Orioles may have unusual (for them) solutions in wake of yet another Zach Eflin injury

The second opinion that Zach Eflin got on his elbow was obviously not positive because he's recovering from Tommy John surgery now. Part of the optimism, if there was any, around the Baltimore Orioles rotation this offseason was that they had enough veteran starters to survive an injury to someone in their opening day rotation.

With Eflin out for the season and Kremer ticketed to take his spot in the rotation, that is no longer the case, but the Orioles might have something else instead that could end up being just as effective for keeping their rotation afloat this season.

The Orioles' farm system is known for producing hitters. Since 2022, they've debuted 11 top-hitting prospects to just 2 pitching prospects, and they haven't had a highly anticipated pitching prospect debut since Grayson Rodriguez in 2023. That may be about to change.

Trey Gibson, Levi Wells, and Nestor German all reached Triple-A at the very end of the 2025 season. Now they are in a race to see who will be called up to the big leagues first.

Trey Gibson is an improved fastball away from being one of the Orioles best pitchers

Of the three pitchers, Gibson is the most well-regarded by prospect evaluators. His dominance in Double-A drew a lot of attention, and he subsequently started popping up on various top-100 lists. Gibson's strength comes from his impressive pitch mix, which features six different pitches that tunnel well over each other and create quite the conundrum for hitters.

What will ultimately decide whether or not Gibson is a factor for the 2026 Orioles is if he can figure out his fastball. When he was tearing up Double-A last year, his fastball was reported to reach the high nineties, with lots of ride. Since being in triple-A, that hasn't been the case. In spring training, his fastball was hanging out around 92 mph. In his most recent Triple-A start, his velo was back up around 94-95 mph, which is better, but it's still kind of deadzoney. If Gibson can figure out his fastball again, he has the potential to change the shape of this Orioles rotation late in the season.

Levi Wells might be the most underrated arm in the Orioles farm system

As a pitcher drafted in the 4th round, Wells is one of the highest drafted pitchers the Orioles have had since Mike Elias took over as General Manager. He's mostly flown under the radar but has steadily progressed through the minors and could end up being the first of this crop of pitching prospects to get a shot in the majors.

The big thing Wells has going for him is a quality fastball. which sits in the upper nineties with lots of induced vertical breaks. It lights up the stuff+ numbers. Wells' fastball allows him to live in the zone. He's one of the best starters in the triple-A when it comes to opponent in zone contact rate. Being able to throw your fastball in the zone and get whiffs makes it so he can get back into counts and avoid walks. Wells lacks a great secondary pitch, so he's not going to come up and immediately pitch deep into the game, but he's close to being able to get outs at the MLB level.

Nestor German provides a familiar profile for Orioles fans

German is kind of like if you took the average of all the veteran pitchers the Orioles have signed over the last couple of seasons and de-aged them by 12 years. With his low-nineties fastball and five-pitch mix, he profiles as a back-of-the-rotation starter. That's ok, every team needs guys like that. The Orioles could use guys like that. German is off to a rocky start to his season, so it'll be interesting to see if he can find some success at Triple-A and then slide into an innings-eater role in the big leagues.

As a bonus, they also have fast-rising pitching prospect Luis De Leon in double-A, and that's not so far away from the majors that it's impossible to see him debuting this year. That's another name to watch towards the end of the season.

With all of these interesting arms in the minors, the question is then: are the Orioles set on pitching for the season?

The answer is no. These prospects are all intriguing, but they are also all flawed, and barring some major developments on their part, none of them should be starting a playoff game for the Orioles in 2026. So, even with all the minor league depth, the Orioles should still be active at the trade deadline, trying to acquire a pitcher they can hand the ball to in a playoff game.