Scott moving up in Orioles’ system

April 2, 2016 at 12:08a.m.

Left-hander to open

season in Frederick

By STEVE WILAJ

Tanner Scott vs. Michael Morse.

It was a moment that stood out for Scott — the 2013 Howland High graduate who touches 101 mph with his left-handed fastball — in one of his three appearances this past month in the Baltimore Orioles’ big-league spring training camp.

“They weren’t the best outings for me over at the big league camp,” said Scott, who pitched 22/3 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit and three walks while notching four strikeouts. “But I tried doing my best and I got a big strikeout.”

Matched up with the veteran Pittsburgh Pirates power hitter, the 21-year-old Scott fanned the 34-year-old who was one of the heroes on the San Francisco Giants 2014 World Series championship team.

“It was just a great experience,” said Scott, the Orioles’ 11th-ranked prospect according to MLB.com. “It was awesome being over there at big-league camp.”

It’s a unique experience that Scott — a 2014 sixth-round draft pick out of Howard College (Texas) — will take with him as he starts his third pro season with the Frederick (Md.) Keys (Baltimore’s Class-A Advanced team) on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. at the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

It will be the highest level yet for Scott, who pitched in the rookie league in 2014 before splitting the 2015 season with the Aberdeen IronBirds (short-season A) and the Delmarva Shorebirds (middle-tier Class A).

The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder spent most of spring training with Baltimore’s Double-A club (Bowie Baysox), but will start the 2016 season in the Keys’ bullpen.

“Spring went well,” Scott said. “They told me to just keep doing what I’m doing — throwing strikes and getting people out and we’ll see where it goes.”

Considering Scott’s 2015 season and the recognition he has received, he should be one of the main options out of the Frederick bullpen.

With Aberdeen and Delmarva combined, he went 4-3 with a 3.83 ERA in 421/3 innings — striking out 60 while walking only 22. He began at Aberdeen (4-0, 3.38 ERA), before advancing to Delmarva later in the campaign (31 strikeouts, 12 walks).

He also pitched nine innings for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League this past fall, striking out 10, walking five and allowing two earned runs on six hits as he earned a spot on the league’s All-Prospect team.

“I’m very confident,” Scott said. “This is a great job to have — America’s pastime. I just want to play as long as I can.”

Armed with a fastball that reaches triple-digits and consistently sits in the upper-90s, Scott has received national buzz for his high-powered left arm. He’s still developing his secondary pitches (slider and changeup), but it’s a process that he says is going well.

“I know I have a fastball and now I have my secondary pitches that have really grown throughout the season last year and then in the fall league and even this spring,” Scott said. “It’s just about putting the ball where I want it and getting the results that I need.”