ST. PETERSBURG (Release via Orioles) – After having his eyes on the prize for five years, DL Hall appears to be finally getting his shot.
A flamethrowing left-hander ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Orioles’ No. 4 prospect and No. 62 in baseball, Hall is joining the surging club for its three-game set against the Rays in Florida, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde confirmed prior to Friday’s series opener.
Hall’s exact outlook is not yet clear; Hyde said that the O’s will have a firmer idea after they get through Friday’s opener and “see where we are roster-wise.” Hall, for his part, was scheduled to start for Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday, and it’s likely the team will want to keep him on schedule, assuming he pitched for Baltimore.
“We saw a DL for a brief time in Spring Training. Obviously [he has] a very special arm and [we’re] excited for his future,” Hyde said. “We’ll see how tonight goes and we’ll go from there.”
The arrival of Hall, Baltimore’s first-round Draft pick in 2017 and its second-best pitching prospect behind Grayson Rodriguez, will mark another promising young Oriole breaking the seal of farmhand status and making it to the Majors this year. In the macro view, it’s another step in the rebuilding phase, one that has seen the current club in contention for a Wild Card spot amid a postseason race that Hall now rejuvenates.
Hall was brought into the organization before the current regime of executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias. Across his Orioles tenure, bitten by injuries and command issues, Hall has seen his prospect stock fluctuate. Internally, the club had believed the left-hander would have a chance to make an impact as soon as this summer, wanting to see a clean bill of health and success before leaning on him to do so. His 2022 to date — filled with highs and some struggles — appears to have made the time right.
In 2021, Hall was limited to just 31 2/3 innings due to a stress reaction in his left elbow. Such an injury has kept the Orioles extremely cognizant of his innings and workload in ’22. Hall was slow-played through extended Spring Training and then pitched for two different levels before arriving at Triple-A for the first time in May. In 18 starts since then, Hall has posted a 4.76 ERA, albeit with 114 strikeouts against 44 walks in just 70 innings — a strikeout rate of roughly 36 percent.
It stands to reason that the Orioles will err on the side of caution with Hall. Elias has said that the club’s approach for Hall and the injured Rodriguez this season has been implemented with the goal of taking the reins fully off each in 2023. Hall now gets the chance to build innings while flashing his tantalizing repertoire, including a 99-plus-mph fastball, in the big leagues.
The 2022 Orioles season has been marked by the arrival of prospects. Excitement first grew with Kyle Bradish. Then came Adley Rutschman, the headliner of the top-rated farm system. Both were joined by Kyle Stowers for a brief cameo in Toronto. Without adding at the Trade Deadline, Elias said that reinforcements were expected to come from within.
And Hall’s impending arrival signals life in that statement.
Rodriguez was largely expected to be the next callup, elevating a rotation that would one day be joined by Hall. But Rodriguez’s season has ultimately been derailed by a right lat strain that initially cast doubt on his return to the mound this year — whether in Baltimore or the Minors — but appears more promising by the day.
Until then, it’ll be up to Hall to keep the seat warm in Baltimore.
