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All offseason, Orioles fans have been clamoring for a starting pitcher acquisition. The Orioles won the AL East for the first time since 2014 and have developed a core that has them in a good position for an extended playoff run with hopes of a championship. Having recently been bought by local billionaire David Rubenstein, there are hopes that adding some more expensive free agents, which the Angelos family previously would not have approved, may be possible.
On Thursday evening, Mike Elias finally made a deal that the fans had been hoping for, trading for the 2021 NL Cy Young award winner. Corbin Burnes is the crown jewel of the trade, but both pieces headed to the Brewers, DL Hall and Joey Ortiz, are also interesting from a fantasy perspective.
Corbin Burnes
Corbin Burnes has been an absolute stud in fantasy since 2020, posting four straight seasons of a 3.39 era or better and a career strikeout rate of over 30%. Burnes moves from a park with a home run issue to a park that favors pitchers. If your league still has wins, I think Burnes’ win rate will increase since the Orioles are expected to win close to 100 games.
The biggest negative from this trade for Burnes is that he now needs to face the difficult AL east lineups instead of the weak NL central lineups for half of his games each year. Overall, I expect Burnes to maintain his elite pitching and be a top-five fantasy starter in 2024.
The Brewers haul has received some criticism from the fantasy community for being light; however, with Burnes in the last year of his deal, getting 12 combined years of guys who can contribute this year at the MLB level is not a bad return. Both players have been top 100 prospects for a couple of years and will step right into the roster as starters.
Corbin Burnes to the Orioles is done, sources tell ESPN. A blockbuster trade less than two weeks before spring training starts. Baltimore gets one of the best pitchers in baseball, and the Brewers will get a package of prospects back. First with it close: @Ken_Rosenthal.
DL Hall
DL Hall is expected to fill a void at the back end of the rotation, while Joey Ortiz will bring his elite defense and great minor-league stats to the infield rotation. Hall offers elite stuff but struggles with control at times. Hall possesses an elite upper 90s fastball and nasty slider from the left side.
Many feel that Hall would be best suited to let his stuff play up as a back-end of the bullpen guy, but the Brewers will give him one last chance to see if he can spot his pitches a little better and let his high-quality stuff play up in the rotation. Hall is a great upside guy to target late in the draft with hopes that, with the opportunity, he can provide quality innings with above-average strikeout potential.
DL Hall is a fun get for the #Brewers.
Big slider change last season.
April/May SL: 84 mph | 7" vertical | 7" sweep | 92 Stuff+
Aug/Sep SL: 88 mph | -2" vertical | 6" sweep | 132 Stuff+
Adding that much drop and velo while holding sweep is a crazy combo. Stuff+ loves.
Joey Ortiz
Joey Ortiz has nothing left to prove in the minors. Ortiz has some of the most elite defensive abilities, which was his calling card before breaking out in 2022. In 2022, Ortiz had a .284/.349/.477 line with 19 homers and eight steals, which he followed up with .321/.378/.507 2023 season. Ortiz may never offer insane power potential or 30+ steals, but he can be a reliable source of average runs without empty homers and steals.
Ortiz can be a great value, especially with the positional flexibility (2B, SS, 3B). Ortiz is another great late target that will not hurt you as you plug and play him across your lineup when injuries strike.
I know this is not a sexy return for Burnes. But, Joey Ortiz is a baller and one of the more undervalued prospects in the game. Can play a strong SS. Had an 88% zone-contact and 81% overall while having a 105.3 mph 90th and 90.1 average EV. https://t.co/q7UFAd14DM
Overall, Burnes is the key fantasy player here, but I believe Hall and Ortiz could provide some value as late-draft picks. Hall has a high boom-bust potential, and Ortiz has a lower ceiling but a relatively high floor as well.
