Zach Fruit showed flashes in his college career, particularly in his graduate transfer season at Troy. This is what led the Baltimore Orioles to select him in the ninth round of the 2023 MLB Draft.
Now, Fruit has translated that into big time success in the minor leagues. Over the 2024 season in High A, he logged a 3.03 ERA to win the South Atlantic League ERA title.
“Zach is having this kind of year in his first season of pro ball is what we all hoped for when his 2024 season began,” said Troy head coach Skylar Meade. “The sky is the limit for Zach and we are all so pumped to see what he can accomplish in 2025.”
The right-hander struck out 113 batters over 107 innings in what has been the most complete season of his career thus far. Fruit’s ERA and WHIP were the lowest that they’ve ever been, and he did a impressive job at limiting home runs in his first professional season.
Fangraphs ranked Fruit as Baltimore’s no. 34 prospect in a July article. Eric Lonenhagen and Travis Ice gave Fruit an above-average grade on his fastball and projected him to be a middle-relief pitcher for the Orioles.
2024 marked a big change for Fruit, as he improved in many ways. With the Orioles, he’s added a four-seam fastball, changeup and curveball to his arsenal after throwing only two pitches in college.
“I added a couple pitches to the arsenal, which has really helped me succeed this year,” Fruit said on an episode of the Glen Clark radio show. “During Spring Training, my ultimate goal was to leave with a plus changeup.
“There were some outings I went out and got torched, but you have to stick to the process. It’s a long season, and I try to just take it month-by-month.”
Despite having a 6.46 ERA with Troy in 2023, Fruit struck out a whopping 11.9 batters per nine innings. His fastball showed great potential, but control struggles and lack of pitch variety allowed opponents to get to him later in outings.
During his time at Eastern Michigan and Lansing Community College, Fruit experienced similar struggles. However, he’s vastly improved in the Baltimore system.
“If it wasn’t for all the technology and the player development with the Orioles, I would be in a tough spot right now,” Fruit said. “Baseball is a game of controlling the controllables.”
After an excellent season with the Aberdeen IronBirds, Fruit will continue his professional career next season and try to impress in Spring Training.
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