Baltimore Orioles re-sign more minor league pitchers

Unfortunately, this is not a post about the Baltimore Orioles signing some amazing MLB-ready pitcher.

Instead, it is more of the same as the Baltimore Orioles re-signed four minor league players to fortify the farm system.

Jon Meoli with the Baltimore Sun shared the news about four minor leaguers. Three of them are pitchers and one is a first baseman.

The Orioles have been busy filling their minor league system with plenty of pitchers. Fans should not be surprised if a few of them are invited to Spring Training. Some might even be added to the roster during the season as the O’s work on building their rotation.

Aquino’s numbers

The most notable of the signings is Jayson Aquino who is a left-handed pitcher. He is 25 years old and from the Dominican Republic. He has pitched in 15.2 innings with the Orioles, starting in two games and pitching in relief in five more.

Aquino was drafted by the Colorado Rockies and played in their farm system at the young age of 17. His minor league and foreign numbers are rather good. He has an ERA of 3.24 in eight seasons in the minors and an ERA of 4.50 in the Dominican Summer and Winter Leagues. He has not fared as well in the majors, but he hasn’t had much time to show what he can do there.

Aquino has a four-seam fastball that averages around 89 MPH. His other two go-to pitches include his slider and changeup. The slider is in the mid-80s and the changeup is in the low-80s. He also has a curveball that he occasionally uses.

Faulkner’s numbers

The Orioles also added Andrew Faulkner, who is another 25-year-old left-handed pitcher. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers and he pitched a few innings for them in 2015 and 2016. The Rangers let him enter free agency and the O’s signed him. He spent 2017 in Triple-A Norfolk Tides.

Faulkner has a few more miles-per-hour on his pitches that Aquino has. He has a four-seam fastball in the low-90s, a changeup that comes in around 82 MPH, and a split-finger fastball that averages in the mid-80s. Aquino’s role is still being determined. But, Faulkner’s seems to have been decided. He started his minor-league career as a starter but has since moved to the bullpen.

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The other two men who were signed to the O’s minor league system include Tim Melville, a right-handed pitcher and Aderlin Rodriguez, who plays first base.

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