just a big step in the right direction,” said Hall, Baltimore’s No. 6 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 89 overall prospect. “Now hopefully, after that, we can start moving toward some more result-oriented outings and just focusing on winning and pitching to the level that I should be.”

Even if Hall hasn’t been too worried about numbers other than his pitch count and his innings so far, he’s been pitching fairly well, having allowed two runs or fewer in each of his past three outings. The southpaw has recorded 20 strikeouts over 16 1/3 innings and owns a 4.41 ERA.

Another part of Hall’s progression has been relearning what it’s like to pitch with slightly lower, sustained velocity, now that he’s no longer appearing in short spurts. When he worked out of the Orioles’ bullpen last September, his four-seam fastball routinely sat in the 96-98 mph range. In his most recent start for Norfolk, his heater averaged 93.9 mph and maxed out at 95.8, per Statcast.

Hall’s top priority remains the same -- getting back to the Majors, where he posted a 5.93 ERA in 11 games (one start) during his first taste of the big leagues in 2022. But he realizes the competition is stiff. Baltimore’s rotation has a 1.45 ERA over its past five games, a stretch that included a 29 2/3-inning scoreless streak for the starters.

“The guys up there, they don’t make it easy. Our staff, our team up there is unbelievable,” Hall said. “So it’s going to be tough to force the hand. But all I can do is keep pushing and keep doing what I can do, and I’m just excited to get up there and help them in any way I can.”

Here’s a look at a few more players who had notable showings for the Orioles’ other three Minor League affiliates in the past week:

Double-A Bowie: RHP Justin Armbruester
Armbruester continued his strong start to the 2023 season with 5 1/3 scoreless innings in Bowie’s 2-1 loss at Altoona on Thursday. The 24-year-old right-hander, who was selected by Baltimore in the 12th round of the 2021 MLB Draft, has a 1.26 ERA through three starts.

Although Armbruester isn’t among the Orioles’ Top 30 prospects, he’s another high-potential arm in the system, as he’s continuing to prove. Last year, he had a 3.85 ERA in 26 games (22 starts) with Bowie and High-A Aberdeen, including a 3.69 ERA in his first taste of Double-A.

High-A Aberdeen: 3B Max Wagner
Wagner, Baltimore’s No. 13 prospect, has gotten off to a bit of a slow start in his first full professional season, going 5-for-43 (.116) over his first 12 games for Aberdeen. However, the 2022 second-round Draft pick showed what he’s capable of during the IronBirds’ 6-3 loss to Jersey Shore on Thursday.

Wagner recorded his first multi-hit performance of the season, going 2-for-2 with two singles, two walks, one run scored and his first two stolen bases of the season. It could be an example of what’s to come more regularly for the 21-year-old as he keeps gaining experience.

Single-A Delmarva: SS Jackson Holliday
Holliday, the Orioles’ No. 2 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 10 overall prospect, continues to steal the show for the Shorebirds. The 19-year-old swatted his first two homers of the season in Delmarva’s 16-4 win over Fredericksburg on Friday as part of a 3-for-6, four-RBI performance.

The 2022 No. 1 overall pick entered Sunday slashing .404/.533/.681 with eight extra-base hits and 14 RBIs through 12 games to open his first full pro season.