Irvin shares excitement to join upstart O’s after trade

Irvin got here to Baltimore when Oakland performed a three-game collection at Camden Yards final Sept. 2-4. And what he noticed from the O’s 21-year-old rising star left an impression.

“Shoot, the first thing that came to mind when I got the call was when we faced Baltimore at the end of last season, how many plays Gunnar Henderson made in that series against us,” Irvin stated in a Zoom name with the media on Friday. “I think that kid’s jersey was dirty by the end of the first inning, just top to bottom.”

There’s one other participant on the Orioles’ roster who Irvin is blissful he not has to pitch towards.

“I’m just glad that I don’t have to face Ryan Mountcastle anymore,” Irvin stated. “That guy’s got my number since like Double-A.”

Irvin started rattling off different gamers he’s excited to name his new teammates: Adley Rutschman, DL Hall, John Means, Kyle Gibson. The listing might go on. The left-hander, who is about to show 29 on Tuesday, was visibly enthusiastic about his subsequent chapter in Baltimore and the chance to affix an O’s pitching workers that confirmed main enchancment final 12 months.

The Orioles must be excited to have Irvin, too. He’s a reliable workhorse who pitches with a quick tempo and isn’t afraid to assault hitters, and he’s coming off a 2022 season wherein he set profession bests in ERA (3.98), WHIP (1.16), strikeouts (128) and innings pitched (181).

While Irvin doesn’t have overpowering stuff, he’s profitable by figuring out tips on how to sequence pitches. His fastball averaged solely 90.7 mph final 12 months, however he has 4 different choices (a sinker, a curveball, a changeup and a cutter) that he mixes in on the proper occasions.

“I may not be fancy, I may not be lighting up the radar gun a lot of the time, but what I do is I think through my pitch selection, where I want to be, and I know how to get hitters out,” Irvin stated. “At the end of the day, that’s all my job is to do — is to get those guys out.”

Although Irvin had his finest exhibiting within the Majors final season, he didn’t fairly end the 12 months the best way he needed. He posted an 8.23 ERA over 5 September begins earlier than ending on a constructive word with six scoreless innings vs. the Angels within the A’s penultimate sport.

The September struggles impacted how Irvin approached the offseason, as he needed to verify he’s extra profitable within the later months of an extended season. This winter, he’s been extra targeted on his long-toss routines and spent extra time within the weight room to attempt to forestall the fatigue he could possibly be feeling by September, quite than making an attempt to construct as much as be able to pitch a number of innings proper initially of Spring Training.

“I’m hopeful that everything kind of pushes out a little bit longer and that my stronger part of my season is toward the August, September, October months,” Irvin stated.

One impact of Irvin’s revised offseason work has been an uptick in velocity. He stated he sometimes sits at 83-84 mph in his bullpen classes, however he’s been throwing round 90 of late. That might translate to the common season and permit him to have a brand new profession excessive in common four-seam fastball velocity (beforehand 92.8 in 2020).

Irvin is raring to work with the Orioles’ teaching workers. Following the commerce on Thursday, he had a 45-minute name with supervisor Brandon Hyde and pitching coach/director of pitching Chris Holt. By Irvin’s estimation, 15 of these minutes have been spent “just getting to know each other,” whereas the ultimate 30 already delved into pitching discuss.

If Irvin can take his sport to a different stage in 2023, it’s simply one more reason for him to be optimistic about his future in Baltimore.

“I feel like I was wanted and feel like this organization saw value in what I can do and know how to bring it up, so I’ve got to be open to some changes or some different things, and I’m going to be all ears,” Irvin stated. “It’s hard to just not smile and not be eager to get down to Spring Training with all the conversations I’ve had in the last, what, I think like 12 hours? It’s going to be a very fun season.”