Baltimore Orioles: Matthew Grimes, Moving On Up

Jun 7, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; General view as MLB baseballs on the field before the Pittsburgh Pirates host the New York Mets in a double header at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Matthew Grimes has had one of the lowest ERA stats in the country and has been rewarded with a promotion to AA Bowie.

I will ask the readers today to forgive the unusual first-person narrative style of this article. For the past three months, my wife and I have had the privilege of hosting Grimes in our home during his time with the Advanced “A” Frederick Keys. So this is something of a personal story as well as information about a rising prospect in the Orioles’ system.

Grimes is in his third season with the Orioles, having been an 18^th-round selection out of Georgia Tech in 2014 and playing immediately with the Aberdeen Iron Birds. There he was 1-3 with a 5.32 ERA in 10 games, five starts. Last year under the outstanding tutelage of Delmarva pitching coach Blaine Beatty, Grimes went 10-7 in 24 starts with a 4.14 ERA.

But it is the current season that has put his name on the map in the Orioles farm system. Over 14 games with the Keys, he went 8-4 with a 1.45 ERA, earning Carolina League All-Star status while being named the league’s player of the month in May.

A few days ago, Matthew learned that he was being moved up to the Baysox and pitching on Monday night for their July 4^th game. Originally scheduled as the starter for this game was Jayson Aquino, who we have now seen has been called up with the Orioles.

So Matthew stayed here with us for one last night, got in an hour of fishing with two of my boys, and then packed up his gear to head down the road for tonight’s game. He’s movin’ on up to the East Side … yes, the east side of the District to pitch for the Bowie Baysox.

Playing against the Yankees’ AA affiliate the Trenton Thunder, Matthew was rudely welcomed to the Eastern League. Leadoff batter Tyler Wade took an 0-2 pitch deep over the wall for a leadoff home run. But Grimes came back from that to strike out the next three batters. Going a total of 4.2 innings, he gave up three earned runs on six hits (mostly ground balls through the infield) and struck out seven, leaving with a 3-1 deficit.

Relying this evening mostly on fast balls and a nasty curve, the appearance was an overall decent outing. The Baysox radio announcer summarized it this way …

"The numbers are not going to look great, but I thought that Grimes threw the baseball really well in his Eastern League debut, especially given the rainy conditions throughout the game."

Regarding pitching in the rain, from Matthew’s point of view, his experience in Maryland is that it rains all the time. I have been telling him that this year is unusual, but it is difficult for him to believe it when it does indeed seem to rain just about every day, as he says, “here in the north.”

It was just starting to rain when he was leaving our house, so I have told him that he is the rain magnet, not us!

Just after Grimes departed the game, the rain came down harder in Bowie and there was a delay. Again, the announcer said …

"It’s kinda frustrating when you look at the radar and see that this is just about the only place in the country where it is raining."

Well of course! Matthew Grimes is there! The rain follows him with a storm cloud over his head, kinda like Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh.

So is Grimes a legitimate prospect for the Orioles, sooner or later? Even though it is like talking about one of my own kids, I think I am being objective in saying that he certainly is. I have watched him pitch multiple times, and he features four pitches that he commands well. Pounding the strike zone, he only gave up 16 walks in 81 innings at Frederick, with a 1.054 WHIP.

Grimes is not listed among the top 30 Orioles prospects in Baseball America. Though there are more than a few MLB players who have been 18^th-round or later draftees, guys after the opening rounds have to prove that they can do it, while those at the top have to prove that they can’t.

At the same time, it has from the beginning of my knowing Matthew confused me as to why his successes this year are spoken of as a “surprise.” Here’s why I say that: Grimes was a fourth-round selection in 2010 out of high school in Georgia, by the White Sox. Ranked at that time as among the best high school pitchers in the country, he chose rather to go to Georgia Tech.

At Tech, he suffered the very common young pitcher’s elbow injury, going through Tommy John surgery and the subsequently long recovery. This year is his first without some measure of restriction, now being fully recovered from the worst thing that could happen. He throws consistently in the low 90s, occasionally touching 95. He’s obviously healthy.

So it is reasonable in my mind to see Grimes as a true high pick in the draft, only dropping due to the injury. Therefore he is a bargain for the Birds.

Orioles fans would look at Matthew’s delivery and approach and immediately notice a similarity to Chris Tillman. The mechanics are similar, as is the 6-6 frame. Throwing “downhill” and using size to his advantage, he actually has better ball movement than does Tillman. His curve, when working, can be devastating. The change is excellent and a slider is in development as a probable put-away pitch of the future. Add command to all of this, and it is a very viable MLB pitching package.