Jon Meoli: Brandon Young’s home finale shows how he’s grown into an ‘overall pitcher’ for the Orioles

In the hitter meetings in Boston earlier this year as the Red Sox prepared to face Brandon Young, Carlos Narváez recalled seeing Young as an east-west pitcher who’d work down in the zone and try to get you out with his slider.

His perspective has, understandably, changed since he came to the Orioles and started catching him.

“Now, it’s like, ‘This guy is an overall pitcher,’” Narváez told me earlier this month. “He can throw anything in any count.”

Young, the 28-year-old right-hander who has gone from fill-in to fixture in the Orioles’ rotation, proved that again in the spotlight Sunday night against the Brewers, where he tied a career high with nine strikeouts in six innings of two-run ball.

Over a series of conversations since spring training, Young and I have talked about what can get him to this point, and his start against the Brewers encapsulated so much of that.

In the spring, when the Chris Bassitt signing pushed Young to seventh on the starting pitching depth chart, Young said he’d spent the offseason trying to iron out the inconsistencies that made his major league debut a mixed one — mainly the fluctuation of his fastball velocity. When Young’s fastball was over 94 mph, he typically pitched well; anything below that, and he’d get hit around.

He said he worked on conditioning to more consistently hold his arm strength within and across starts, but also recognized the “need to learn how to pitch” in any circumstance. He mentioned leaning more on the splitter that he introduced last year and trying to tunnel it off his four-seamer down in the zone, and brought back a sinker he’d used in junior college as well.

The consistency of his velocity hasn’t been much of an issue this year. Young’s four-seamer averaged 94.4 mph entering Sunday, and was only under 94 mph in eight of his 27 starts. Some of his scoreless starts, on May 24 and June 10, came on such days.

The splitter has turned into a swing-and-miss weapon to both lefties and righties, with his slider and curveball still effective late in counts as well.

What’s come with the opportunity created by injuries to Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer and Bassitt, all of which meant Young has been in the Orioles’ rotation regularly since mid-April, is a chance to accelerate his understanding of how hitters see him and how he can play off that.

When he faced the Phillies on July 31, Young left the mound with a sour taste in his mouth after he left an 0-2 slider in the middle of the plate to J.T. Realmuto, who homered to end Young’s night.

A day later, he reflected on the pitch and how the solution was to be so consistent with where he wants offerings like that one that it becomes second nature. He learned that every day during Corbin Burnes’ season in Baltimore. Burnes would throw cutters aimed at bullpen catcher Ben Carhart’s knee, drilling home that no matter the situation or count, that was where he wanted to locate it.

Young also recognized that he was out of sync early and didn’t do enough to gather himself and actively change that. He further realized that it was one of several games this season where it was clear the opponents had a consistent team-wide approach. As the game progressed, Young recognized that the Phillies were sitting on slower offerings late in counts, and several players watched fastballs down the middle with two strikes because he caught them off guard.

“If I can just realize that earlier, that would be nice — and I think that obviously comes with experience,” he said.

All the experience he’s gained felt like it was on display Sunday against the Brewers. Against one of the league’s best offenses, Young did everything a proven big league starter should. He mixed his pitches, leaning on his four-seamer and slider the first time through the order before emphasizing his splitter more the second.

He worked ahead, with 16 of 22 first-pitch strikes and just 18 of his 82 pitches coming when he was behind in the count. And on a day when his slider was a bit firmer than usual, he went to it when he needed strikeouts, with seven whiffs (five for strikeouts) plus a called third strike with the pitch.

“They walk almost the most in the league, they get on base the most in the league, they don’t strike out,” he said. “So, I think just watching [Trevor Rogers] throw yesterday and how he got ahead, I wanted to put pressure on them and try to replicate that.”

The success Young has had this year puts both he and the Orioles in a fascinating spot. On merit, you write someone with a 3.62 ERA in 27 starts into your rotation the following year in permanent ink, though you can understandably take some pause at the low strikeout rate (7.5 per nine innings) and expected stats that would put his ERA nearly a full run higher.

Shane Baz and Kyle Bradish are locked up long-term, and with Trevor Rogers and Chris Bassitt set for free agency, the Orioles will be looking to add to their rotation this winter. For those spots, Young will be a benchmark of sorts. All acquisitions should be upgrades in terms of experience and track record, while at least matching Young’s results this year. Too many additions could leave him on the outside looking in again.

Young told me after Sunday’s game that’s he’s most proud of how present he’s been compared to his rookie year. That leaves him feeling good about both the year he’s put together, with one start to go, as well as the future.

“I think I have more to show,” he said.