“Yeah, I like it,” Joseph Dzierwa said with a smile. “A lot different than college for sure. But I love it.” 

It would’ve been a surprise to hear anything different from the big lefty when asked about his transition to professional baseball. Dzierwa didn’t pitch for the organization after being selected by the Orioles in the second round a year ago, but has been off to a fantastic start to 2026 with the Frederick Keys. 

In his first five outings, the Michigan State product has a 2.33 ERA with close to 10 strikeouts per nine and just seven walks in 27 innings. But the first impression for the highest-drafted pitcher in the Mike Elias era came in the offseason, when he struck out nine in three scoreless innings in the Spring Breakout game. 

“Yeah, it was pretty cool,” Dzierwa said. “The crowd was electric, and being around a bunch of older dudes and around the guys before the game and during the game, it was pretty cool.” 

The 6’8 arm got to showcase an impressive arsenal that added a new pitch and refined an old one this offseason. A new slider and a big sweeper complement Dzierwa’s bread and butter: his fastball/changeup combination. 

“I never had a changeup in high school, and then I got to college, and our pitching coach wanted me to start throwing a changeup, so I started playing around with it,” Dzierwa said. “Wasn’t too good. I mean it was decent, okay. I wasn’t throwing hard at all. I think I weighed in at 170. And then my sophomore year, we changed the grip about halfway through the season and it started taking off.” 

Dzierwa, now up to 200 pounds, doesn’t need to throw the hardest changeup or touch triple digits on the radar gun to have his fastball get on a hitter quickly. At 6’8 with a three-quarters arm slot, the lefty creates a wide angle that deceives hitters. 

“Honestly, that’s just how I throw,” Dzierwa joked. “I don’t think of it that way. I just go out there and compete each pitch. That was my main focus last year and I think carrying on to this year, that’s been a pretty big focus too.”

Surprisingly, Dzierwa isn’t the only 6’8 arm on the team, though he joked that he is a few hairs taller than teammate Boston Bateman. In Frederick, Dzierwa, Bateman and JT Quinn, a big pitcher in his own right at 6’5, create a dynamic rotation with plenty of promise for the future. 

“Just competing each day, iron sharpens iron,” Dzierwa said of his talented teammates. “Picking up on different grips, tweaking things here or there, and seeing the approach is really helpful.”

Bateman, the highest ranked prospect acquired at last year’s deadline, hasn’t been off to the best start to the season in the box score, but is still just 20 years old with plenty of room to grow. Quinn, on the other hand, has been rivaling Dzierwa’s impressive debut. 

Also a member of the 2025 draft class, Quinn has struck out close to 13 batters per nine innings while walking under two per nine in his first five starts of the year. He and Dzierwa, each second round picks by Baltimore, have grown close. 

“JT and I, we got drafted and then went to Baltimore together,” Dzierwa said. “We were roommates at draft camp, roommates on the road. We spend a lot of time together. He’s pretty good.” 

In the lower levels of the minor leagues, command is usually the biggest hurdle for young pitchers. Dzierwa and Quinn are seemingly passing that test with flying colors, and it may not be long before we see them in Double-A. But Dzierwa isn’t getting ahead of himself.

“I try not to look too far ahead on things,” he said. “I kind of take things day by day. My goal is just to stay present and execute each day.” 

And every fifth day in Frederick, that execution has been sharp.