ORGANIZATION REPORT
American League
A young White Sox power pitcher makes the most of a difficult situation PAGE 31
The Royals’ shortstop of the future accelerates his timeline PAGE 32
Oakland’s first-round pick puts on a show PAGE 33
BALTIMORE ORIOLES
The Orioles left openings on their 60-man player pool so that they could gradually filter players to their alternate training site in Bowie, Md. Players would be assigned there depending on potential needs in the major leagues or the desire to enhance prospects’ development.
Lefthander Brian Gonzalez seemed to fit both categories.
A 2014 third-rounder from Archbishop McCarthy High in Southwest Ranches, Fla., Gonzalez was an unexpected inclusion to the pool on Aug. 7. The Orioles traded reliever Richard Bleier to the Marlins, and Gonzalez gave them an extra lefthander who might be able to assist them in the bullpen.
The cancellation of the minor league season and initial pool snub could have shaken Gonzalez, 24, and left him wondering about his future, but he took it in stride and has made a positive impression in Bowie. Hearing from Orioles director of pitching Chris Holt and Triple-A pitching coach Kennie Steenstra also eased his mind.
“I tend not to worry about things I can’t control,” Gonzalez said. “In conversations with Chris Holt and Kennie Steenstra, who was our contact man during the second offseason quarantine, they just kept saying, ‘Be ready, you never know when you might get the call for the 60-man.’ That was my mindset.”
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound lefthander earned consideration based on his successful transformation to relief after registering a 4.91 ERA in 21 starts with high Class A Frederick in 2017 and a 5.69 ERA in 18 games (17 starts) the following year at Double-A Bowie.
Moved to the Bowie bullpen in 2019, Gonzalez held hitters to a .209 average and posted a 1.06 WHIP in 41.2 innings.
“Biggest thing I would say is just routine-wise, just a different day to day,” Gonzalez said. “As a starter, you have four days to prepare, and in the bullpen you have to be ready every day. I enjoyed that. I liked being able to be in the game every day, be some part of the game.
And I was mostly used in long relief, so I was still getting length out of the bullpen.”
—ROCH KUBATKO
BOSTON RED SOX
When the Red Sox set their initial 60-man player pool, they included only one player who had yet to reach the upper levels of the minor leagues.
But the decision to have 22-year-old lefthander Jay Groome—who had never pitched above low Class A—head to the Pawtucket alternate site was not surprising.
The 2016 first-rounder from Barnegat (N.J.) High entered the year having thrown just 66 minor league innings. Tommy John surgery in early 2018 wiped out that season and limited him to just four innings in short-season ball at the end of 2019.
The 6-foot-6, 220-pound Groome needed work—and to start
