Catching Up with Grayson Rodriguez

Earlier this year, Grayson Rodriguez was named the top pitching prospect in Major League Baseball by MLB Pipeline. He then showed why he earned the honor, finishing the regular season with a 9-1 record in 23 starts with High-A Aberdeen and Double-A Bowie. He pitched to a 2.36 ERA (27 ER/103.0 IP), .159 opponents’ average, and 0.83 WHIP, walking 27 batters while striking out 161. Rodriguez recently took a break from demolishing catcher’s mitts and cheering on the Ravens to sit down with Geoff Arnold and Brett Hollander for the latest episode of Inside the Yard.

“I’ve really felt locked in,” said Rodriguez. “I’ve kind of said this is the year I finally learned how to pitch. We’ve been utilizing our scouting reports and everything the organization has been giving us, [Minor League pitching coach] Justin Ramsey and [Major League pitching coach] Chris Holt always sending information down from the big leagues and stuff. I mean, I’ve learned a lot this year and am finally being able to put it together on a consistent basis.”

After missing the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rodriguez talks about how he feels at the conclusion of his first full season since 2019.

“Physically, this is the best I’ve ever felt,” Rodriguez said. “My arm still feels fresh. In 2019, it being my first full season, I ran into some soreness and stuff like that, and I obviously got through it, but this year I haven’t had any problems whatsoever. My arm felt fantastic. I’ve been throwing the hardest I’ve ever thrown, I got up to 102 in a couple starts. My average velocity has been up three or four miles an hour than it was in 2019. We are rolling right now.”

The trio then takes a look at the future, asking Rodriguez what he has learned from watching O’s rookies make their MLB debuts in this year, and what he thinks he can expect pitching in the AL East.

“The American League East, that’s without a doubt the toughest division in the Major Leagues,” said Rodriguez. “A lot of hitter ballparks and a lot of power lineups. You’re not getting a day off, you’re not getting an easy line up. Just using your strengths, attacking hitters. I think we run into some trouble when pitchers try to start placing pitches in the zone, or try to nibble the corners and forget about attacking hitters and throwing fastballs up and stuff like that. Really it’s about knowing your strengths and how you know how to pitch.”

Rodriguez also talks about what it has been like being a part of the Bowie Baysox, who recently appeared in the Double-A North East Championship Series for the third time in franchise history, and why he thinks they has been so successful.

“I think a lot of it has to do with culture,” said Rodriguez. “Matt Blood has done a phenomenal job creating a great culture here, Mike Elias the same way. From the hitting standpoint, it seems like everyone who gets here just mashes the baseball, so as pitchers it’s easy to go out and expect at least three or four runs a game. That’s a big credit to our hitters. It’s been a lot of fun to watch, sitting in the dugout every night, there’s multiple home runs hit. The hitters have been a part of it, the culture, and the pitchers have all been throwing well. No matter who you run out there, you’re expecting three up, three down.”

Some of those batters include the club’s No. 6 ranked prospect Jordan Westburg and No. 11 Kyle Stowers.

“Watching Kyle play was a lot of fun,” said Rodriguez. “He had a feeling when he went up to the plate that he was going to hit the ball hard. Obviously, the home runs were really piling up. You knew he was going to hit the ball hard. A funny story I have from this year, we have a spot in Bowie in right field behind the fence whe some of the pitchers will sit and Stowers was playing right field one day and a couple of us here sitting out there and I yelled, ‘Hey Kyle, when you go up to bat next inning, if you hit us you’re going to be in trouble.’ And we were sitting there kind of laughing and he had maybe two strikes and Tyler Joyner, one of our relievers, said, ‘Well here it comes.’ Next thing you know Kyle hits a ball and we just see it coming right at us, just a blazer right over our heads. It hits the advertising sign out here in Bowie. When he ran out there the next half inning, you could see his smile all the way from the dugout running out to right field. We were just having a blast with it, and two at-bats later he hit another one. That was probably one of the highlights of the season.”

They finish with their “Fun Five” asking Rodriguez the last TV series he binge watched, what his road alias would be, what his first grade teacher would say about him, what he would be doing if he weren’t playing baseball, and his go-to pre and postgame meals.

“Chick-Fil-A, every day,” said Rodriguez. “I was just telling my dad that earlier today. I’ve gone to Chick-Fil-A every single day. There’s one right here by the stadium. Same exact order, grilled chicken nuggets and a grilled chicken wrap, and same exact curbside pickup spot every single day.”