Chayce

McDermott

McDermott, who made his big league debut back in late July, is probably done for the remainder of the year. The 25-year-old righty emerged as one of the top pitching prospects in Baltimore’s system this year with an astronomical 32.7 percent strikeout rate across 97 innings at the Triple-A level. He’s going to factor into the Orioles starting rotation plans at some point in the future.

McDermott allowed three runs over four innings against the Marlins in his major league debut Wednesday. With the Orioles likely to acquire at least one starting pitcher at the deadline, it’s hard to say if McDermott will get another chance any time soon.

McDermott had an uneven major league debut. He allowed just one hit until his fourth inning of work. Then he allowed four in a row that turned into three runs. He struggled to command his changeup and that led to some difficult at-bats against left-handed batters, but his fastball had more life than expected and was a weapon at the top of the strike zone. McDermott deploys a kitchen-sink approach without having a true out-pitch and could struggle to mitigate contact in the big leagues.

The move is now official. McDermott seemed destined to make his big-league debut early in the season after a strong 2023, but he struggled in his first few Triple-A starts and admitted that he was putting too much pressure on himself. McDermott has righted the ship of late and has a 3.96 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and 129/54 K/BB ratio across 91 innings on the year. He has a true five-pitch mix and has developed a split-change that is improving as the season goes on. It’s unclear how many starts he’ll make for the Orioles or whether he gets traded at the deadline, but he has some fantasy upside if he can remain in a major-league rotation.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde made it official late Tuesday by confirming that McDermott will make his big-league debut on Wednesday at loanDepot park. The 25-year-old righty is one of the better pitching prospects in Baltimore’s system and has put together a phenomenal season with a 3.96 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 129/54 K/BB ratio across 91 innings (19 starts) for Triple-A Norfolk. Fantasy managers should take a wait-and-see approach here as there’s zero guarantee that this will be more than a spot start.

McDermott could very well make his MLB debut in the series against the Marlins. The 25-year-old has forged a 3.96 ERA and 129/54 K/BB over his 91 innings in Triple-A across 19 starts with Norfolk. McDermott is not an elite pitching prospect, but would be worth streaming consideration against a not-so-good Miami roster.

The move clears a spot on the active roster for Heston Kjerstad but also opens up a spot on the 40-man roster as well. With the Orioles’ starting pitching struggling due to injuries, it’s possible the team could be looking to add another pitcher to the 40-man roster. It should be noted that the team’s 17th-ranked prospect is RHP Chayce McDermott and he is not on the 40-man roster. This move could open up a spot for the Orioles to promote him, should they choose to.

With Thursday’s big news that Kyle Bradish will start the season on the IL with a UCL sprain, it appears that Tyler Wells will have a chance to work his way back into the rotation. Wells was great for Baltimore in 2023, pitching to a 3.64 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and a 117/34 K/BB ratio over 118 2/3 innings in his 25 appearances (20 starts), but the Orioles removed him from the rotation late in the season to monitor his innings. Today’s news makes him a big bargain at his current ADP in fantasy baseball drafts; although, Rill also mentions Chayce McDermott, Cade Povich and Justin Armbruester as players who could push for one of the final spots in the rotation.

He can be considered day-to-day for now. Due to graduations in the system, McDermott is ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the Orioles’ organization by MLB Pipeline. The 25-year-old has put up a 3.10 ERA and 152/68 K/BB ratio over 119 innings between Double- and Triple-A this season.

McDermott is ranked as the Orioles as the 17th, per MLB Pipeline, and will be one step away from the major leagues. The 27-year-old was part of the return when Baltimore traded Trey Mancini to Houston last summer. McDermott has a 3.56 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and 88/44 K/BB ratio across 68 1/3 innings with Double-A Bowie.