The Baltimore Orioles claim Kirk McCarty: Let’s learn about him

After a thrilling comeback win on Tuesday night, the Baltimore Orioles got back on the roster shuffle before their series sweep against the Rangers.

The Baltimore Orioles roster shake-up went as follows: Nick Vespi was optioned to Triple A Norfolk, Beau Sulser was called up from Norfolk, and Marcos Diplán was designated for assignment, making room on the 40 man roster for Kirk McCarty, who was claimed off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians.

As of now, McCarty has been optioned to Triple A Norfolk, but he could be called up whenever the Baltimore Orioles have the need for bullpen or even rotation depth. As I did with recent waiver claims Austin Voth and Jonathan Araúz, let’s get to know the newest member of the Orioles organization.

McCarty comes to Baltimore in the midst of his first taste of big league action. McCarty made his debut on April 24 against the New York Yankees. In 3 games this season, two of which have been starts, McCarty has a 0-2 record with a 9.00 ERA in 12 innings pitched, allowing 12 earned runs. His most recent appearance came on July 2, when he was the 27th man for a Cleveland doubleheader.

McCarty has six pitches in his arsenal, featuring a four seam fastball, slider, curveball, changeup, sinker, and a cutter. His fastball has been used 39.8 % of the time, making it his most used pitch. His slider has been used 20.4 %, and his changeup has been used 17.9 %, making those his second and third most used pitches.

His average fastball velocity is 92 miles per hour, which is only in the 22nd percentile in percentile ratings, which is mostly an effect of everything throwing the ball really hard in recent years. His fastball spin rate is in the 58th percentile, which is slightly above average in the majors this season.

While for now McCarty will report to Triple A, it’s clear that the Baltimore Orioles saw something they liked in the lefty hurler, and the hope is that they can develop him into an everyday MLB pitcher. I mean, they turned Voth around, as he has a 3.86 ERA in 7 appearances, so hopefully they can do the same with McCarty.