Orioles Top Prospect Grayson Rodriguez Starts Triple-A Opener

Grayson Rodriguez of the Baltimore Orioles will start the Triple-A season opener for Norfolk, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports. Rodriguez is one of the top prospects in not only the Oriole organization but all of Major League Baseball. It was a surprise that he didn’t begin the season with the big club, as he might be their best-starting pitcher as soon as he is called up.

Rodriguez is a future ace, something the O’s are sorely lacking. Their current rotation is Kyle Gibson, Dean Kremer, Cole Irvin, Kyle Bradish, and Tyler Wells. At best, if you’re grading on a curve, you might see a number three starting pitcher or two there.

The O’s were likely correct in sending Rodriguez down to Triple-A. Not only could this allow them to keep him another season down the line, but they would like him to earn the spot, something he didn’t do after posting a 7.04 ERA in 15.1 innings pitched over five starts this Spring.

On Saturday, the Orioles will have Kremer starting versus Chris Sale of the Boston Red Sox. The Orioles are -154 (+1.5) on the run line and +132 on the moneyline, with an over/under of 9.5, over (+100), and under (-122). You can find the lines and props for this game and all others on the FanDuel Sportsbook.