How Double-A RHP Alex Pham used mental skills work to help him get outs

Pham had an impressive outing for the O's in spring training

For O’s Double-A Chesapeake Baysox right-hander Alex Pham, a top 30 pitching prospect, it was a rough day.

It was early in March and he was throwing a live session at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota facing O’s hitters. Players like Cedric Mullins, Tyler O’Neill and Gary Sanchez.

“I was a little tense and on edge. These are the big league guys. It was not a problem with my stuff. But I just tried to do too much,” said Pham of a poor outing under the Florida sun.

He wanted to show his stuff that day to the big league coaching staff, but O’s hitters were squaring him up.

Pham, a 19^th round pick by the Orioles out of University of San Francisco in 2021, had a solid season at Double-A in 2024. He went 7-4 with a 4.24 ERA over 27 starts, spending all season with the Bowie (now Chesapeake) Baysox.

He is ranked as the organization’s No. 26 prospect by Baseball America and No. 29 by MLBPipeline.com.

Less than two weeks after that rough live session in Sarasota, on March 16, Pham was on the big league mound in a spring training game in Lakeland, Fla. facing some frontline Detroit Tigers hitters.

This day went much, much better. He threw four scoreless innings allowing two hits and two walks.

His four-seamer touched 95.4 mph that day. He got eight swings and misses from Detroit hitters including on five of his nine cutters/sliders the Tigers offered at.

“I was just grateful for the chance to be there and tried to make the most of it,” said Pham, 25.

You better believe a spring game with the big leaguers is meaningful for a pitcher with promise, but one yet to advance to Triple-A.

“Absolutely,” Pham said. “Because those opportunities don’t come around too often. I tried to show what I worked on this offseason. Tried to show I can compete at that level, which I believe I am truly capable of.

“Cool to see guys like (Spencer) Torkelson, Javy Baez, Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter. I only see those guys on TV. To see them in the box and I’m on the mound, that was pretty cool.”

Pham has a 3.57 career ERA in nearly 300 innings on O’s farm

For Pham, one outing in Sarasota, with no boxscore to see, was rough. But another with a box score we all can read, went so much better versus the Tigers.

The difference, he explained, was a few visits between those outings with a member of the O’s minor league staff – mental skills coach Diamyn Hall.

“I have been working really hard with Diamyn, our mental skills coach. Doing some work on mental toughness, mental clarity, all the good stuff. Trying to develop a really clear head space to go out and do my thing and have some fun,” Pham told me at Baysox media day.

“I came back better physically, my stuff is better, but I did feel like there was a piece missing. It felt like I was trying to do a little too much on the mound. I just needed to relax a bit and let my work show rather than forcing it.

“He has helped devise, kind of routines I guess, that help me get into a clear mindset. Get into those faster and easier. We focus on breathing and trying to simplify my thoughts a bit. Work on my focal points. I feel like it’s been working. My outings in the spring starting to really progress the way I wanted them to.”

A few days after that rough live outing and after starting to talk and work with Hall, Pham had another chance to face O’s big league hitters at Ed Smith Stadium.

“That day went drastically better,” he said. “And then a few days after that I was in Lakeland (facing the Tigers). Diamyn is a pleasure to work with. The stuff he talks about, it really works.”

Even Pham admits he didn’t exactly expect the results to come so quickly for him after working with Hall. But they did. He feels excited to start his Double-A season with Chesapeake.

No doubt Pham had to draw on some mental toughness when he pitched on Opening Night two days ago for Chespeake at Altoona.

He would allow two runs and three hits over four innings, but early control troubles pushed his pitch count for his night to 70.

He walked three and walked in a run in the last of the first. But with a chance for Altoona with bases loaded to put up a real big number against him, he got a strikeout and flyout to strand those runners.

The damage was minimized.

He made a few tweaks with his slider for this year after struggling to throw a sweeper. He said it’s still a work in progress.

But he goes into this season feeling very upbeat after some of those strong spring outings and his work with Hall.

“Confidence is a by product of it. I am always a pretty confident and aggressive pitcher. But that can also be a double-edged sword. Need to stay focused on the task at hand and let that aggression and confidence play without driving the boat,” he said.

Pham’s second half with Bowie last year was quite good. An ERA of 3.60 in four July starts, and one of 1.82 in his last eight starts beginning in August.

Then he got his 2025 Double-A season off to a decent start on Friday. The mental skills work he did in spring training will hopefully now allow his physical skills and pitches to shine this year with Chesapeake with a chance to move later to Norfolk.

Orioles get much-needed win: The Orioles needed that, their 8-1 win Saturday at Kansas City. Jackson Holliday went 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs. Right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano allowed one run over 5 1/3 to gain his first major league win. The clubs play the series-deciding game at Kauffman Stadium this afternoon.

Triple-A Norfolk beat Charlotte 3-2, taking a combined no-hitter into the eighth inning. Starter Brandon Young went 5 1/3 and has thrown 11 innings over his first two starts without allowing an earned run. He got 17 whiffs last night, touching 95.3 mph with his fastball and got six whiffs on 13 swings against his changeup.

Double-A Chesapeake blanked Altoona 2-0 as Zach Fruit, Peter Van Loon and Dylan Heid combined on a three-hitter. High-A Aberdeen beat Hub City 3-1 as Michael Forret, Juan De Los Santos and Blake Money combined on a four-hitter. Salem beat Low-A Delmarva 4-2.

Check back later today for the O’s game blog.