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Baltimore Orioles Rookie Dazzles in MLB Debut
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- Baltimore Orioles Rookie Dazzles in MLB Debut
The MLB regular season is officially underway, and the Baltimore Orioles have already entered the win column following their 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Opening Day.
However, Baltimore would fail to pick up consecutive wins to start the season, as they would fall in game two against Minnesota 4-1, on March 28, 2026.
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Fortunately for Baltimore, they saw one of their youngest and most promising relievers make their big league debut today -- that pitcher being none other than Anthony Nunez.
Nunez (24) dazzled in his debut, as he would record six outs without allowing a single earned run.
Baltimore Orioles Pitcher Anthony Nunez | © Mike Lang / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Nunez was acquired in July 2025 when Baltimore shipped long-time starting center fielder Cedric Mullins to the New York Mets for Nunez and Raimon Gomez.
Nunez possesses a high 90s fastball, changeup, sinker and has a nasty sweeping curveball.
After an elite spring training where he didn't allow a run in five innings, Baltimore decided it was time to elevate Nunez to their Opening Day roster. Earlier today, Nunez's dream of pitching in the MLB became a reality, and he is looking like a legitimate late inning arm for Baltimore.
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Nunez appeared in the eighth and ninth innings of today's game, and in two innings of work, he struck out three batters while not allowing a single base runner.
Nunez flashed how successful his sweeper can be, as he threw the pitch eight times, generated 2 whiffs and stuck out one. His sweeper averaged 85.1 mph, with 15 inches of horizontal break.
Additionally, Nunez found a lot of success with his changeup, in which he generated two strikeouts (both swing and misses) on only three pitches thrown. Nunez' changeup looks like one of his favorite put away pitches, especially against left handed batters.
However, what makes Nunez so dynamic is his electrifying fastball that averaged 97 mph today. Nunez threw his fastball nine times (eight times to right handed batters), and generated five swings and two whiffs. The rookies fastball today had an average induced vertical break of 19 inches, displaying how difficult this pitch is for batters to hit.
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Overall, Nunez displayed why he was deserving of being called up to Baltimore's Opening Day roster, and is looking like he could be a main stay in the bullpen this season. If Nunez continues to pitch at the level he did today, it would be extremely difficult for Baltimore to not trust him in high leverage situations.
