Mychal Givens made his major-league debut for the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night against the Red Sox, pitching a scoreless eighth inning in the O’s’ 5-1 loss. Givens got two groundouts and a strikeout.
Givens’ debut officially deems Baltimore’s experiment with the right-hander a success. The 25-year-old was originally drafted as a shortstop in the second round of the 2009 draft, but struggled at the plate in three seasons in the low minors. Baltimore made the decision to move him to the mound before 2013, and he’s posted progressively better numbers in each of the last three seasons. Givens had a 1.62 ERA with a .992 WHIP and staggering 12.1 K/9 ratio in 39.1 innings with AA Bowie before getting called up this year.
Givens joins the likes of Sean Doolittle, Sergio Santos and other failed position player prospects who’ve moved to the mound and found success. He’s shown an ability to keep the ball in the ballpark, giving up just three home runs in 140.2 minor-league innings. While he may not be Baltimore’s shortstop of the future as fans previously thought, Givens could be in line to be a key part of the Orioles bullpen going forward.
Next: Todd Frazier making push to start All-Star Game
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