Brandon Young Has Been the Orioles’ Saving Grace

Heading into the 2026 season, the Baltimore Orioles‘ rotation was seen as the team’s biggest wild card. Uncertainty surrounding what the O’s could get out of their new signings and existing talent made the group difficult to project.

As we pass the halfway point in June, the rotation has had its ups and downs. While the past month has been much improved compared to earlier in the season, the product definitely needs to get better if the Orioles want to make noise in October.

During the rotation’s roller coaster ride, one name has stood out as the most reliable arm: Brandon Young.

Going into 2026, it was easy to think that either Trevor Rogers or Kyle Bradish would be the team’s bona fide ace, not the guy who had a 6.24 ERA in 12 starts in 2025. Instead, the most outside-looking-in arm heading into the year has been the Orioles’ best starter.

So, what has changed in 2026 for the 27-year-old? Has the second-year arm finally settled into the big leagues, or is this simply a lucky stretch for the righty?

Leaving 2025 In the Rearview Mirror

After rising up through the Orioles’ farm system, the 2025 season offered Young his first taste of MLB. A 3.14 FIP and 10.7 K/9 in his 2024 minor league season gave Orioles fans high hopes that Young could make an impact at the next level.

However, minus a perfect-game bid in Houston where the righty tossed eight innings of one-hit ball, 2025 was a year to forget.

Across 57.2 innings of work, Young surrendered 40 earned runs, a 1.54 WHIP and 1.87 home runs per nine innings. After dealing in the minors leagues, the then 26-year-old was getting hit hard and often.

Young’s 2025 was also cut short due to a hamstring injury that kept him off the mound for the finals six weeks of the season. While Baltimore may not have had too much to play for by then, getting as many innings as possible is crucially important for someone like Young, who was trying to adapt to the big leagues.

Coming into 2026, Young was at the bottom of a long list of arms looking for a spot in the Opening Day rotation. With the acquisitions of Shane Baz, Chris Bassitt and Zach Eflin it was going to be difficult for the now 27-year-old to start the year in MLB.

Young was called upon earlier than the team would have liked thanks to injuries hitting the O’s rotation. Now in June, it turns out that the early call-up may have been a blessing in disguise.

In 56.1 innings of work in 2026 — 1.1 fewer innings compared to 2025 — Young has pitched to a 3.04 ERA to go with a .263 BABIP and 3.04 BB/9; a stark contrast to his 2025 numbers.

Young has done a great job at putting the Orioles in a position to win when he is on the mound, all while doing it without gaudy numbers. Baltimore’s season hasn’t gone as planned to this point, but it’s hard to imagine where the team would be without Young’s performance thus far.

What’s Changed in 2026?

As was mentioned, Young got hit hard in 2025. Major league hitters had Young’s number while he was trying to figure out how to pitch against the world’s best bats.

With an offseason following that experience under his belt, O’s fans and front office members awaited to see what Young had learned.

The first thing that jumps off the page when looking into his much-improved 2026 is the success with his fastball. According to Statcast, Young managed just a 30th percentile overall fastball run value last season at -2.

In 2026, that number has skyrocketed to +7, playing him in the 91st percentile of MLB. His +9 run value on his four-seamer specifically is among the best in the entire sport. The fact that Young is managing this without elite velocity on his heater is a testament to his command and how he’s been maneuvering at-bats.

A .133 opponent batting average and .267 slugging percentage on his fastball would make you think Young was touching triple digits, not topping out at 94.

The improvement on his fastball has likely come as a result of his two secondary — split-finger and slider — catching batters in between on their timing.

Young’s split-finger was his worst pitch based on run value in 2025. Hitters had a .609 slugging percentage, which is not great for his second-most thrown pitch.

In 2026, the split-finger’s run value is 0, a massive improvement compared to a -8 run value in 2025. Hitters are managing only a .354 slugging percentage against the pitch, which is over a 250-point difference from last year.

While the pitch may not have otherworldly deception or numbers, its improvement is no doubt helping Young.

Read more

Prospects

Top Early Standouts in the Baltimore Orioles Farm System

MLB

A New Team Has Emerged With MLB’s Best Catching Duo

In terms of putting away batters, he’s dropped the usage of his split-finger in 2026. Instead, his most effective putaway pitch in 2026 has been the slider at 30.4%.

Interestingly, Young’s 2026 slider has a worse run value compared to 2025. Despite that, the pitch is still generating a 42.6% whiff rate and a 39.5% strikeout rate — both of which are by far the highest among any of his pitches.

Young has also nearly doubled the usage of his slider this season, showing that he and his coaching staff have adjusted how to attack batters.

The slider may not have any above-average movement, but in combination with his four-seam and split-finger, the pitch has been much more effective.

Keeping It Going the Rest of the Way

While the Orioles’ season may not be panning out the way anyone was expecting, it is a fact that the team would not still be in the hunt without Young.

There is no doubt that 2025 was a terrible year for the righty; However, an xERA of 4.28 and xFIP of 4.52 suggested that luck may not have been on his side.

Now, while 2026 has shown that Young has the talent to compete, his results have been much more in line with what the expected numbers were indicating.

Young’s Statcast page — besides a 90th-percentile chase rate — may not blow anybody away. The amount of below-average statistics may not align with an arm who is posting a 3.04 ERA. That said, he’s made tangible improvements to garner these results, which is encouraging nonetheless.

So, while some regression may be in the cards for Young, he’s already delivered immense value to the Orioles to this point in the season, and there’s reason to believe he can be a key piece in getting Baltimore back to October baseball.