The Orioles on Friday added another top prospect to their 60-man player pool for developmental purposes, sending shortstop Gunnar Henderson (ranked No. 6 by MLB Pipeline) to their alternate training site in Bowie, Md. They also added 24-year-old left-hander Brian Gonzalez to their pool, which now has one open spot remaining.

The No. 42 overall pick in the 2019 Draft, Henderson, 19, was probably ticketed for short-season Aberdeen this year after spending his first professional summer in rookie ball, where he held his own (.259/.331/.370 in 29 games). He is a 6-foot-3, 195-pound shortstop the Orioles believe will grow into plus power and hope can stay in the middle of the diamond defensively.

The addition of Henderson now gives the Orioles access to 14 of their Top 30 prospect at their alternate site, and nine of their top 10. Some are candidates to join the big league roster at some point this season, but many more, like Henderson, are there strictly for developmental reasons.

Gonzalez, 24, is in another category, profiling as a depth option along with the likes Chandler Shepherd, Rob Zastrysny and Cesar Valdez at the alternate site. The Orioles have seen their rotation depth reduced in recent weeks, with Ty Blach requiring Tommy John surgery and Kohl Stewart opting out of the season due to underlying medical conditions. They are currently playing without ace John Means, who is on the bereavement list.

The club’s third-round Draft pick back in 2014, Gonzalez spent much of the past two seasons at Double-A Bowie, where he transitioned into a relief role last summer. He owns a combined 5.67 ERA across two seasons at that level, in 36 games (18 starts).

Pitching plans

The Orioles are tabbing right-hander Thomas Eshelman to start Saturday in place of Means, who remains on the bereavement list. It will be the first start of the season for Eshelman, who made four starts last summer for the Orioles. The righty pitched to a 6.50 ERA in 10 total appearances as a rookie in 2019.

Means’ wife, Caroline, shared on Twitter that the family is mourning the passing of John’s father, Alan, who had been battling pancreatic cancer. Alan was diagnosed last August, shortly before Means returned to Kansas City and defeated the Royals in an emotional homecoming.

The Orioles had previously announced only that they’d placed Means on the bereavement list this week and he was attending to a family matter.

Ruiz returns 

 Sidelined for the better part of the week with a sore right shoulder, Rio Ruiz returned to the Orioles’ starting lineup Friday night, batting seventh and playing third base. Ruiz missed five games with the injury, during which the Orioles ‘infield defense suffered visibly at the hot corner. Their offense also sputtered at times minus Ruiz, who hit .318 with three homers and a 1.112 OPS over his first six games.

Fry Guy Says

Small-sample numbers can be tricky to decipher in any context, but particularly when it comes to bullpens. Is the Orioles’ relief corps better this season? So far, yes. But how much?

By ERA, not much, as the O’s rank 10th among AL teams in that category. By fielding independent pitching, they’ve been much better, ranking fourth. And if you look at strikeout and walk rate, they’ve been about league average. It’s a puzzle that should play out more clearly as more games pass.

Perhaps the best personification of this is Paul Fry, who seems to be pitching better than his 4.91 ERA in the early going would indicate. On the surface, the numbers are pedestrian: Fry has allowed six hits, (including a homer) and walked two against five strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings. He’s faced 19 batters and allowed eight to reach.

But peel back the numbers a bit on Fry, and the picture his peripherals paint gets rosier.

The left-hander ranks at least in the 85th percentile among MLB relievers in hard-hit percentage, expected wOBA, expected ERA, expected batting average and expected slugging, per Statcast. He’s also showing increased vertical and horizontal movement on his slider this season.

“I’ve had a little bit of bad luck, I guess,” Fry said. “That’s how I’m perceiving it.”

The other main difference with Fry this year is easier to see. He’s intentionally lowered his hands in the set position, an adjustment he said was designed to help him avoid tipping pitches.

“I was straight-up giving the guys at second base exactly what I was throwing,” Fry said. “I had my glove wide open to second base and they could see everything. I only have two pitches, so it’s kind of easy to pick.”