Baltimore Orioles: With Zimmermann out, who takes his place?

Of the four most viable options, DL Hall is the only pitcher yet to make his big league debut. Hall currently ranks as the Orioles’ 5th top prospect according to MLB Pipeline and has had a successful season so far in Triple-A Norfolk.

Hall was drafted by Dan Duquette and the Orioles in the first round of the 2017 draft out of a high school in Georgia and has since been a centerpiece of the Orioles rebuild and a player who O’s fans have anticipated the debut of for years.

The critical question for Hall is whether or not he is ready to take the next step and make his Major League debut. Kyle Bradish is another starting pitcher who made his debut earlier this season for the Baltimore Orioles, and he has struggled as a rotation member.

In most cases, the Orioles have shown reluctance to push their top prospects to the majors before they are ready, as they seemed to have been overly cautious with Adley Rutschman. Since the Orioles are not likely to compete for a playoff spot this year, it is probably better for the O’s to be patient with Hall and wait until he is clearly ready to be an MLB pitcher.

As mentioned earlier, Hall has pitched well with Norfolk this season. In Norfolk, he has an ERA of 3.82 in 30.2 innings pitched and has an awe-inspiring rate of 15.8 strikeouts per 9 innings. However, the walks have been an issue as he has walked 5.3 batters per 9 innings as well.

Hall has proven he can hit triple digits with his fastball and has been working on his secondary pitches this season. If the Orioles believe Hall is ready to take the next step, then they will not have to sacrifice a player on the 40-man roster since he is already a member. Hall is set to make a start tonight for the Norfolk Tides against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.