The Baltimore Orioles are set to hand right-hander Grayson Rodriguez his big league debut as they go up against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, sources revealed on Tuesday. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ranked Rodriguez as the number 12 prospect in baseball.
While the 23-year-old player was expected to be included in the rotation for the Orioles’ opening day 10-9 win against the Boston Red Sox, he missed out on a spot after posting just a 7.04 ERA in 15 1/3 innings during the team’s spring training. He was subsequently optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.
Rodriguez was finally handed his opportunity after right-hander Kyle Bradish suffered a foot injury on Monday. As a result of this setback, Tyler Wells was given the task of pitching in relief, with Kyle Gibson moving up the rotation to leave an empty spot for Rodriguez.
The 11th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, Rodriguez has posted a 25-9 record with a 2.49 ERA in 70 appearances across five minor league seasons.
