Some insights on O's pitching development on the farm

An interview with Chesapeake pitching coach Jordie Henry

BOWIE, Md. - To get a glimpse into how the O’s handle their pitching development in their farm system, I talked to a pitching coach in their farm system.

Seems logical, right?

At Double-A Chesapeake, Jordie Henry is the pitching coach.

It’s his third year in the O’s organization and first with the Baysox. In 2023 he was pitching coach in the Florida Complex League and last year he was at High-A Aberdeen, where the IronBirds pitchers fanned 1,357 batters, second-most in team history.

Prior to his first season in the organization, Henry was the Director of Pitching at Prime Sports Performance in Baltimore – a private athletic development training facility. Henry has also worked as a pitching coach and instructor at the high school and summer collegiate levels, in addition to spending a year instructing in his hometown of Amarillo, Texas. Henry pitched collegiately for four seasons at Wayland Baptist University.

I present our conversation recently at Prince George’s Stadium in a Q and A format.

Steve Melewski: The Orioles are doing a lot with their pitch development program. What is that like for a young coach? Are some things always evolving and changing?

Jordie Henry: “I think in the three years I have been here it has progressed a lot. The foundation was kind of set on the outside looking in when I first got here the foundation was built already. And we always look to improve that every year. We will continue to build on that, with new tools, new philosophies, new methods and how we go about our business. It has been really fun to be a part of and looking forward to the future and how we keep doing things.”

SM: If a fan said what goes on behind the scenes with pitch development, what are some things you would tell them?

JH: “We have our hands in a lot of buckets. There is just so much that goes on that a fan or a reporter doesn’t see. We are looking at how a guy moves with his delivery. We have our hand in the biomechanics bucket. Pitch shapes are obviously super important. Usage strategies. Work-load management. I could go on with the list of priorities we have day-to-day. But it is a really, really comprehensive way that we go about our business to make sure we have all our boxes checked and to make sure no stone goes unturned. There is certainly a lot to it, yeah.”

Henry is in his third year in the O’s organization

SM: There must be so much communication that goes on. You are entrusted here with some really good arms that might make it to Baltimore. So what all goes on there?

JH: “It’s great. I don’t know how other orgs do it, but I have communication with both my bosses, with (pitching coordinator Adam) Shuck and Forrest (Herrmann, director of pitching development) every single day.

“We have a couple of new pitching coaches in the org this year, new to the affiliate level that I’ve coached some of their players in the past and I kind of helped them during spring training and will help them in-season if they need any context on a guy they don’t know as much about. I am connecting with the new rehab coaches now.

“We have a lot of collaboration with me and Berto here (Roberto Mercado) as the manager. There is a short list of people that I talk to every single day that help with me with my process and I reciprocate that for them.”

SM: When pitchers go home for the winter, some may go to a facility to get offseason work on certain things. Does that continue when the season starts and there are so many games?

JH: “It just kind of more shifts gears. Guys go home with their offseason goals. If they go to a facility on their own we try to make sure that our goals and the facility’s goals somewhat align. If they are not, we are communicating with what the differences are and checking in on how they are progressing there.

“I have a list of guys that I basically remote train in the winter and offseason. So do some of the other coaches. Once they get to spring training and start the season, it is like I said a shift in gears. We are entering compete mode now. Obviously, we are not like velocity training or trying to learn a new pitch as much anymore. It’s more like what is our usage strategy here? How do we implement this new pitch we might have learned in the offseason? How do we best utilize this new fastball velo we have? We have a new tool and how do we use it when the season comes around?”

SM: I interviewed Braxton Bragg recently (who has an 0.61 ERA and 11.8 K/9). Is he like a pitch development role model in that he has added velocity, added pitches, added weight and bulk. This is kind of what you want to see I take it?

JH: “I was talking to Forrest about this recently. It doesn’t normally go like this, but his progression has been almost linear in his two years here. I had Braxton on my call list his first offseason, we were both in Florida together. He gained like two, three miles per hour that offseason. He gained more this winter too and added a new pitch.

“That’s textbook. You have a guy gain velo every year. He is adding new pitches to his arsenal and can command them already pretty well. That is about how you would write the book on player development. He’s a great example of that.”

SM: With all that is going on – pitch shapes, spin rate, data, scouting reports – how do you not get overwhelmed?

JH: “It is certainly tough. There are some strategies you kind of use to prioritize your day. You have to figure out what is the biggest bang for your buck and how do you efficiently communicate things. But, also too, once you have an affiliate season under your belt, you kind of understand the bigger picture a little bit better. And not get too much caught up in the day-to-day. There is a lot going on for sure. But what helps is, the people around us in player development. There are always people to bounce ideas off of. Always someone to help you. Just a lot of avenues to go to accomplish a task.”

SM: It is a mixed bag among the fans when discussing O’s pitching development on the farm. They know that not a lot of young guys have made it all the way to Baltimore. But some guys are progressing and there could be some real break-through guys the next year or two. Being in it, you are obviously high on what is happening here I would guess?

JH: “Yep. You hope that all these prospects we have get to Baltimore relatively soon and do well. That is the ultimate goal. My first year here, when we were kind of setting the foundation for how we do things as a pitching department, kind of, I don’t know the right word for it, like this new wave of how we are trying to develop pitchers, (we hope will) really like spark something for the later draft classes. I would think the process that we have laid out (is now) kind of pushing guys to the top more than it has in the past.”

SM: And yet there is still some old-school thinking in the game and some folks resistant to what is happening today. Does some of the old-school stuff still need to be in the game?

JH: “Oh for sure. I think the best coaches and the best players are the guys that can blend the new school stuff and the old school stuff. Kind of funnel it into like one message. What is the message that will ultimately make me a good big leaguer?

“Whether that comes from the new school or old school route, doesn’t really matter. It just has to be a clear message that a guy can go execute. There are a lot of old school things that we do here. Doesn’t get talked about a lot because we do a lot of new school things too. But if you can blend both, you are doing a really good job as a coach or a player.”

I thank Jordie for the time for this interview and he really provided some nice insight as to how the O’s handle the farm pitchers.