Young signed with the Orioles as an undrafted free agent in 2020 following stints at the junior college level, Howard College (Texas) and Louisiana-Lafayette, where he excelled both in the rotation and out of the ‘pen. He enjoyed a solid pro debut but made only three starts in 2022 before being sidelined by elbow surgery for more than a year. Young returned in July 2023 and moved quickly from Double-A to Triple-A, where he spent most of '24 before the Orioles added him to their 40-man roster prior to the Rule 5 Draft in November.
Young is a 6-foot-6 right-hander whose performance exceeds the sum of its parts. His repertoire might not feature a truly above-average offering, but it’s a legitimate four-pitch mix that Young augments with excellent command, and he throws enough strikes to be effective without earth-shattering stuff. His fastball is an effective pitch that lives 93-95 mph but plays up because he throws everything out of the same window, and he keeps hitters off balance with a slider, cutter and changeup that can all be average offerings. The fading changeup is particularly important for Young, as it helps neutralize left-handed hitters.
Young doesn’t miss a ton of bats, and his lack of a true out pitch probably limits his ceiling. But the pitch mix and ability to command his entire arsenal give him a solid floor as a dependable strike-thrower who figures to factor into Baltimore’s big league mix in 2025, perhaps in a swingman role.
After two years at the junior college level with Howard College in Texas, Young moved on to Louisiana-Lafayette. He both started and relieved for the Ragin’ Cajuns in 2019 and was off to a very good start in his senior season in 2020 before the pandemic shut things down. He signed with the Orioles as a non-drafted free agent following that truncated Draft and had a solid first full season across two levels of A ball during his pro debut in 2021. He made three starts in Double-A in 2022 before elbow trouble that required surgery shelved him and he didn’t return until July 2023. With a clean bill of health this season, Young moved quickly from Double-A to Triple-A and is knocking on the big league door.
A 6-foot-6 right-hander, Young is more about a complete repertoire -- with the chance to have a legitimate four-pitch mix -- than he is about wow stuff. His fastball in 2024 sat around 92-93 mph, topping out at 96, an effective pitch with some armside run. His best secondary offering is his above-average mid-70s curve, thrown with high spin and good depth, and he also has a firmer, low-80s slider. He kills spin with his changeup, a fading offspeed offering that is a good option for left-handed hitters.
After throwing a ton of strikes in Double-A in 2024, Young’s walk rate ticked up again with his move to Triple-A. He looks like he should be a dependable enough strike-thrower to stick in a rotation. While his ceiling is somewhat limited because of that lack of a true out pitch, he could latch on as a No. 5 starter type if he continues to throw well.
How this works:
This section shows two different ways to evaluate pitch movement.
On the left, “Total Movement” shows the real-world movement of a pitch, including the forces of gravity, which affects every pitch thrown.
Since gravity requires time, and slower pitches aren't 'better' just because they have more time to move, a pitch's movement is compared to other pitches of the same pitch type, within +/- 2 MPH and +/- 0.5 feet of extension/release.
On the right, Induced Movement (or IVB) is reported without gravity, and attempts to isolate movement created by the pitcher's ability to spin and manipulate the ball.
These run values are leveraged, meaning the base/out situation at the time of the event does impact the run value (thus introducing context outside the batter's own contribution).
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
Standard
Year
Team
Avg HR Trot
Actual HR
xHR
HR-xHR
Doubters
Mostly Gone
No Doubters
No Doubter %
2025
24.6
1
1.0
0
0
0
1
100.0
Player
24.6
1
1.0
0
0
0
1
100.0
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Standard" view here accounts for different wall heights and distances but excludes environmental effects. It is based purely on the observed trajectory of the hit.
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
Standard
Year
HR
2025
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Player
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Standard" view here accounts for different wall heights and distances but excludes environmental effects. It is based purely on the observed trajectory of the hit.
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift:
three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of
their typical responsible slices of the field. Learn more about
how positioning is defined here
BAL
