The day Orioles pitching prospects Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall rotation paths officially split

Rodriguez had a clean first spring start. Hall's future was put into question. What does that mean going forward?

For so long, Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall have been lumped together – and rightfully so. Both first-round picks under Dan Duquette, both the Orioles’ top pitching prospects, both probably talented enough to already be established in the big leagues if they’d been healthy the last few seasons.

Thursday felt like a day that we might look back on as one where their paths diverged in a meaningful way. Rodriguez, by all accounts, dominated in his spring debut with two scoreless innings against Detroit. Earlier in the day, manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Hall likely wouldn’t be built up enough to be in the Opening Day rotation and there would be a decision at the end of this month as to what to do with him. 

Taken together, it’s a pretty meaningful day for both of their trajectories in 2023–even if what happened Thursday probably only reinforced what might have happened anyway.