Reviewing the MLB Debuts of Two Orioles Pitchers

The Baltimore Orioles recently called up two minor league players from the alternate site who made their major league debuts. Zac Lowther and Jay Flaa both were called up to help shape up the bullpen after Wade LeBlanc was designated for assignment. How did they fare in their debuts?

Lowther was called up Sunday to replace LeBlanc on the Orioles’ roster. That same day, he made his debut in the top of the ninth to finish out the game against the Oakland A’s.

The 24-year old ended up throwing a scoreless inning to seal the Orioles’ 8-1 victory over the A’s, snapping Oakland’s 13-game winning streak. Lowther allowed only one hit and struck out a batter for his first big league strikeout.

The next day, Lowther was sent down to the alternate site in Bowie and was replaced by Flaa, who is not even a top 30 Oriole prospect.

Flaa made his major league debut against the Yankees on Tuesday. He came in with two outs in the eighth and managed to finish the game for the Orioles, allowing no hits. He did walk two batters, but recorded his first major league strikeout and got out of some trouble.

The 28-year old is still in Baltimore with the team as of Thursday morning. The question remains if he will be replaced in the next few days by another pitcher or if he sticks around for a while.

Both pitchers made great first impressions with the Orioles. Although Lowther had a seven-run lead, he was facing the hottest team in the league at the time. That is never an easy task to do.

Flaa also managed to get Giancarlo Stanton to ground into a double play and Aaron Judge to strike out after walking the first two batters in the inning. It may not seem like a lot, but it is a nice start.