SARASOTA, FLA. — Inside the Orioles' team suite at the winter meetings last month, manager Buck Showalter put a video of minor league pitcher Mychal Givens up for others to watch.
Givens, the Orioles' second-round pick in 2009, is one of the most intriguing pitchers in the organization's minor league system. He was drafted to play shortstop, struggled with his bat, was injured and the Orioles decided to try him out as a pitcher.
Givens threw a mid-90s fastball in high school, but teams were put off by his quirky low delivery, which ranges from three-quarters to sidearm.
In the beginning of the 2013 season, the Orioles tested him out as a reliever in Low-A Delmarva. Last year, he started the season at High-A Frederick and made the jump to Double-A Bowie, meaning he's on the right path to the major leagues.
When his video was shown a month ago in San Diego, Orioles pitching coach Dave Wallace and bullpen coach Dom Chiti immediately noticed a disconnect between Givens' arm slot and his delivery. They wanted to adjust his mechanics slightly so that his body was more in line with his lower arm slot. The two coaches agreed that the tweak would give him a more fluid delivery, more sink to his fastball and add velocity.
During last week's minicamp at the Ed Smith Stadium complex, Givens tested out a slight adjustment during his bullpen session.
"So in a small three-day camp, there was a small adjustment made with Mychal Givens that I think it going to be tremendously beneficial to him," Orioles player development director Brian Graham said. "Mychal Givens had a smile a mile long coming off the mound after working with Dom and Dave because of the adjustment they made. It makes a three-day camp all worth it, just to see an adjustment like that.
"When you have a guy who throws from underneath, from sidearm to below sidearm. … the top part of his body stays with his arm. He bends over, but his top part stays with his arm. With Mychal Givens, his top part of his body stayed like an [overhand] pitcher, but he was throwing sidearm. They said, 'Look, you've got to connect his arm and his body,' meaning he has to get his torso in sync in terms of mechanics with his arm."
It was only one bullpen session, but Givens definitely felt an immediate difference in his delivery.
"My arm slot is going to take me where it allows me to," Givens said. "It's trying to stay focused on my body and staying with a great body position toward home plate and trying to stay consistent that way. I'm only a second-year pitcher, but at the same time, it's still a learning experience, so having these guys give me advice about this and that, it's great. … I picked it up real good. In my 'pen, I felt real good. All of this is trying to take what I can do and present it on the field."
Even though he's entering just his third season as a pitcher, Givens has built a strong foundation. He held batters to a .189 average last season, striking out 55 hitters in 59 1/3 innings. Last year at Frederick, where he posted a 1-2 record and 3.24 ERA in 33 1/3 innings, 16 of his 18 outings were more than one inning. Once he advanced to Bowie, Givens continued to build innings while learning the adjustment of facing more disciplined hitters in Double-A versus the aggressive swingers of High-A.
"A lot of people ask me whether my arm slot is sidearm or three-quarters," Givens said. "It's whatever it feels that day, but I don't really dictate where my arm slot is. I think we're just trying to stay consistent with my upper half. It's just more staying consistent. That's the biggest thing that will keep you in the big leagues and give you a successful career. I'm trying to get a good routine and program. I think I have that now, but it's just some tinkering so I can stay calm and confident."
The Orioles believe Givens can be a weapon with a consistent sidearm arm slot -- maybe slightly lower. If he can pitch from that angle and maintain his 92-96 mph velocity while getting some sinking movement, there's a lot of hope that he could eventually help the major league club. And Showalter loves the dynamic of a bullpen with pitchers who come from different arm angles.
"I'm a unique pitcher, not a guy who throws sidearm like other guys," Givens said. "I've got the awkward delivery, but at the same time, I have a power arm. So I don't want to sit here and go too low and lose that talent and that thing that I bring to the plate. At the same time, it's about making adjustments and making my arm feel like I can be consistent."
NOTE: Outfielder Quintin Berry, who played in 10 games for the Orioles last season, reportedly signed a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox that includes an invitation to major league spring training. Berry, 30, batted .285 with three home runs, 35 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 112 games for Triple-A Norfolk in 2014.