Jordie Henry, High-A Frederick’s pitching coach has gotten to work with nearly all of the top pitching prospects in the Orioles’ organization. Henry joined the Orioles in 2023 as a pitching coach in the Florida Complex League.
He worked at High-A Aberdeen in 2024, Double-A Chesapeake in 2025, and with the Keys this year.
Henry discussed his perceptions on Thursday in Frederick.
Left-hander Luis De León: Triple-A Norfolk
The 23-year-old, who’s ranked as the No. 7 prospect in the organization according to MLB Pipeline, began the season with Chesapeake and was 5-6 with a 4.33 ERA in 19 starts. He struck out 100 and walked 42 in 81 innings. Since his promotion to Norfolk, De León has a 5.65 ERA in three starts.
Henry’s evaluation:
‘”De León is Mr. Tranquilo. Cool, calm, collected all the time. Doesn’t really get rattled. It’s just like a super laid-back personality that plays well. That’s kind of his style. His stuff is very, very good.
“Gets a lot of ground balls, is super coachable. He’s always known his identity. He’s kind of like growing into that now and it’s fun to watch.”
Left-hander Joseph Dzierwa: Double-A Chesapeake
The 22-year-old Dzierwa didn’t pitch last season after he was a second-round draft pick. He began the season with Frederick and was 5-1 with a 2.21 ERA. He struck out 50 and walked 10 in 40 2/3 innings over eight starts. He’s the Orioles’ No. 3 prospect.
Since his promotion to the Baysox, Dzierwa has appeared in 14 games, 12 starts. He’s 3-1 with a 1.89 ERA. He’s struck out 82 and walked 17 in 71 1/3 innings.
Henry’s evaluation:
“Honestly, maybe along the lines of De Léon. Dzierwa doesn’t get rattled at all. Dzierwa’s like a really quietly confident type of guy. I think on the skill side, he can just command the baseball really, really well. He’s got obviously a ton of swing-and-miss on the heater, so all he needs to do is put it in the zone there.
“But the changeup command was pretty much already Double-A grade at the start of spring training this year. He’s getting a lot better with the slider that he’s throwing, especially the new one, the kind of the gyro-type. He just commands the ball really well for a guy his age who hasn’t been in pro ball for even a years.
“Knock on wood, he hasn’t had a hiccup the entire year. He just dominated the entire time.”
Right-hander JT Quinn: Double-A Chesapeake
Quinn, a 22-year-old, was taken behind Dzierwa in the second round last year. The No. 14 prospect was 4-3 with a 3.75 ERA in 21 games, 20 starts for the Keys. Quinn struck out 106 and walked 28 in 93 2/3 innings.
In his first start for Chesapeake, Quinn pitched four innings, throwing 79 pitches against Reading on Saturday night. He allowed one run on three hits, walking three and striking out six.
Henry’s evaluation:
‘’He’s kind of gone through a more lengthy process to get to Double-A where he’s worked on a few more things because he had to to get to Double-A, whether it’s working on the sinker more, working on the kick change earlier in the year.
“A big focus lately has been commanding both his breaking balls better. He had to learn how to zone both of them, and now he’s working on some two-strike execution stuff with the breaking balls, so he’s kind of evolved in a few ways over the course of the year to get him to that point. It takes a lot of coachability on his part.
“His process this year has been impressive and kind of how he’s handled all the challenges that we’ve given him.”
Left-hander Caden Hunter: Double-A Chesapeake
The 22-year-old left-hander was the Orioles’ sixth-round pick in 2025. This season, he’s quickly gone through three levels and moved up to the Orioles’ No. 4 prospect.
At Single-A Delmarva, Hunter was in six games, starting five. He was 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA, striking out 40 and walking 12 in 23 innings. At Frederick, Hunter was 2-1 with a 1.60 ERA in 10 games, nine starts. He struck out 62 and walked 19 in 45 innings. Since he was promoted to Chesapeake, Hunter is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in three starts. He’s allowed just five home runs in 84 innings.
Henry’s evaluation:
“The fastball is elite. I mean, the fastball is real. It’s a big league hitter, kind of similar to JT. He’s just working on commanding the offspeed a little bit better. Specifically with the breaking balls. He’s got a pretty good goal for the changeup, but the slider and the curveball, especially like late in the count, have been more focuses for him.
“The heater, like we talked about with Dzierwa, it’s just translated at every level he’s been at so far. I think that’s probably just going to continue all the way to the big leagues for him with that pitch.”
Note: Manager Craig Albernaz told reporters in St. Petersburg that catcher Samuel Basallo, who’s been on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation since July 20th, will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday. … Albernaz also said that utility player Blaze Alexander, who fractured his left hand, and closer Félix Bautista, who’s recovering from labrum and rotator cuff surgeries, are also making good progress.
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