Strowd to forgo senior year, sign with Orioles

Earlier this afternoon West Virginia pitcher Kade Strowd announced via Instagram that he would sign with the Baltimore Orioles and forgo his senior year.

Strowd posted a 5-6 record with an ERA of 4.73 in 2019. His control was a bit problematic at times as he walked 59 batters in 83.2 innings pitched, but also had 87 strikeouts.

When he was on, he is one of the tougher pitchers to get a hit off of. His fast ball ranges between 90-92 mph and has a wipeout slider that falls off the table, when controlled. This is probably a smart move for Strowd as staying a year wouldn’t likely change his draft stock much. Strowd now has the opportunity to develop and get paid to do it. With a couple tweaks, he could end up being a pretty solid professional.

Strowd was taken in the 12th round of the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He’ll make roughly around 100k for his rookie contract.