Means makes name for himself and case to stay

BALTIMORE -- At some point this spring, right around the time he thought he’d be reassigned to Minor League camp, John Means huddled with Orioles Minor League pitching coordinator Chris Holt. Holt had garnered the reputation as something of a changeup guru during his time in the Astros’ system. In Sarasota, he showed Means a new way to pronate -- the act of turning the wrist after release -- when throwing his, with an eye towards benefiting Means’ health and giving his change more biting action.

A few months later, the pitch is propelling Means from obscurity to the forefront of the Orioles’ pitching plans. The club made a point to wedge Means back into the rotation because of the steadiness he showed again in Wednesday’s 4-3 win over the White Sox, and though manager Brandon Hyde couldn’t specify how or when, he’s given the O’s little choice but to keep him in their starting mix.

“He’s off to an unbelievable start,” Hyde said. “We’re going to figure some things out here as we go forward, but obviously John has earned a lot of things and I like giving John the ball. … He is going to make a lot of starts for us this year.”

That much was clear before Means shaved his team-best ERA to 1.74 with five more stellar innings against Chicago, earning his third win thanks to a six-out save from Mychal Givens and an assist from Richie Martin, who made a game-saving play to strand the tying run in the ninth.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” Means said. “I’m still numb to it.”

After getting not a run of support over his first two starts, Means pitched with a lead for much of Wednesday courtesy of run-scoring first-inning hits from Renato Nunez and Rio Ruiz. Stevie Wilkerson provided insurance later in almost perverse fashion -- only after being called back to the plate following a phantom hit-by-pitch. It took a 30-second challenge for umpires to rule Ervin Santana’s 0-1 slider did not strike Wilkerson in the foot. Three pitches later, Wilkerson crushed his first career home run a projected 423 feet, per Statcast.

“I honestly knew I was going to have to go back in the box anyway,” Wilkerson said. “It wasn’t a surprise.”

Consider the offense -- provided without Chris Davis, who missed the game due to a personal matter -- a present for Means, who dazzled on his 26th birthday He spent it showcasing his changeup like a new toy, routinely playing off a four-seam fastball clocked as high as 94.7 mph, to great effect.

Just two of the 27 changeups Means threw Wednesday were put in play, and only one -- a harmless Yoan Moncada fly to center -- at upwards of 95 mph exit velocity. Nine of the 14 others resulted in swings and misses, with Means capping four of his career-high six strikeouts with the pitch.

All told, Means has called upon his changeup 34 percent of the time so far this season, the third highest usage rate in MLB behind Tampa Bay’s Jalen Beeks and Miami’s Trevor Richards. His 43.8 percent whiff rate with the pitch outpaces the MLB average of 31 percent by a large margin.

“It’s saving me lately,” Means said. “I’d never used it with two strikes before, and now that I’ve learned to slow it down, it’s been useful. … It seems like I keep using it night in and night out. If it’s working, it’s working.”

This effort helped the Orioles claim their first series win at home since last Aug. 29, and marked the latest chapter in an unlikely journey for Means, who has routinely characterized his opportunity as a surprise. A former 11th-round pick and veteran of 114 Minor League starts before being summoned for an emergency MLB debut last September, Means was never a heralded prospect before emerging from the roster periphery this spring.

“I didn’t think I’d be here,” Means said. “I didn’t think I’d be on this team, and to be here and to be providing and doing well, it’s really nice.”