Bruce will be a guest tonight on Hot Stove Baseball, 6-7 EST on 105.7 the fan FM.
You can catch it online if you are not in Baltimore.
105.7 the fan FM Baltimore.
https://1057thefan.radio.com/

Bruce pitching today...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The second round of roster cuts for the Orioles this afternoon includes Rule 5 pitchers Brandon Bailey and Michael Rucker, who are being returned to their respective organizations after clearing waivers.

Bailey is headed back to the Astros and Rucker to the Cubs.

Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann starts Saturday against the Rays in Port Charlotte.

https://www.masnsports.com/sch...r-organizations.html

^^^^^
I STILL think that's just pretty damned AWESOME!!! Congrats, chellim!!

In case anyone is curious as to what a "Rule 5" pitcher is, here ya go. Never knew there was such a thing...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_5_draft

quote:

Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann starts Saturday against the Rays in Port Charlotte.

Get out of here. I just turned down free tickets to this game because my kids have a lot going on. Had I known, I'd have gone and watched a few innings.

quote:

Had I known, I'd have gone and watched a few innings.

You've got a half-hour till game time... get on over there!

The game is on TV, on the Rays’ channel. Bruce stuck out two in the bottom of the second. He is very impressive!

Looks like he had a very solid start yesterday! Hopefully we will see him break into the majors!

Zimmermann impresses on road after escaping it

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Bruce Zimmermann bolted out of the visiting dugout today at Charlotte Sports Park and jogged to the mound, eager to begin warming up for his first spring start and third appearance.

Zimmermann looked forward to the opportunity but mostly was glad to be off the team bus.

He could have gotten here faster from Sarasota if he walked.

The Orioles arrived at the ballpark about 45 minutes prior to first pitch, their driver taking them to a closed section of I-75. Traffic was stopped. Vehicles that didn’t do it in time pulled onto both shoulders with smashed fenders.



Zimmermann got away clean on the ride and in the game. He tossed three scoreless innings against the Rays in his longest outing of the spring, allowing one hit and walking a batter before retiring the last seven batters.

Three more strikeouts upped his total to nine in 7 2/3 innings in the Grapefruit League.

Zimmermann was able to warm in the bullpen at an acceptable pace and the game started on time.

“We hit a little bit of traffic,” he said, “but the main part was staying calm and collecting myself and getting straight to business when I got here.”

Zimmermann said he had to “expedite” his pregame routine a little bit, “but I got everything in that I needed to before my start.”

The Ellicott City native escaped a jam in the first inning after a single, wild pitch and walk by inducing a double play grounder from Yandy Díaz. He was much crisper in the second with two called third strikes and a ground ball on a total of 13 pitches, and again in the third with a strikeout, grounder and popup on 10 pitches.

Cody Carroll replaced Zimmermann, who threw 43 pitches, 25 for strikes, and didn’t let a ball out of the infield. The fastball was clocked at 92-95 mph on the stadium gun.

“I think I threw really well,” Zimmermann said. “I had a little bit of control issues that first inning. Loved having that solid defense behind me today, picking me up with that double play as well as a couple of those wind balls that Rio (Ruiz) played extremely well because it was moving around a lot up there.

“I think my second and third inning I was able to settle down and really attack some hitters. Changeup was really good today. Didn’t really get to use my breaking balls as much, but overall I think it was a pretty solid day and the defense helped me out, which was nice.”

The camp experience is enabling Zimmermann to face some tough lineups. He hasn’t been able to cruise against overmatched opponents.

“It’s been exciting, that’s for sure, going out there and seeing those names in the box that I’ve been watching for the past three or four years,” he said.

“To be at this level you’ve got to pitch well, and to know that I can go out there and do that every five days right now, that’s a big confidence boost and I just want to keep building on the outings, whether they’re good or bad. Just make sure I’m taking away something and improving if I can, and I hope to every outing.

“Obviously, I want to stay here as long as possible and I just want to take care of it and go out every five days. It’s great to still be up here with the team and taking full advantage of the opportunity that they’re giving me right now.”

https://www.masnsports.com/sch...ter-escaping-it.html

Very cool and great insight to the work & continuous effort to make it to the top (and stay there).

Bruce Zimmermann pushing for current, future O’s rotations
By: Steve Melewski
March 12, 2020

SARASOTA, Fla. - Some of the minor league pitchers he played with last year have long since been sent back over to the Orioles’ minor league camp. But Ellicott City native Bruce Zimmermann is still in the O’s big league camp and seems to be building some momentum with each outing.

The lefty’s ERA is 4.70 over three spring games, but he threw three scoreless innings while allowing just one hit in Port Charlotte, Fla., against the Rays last Saturday. He fanned three and retired the last seven batters he faced. He is scheduled to start tonight in Fort Myers against Minnesota.



The 2013 Loyola High School graduate, who also played two years at Towson University, would like to become the next local product to make the Orioles. He can already anticipate that big day whenever it comes.

“It will definitely be the height of my baseball career and probably in my life,” Zimmermann said yesterday at Ed Smith Stadium. “It will mean the world to me and I do have a lot of family and friends in Baltimore, so I know there will be a lot of people out there supporting me. It will be a career highlight. I can’t wait to toe that rubber and hear them call my name.

“The longer I can stay here (in camp) the better. The more I stay here the more I get to learn from these guys that are where I want to be and want to go. Definitely exciting to still be over here and show what I can do.”

Zimmermann is holding out hope he could even break north with the team for opening day. Is that ambitious? Maybe, but he’s aiming high.

“Without getting too excited about it, I still hope that’s an option,” he said. “And I’m going to keep playing like that’s an option for me. Let the chips fall, and it definitely would be a highlight for not only my career but my life to finally get that check mark, as one might say.”

Zimmermann had a very solid 2019 and put himself firmly on the O’s radar. Not only did he take to the new technology and analytics on the farm, he thrived with it and produced a year in which he went 7-6 with a 3.21 ERA between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. In 18 games and 101 2/3 innings with Bowie he was 5-3 with a 2.58 ERA and .227 average against. In 38 2/3 with Norfolk he pitched to a 4.89 ERA.

I asked Zimmermann, acquired by the Orioles on July 31, 2018 in a trade with Atlanta, where he made the biggest advances in his pitching last season.

“We just had some talks about some adjustments in my game that we could do that comes with some of the analytics and things like that we thought would make positive adjustments,” he said. “And kind of took them and just went all in on them. Made those little adjustments to my game and saw really good results with how we implemented them. And not doing that for just a month or two, but extended over the life of an entire season and into this offseason and continue to build on it, and saw success and want to build on that going forward.”

And he saw results in an area that is important for any left-handed pitcher.

“One of the big ones (in my improvement), was how I attack righties,” Zimmermann said. “Obviously, as a lefty pitcher you are going to sacrifice a few more hits or whatnot. Definitely being able to attack righties and have better success against them was a highlight of it, and that came from the adjustments we made.

“I think it was (a huge boost for me). It was big enough that it made the difference in my season and helping get to Triple-A and having success at the higher levels. And I think we haven’t reached the ceiling, by any means. Just being able to have the resources now in this organization that they’ve implemented in the past couple of years behind Sig (Mejdal), it’s been exciting.”

Zimmermann’s fastball sits in the 90-94 mph range and he adds a curve, slider and changeup to that. The fastball-changeup combo is big for him, and so is pitching inside to set up his off-speed stuff away.

Baseball America rates him as the Orioles’ No. 16 prospect, while MLBPipeline.com puts him at No. 29.

“The past couple outings feel like I’ve gotten stronger,” Zimmermann said. “Gotten some better results and definitely feels like things are starting to click.”

He often went to Camden Yards while a student at Loyola Blakefield. At some point during the upcoming season he might be pitching on the mound he used to look at from the stands.

The local kid seems to be enjoying his time with the local team.

“I could not have asked for anything else. They’ve been a class act organization,” said Zimmermann.

https://www.masnsports.com/ste...re-os-rotations.html


Bruce will be pitching tonight...

40 players left in the Major League camp with 12 days to go. They need to reassign 7 pitchers, so this could possibly be his last start before being sent to the Minors.


Cobb scratched due to blister on pitching hand

DUNEDIN, Fla. - Alex Cobb hasn’t been slowed in camp by the hip and knee surgeries he underwent in June, but a blister on his pitching hand caused manager Brandon Hyde to remove him from Thursday’s starting assignment against the Twins in Fort Myers.

Hyde said it’s a “small, little” blister and Cobb would pitch with it in the regular season. Cobb will be used in a simulated game on the back fields in Sarasota, under a controlled environment, while Bruce Zimmermann makes the start against the Twins.

https://www.masnsports.com/sch...n-pitching-hand.html

This message has been edited. Last edited by: chellim1,

Damn!
The rest of Spring Training just cancelled. Team bus from Sarasota just turned back.
Stupid Chinese coronavirus!

Wow. Glad I didn't go to Spring Training this year.

I was at a game Tuesday in Scottsdale. It was packed. Shame they cancelled as it will hurt some guys who were on the cusp of making the big league roster.

When baseball starts up again it looks like Bruce will be on some version of the "practice squad". I'm not exactly sure how it will work but he will be continuing to pitch and train.

Here's an article I forgot to post right after the whole thing shut down:

Orioles’ Bruce Zimmermann returns from Sarasota with perspective: ‘This pandemic affects much more than our spring training’

By Jon Meoli | Baltimore Sun
Mar 19, 2020

Bruce Zimmermann was supposed to be starting the Orioles’ spring training game Thursday, a chance to continue the impressive camp the Ellicott City native was putting together.

The league-wide shutdown over the coronavirus pandemic meant that the Orioles never played that game, and won’t for a long time.

Instead, Zimmermann spent the beginning of this week driving home from camp in Sarasota, Florida, to an uncertain future that, despite his lofty status in major league camp, is going to impact thousands of minor leaguers in the coming months.

“Like most minor league players, we have to make money any way we can in the offseason so hopefully some of the guys can go back to their offseason jobs or find something to hold them over until we get word," he said. “It’s just the situation you’re in. It’s a blessing and a privilege to play this game.

“Unfortunately, there are some drawbacks to that sometimes, especially in cases like this. But guys will find a way to make it work. I know I will. I’ll look into the stuff I did this offseason or possible new things I can pick up for the next month or two and basically try to get by until we get back to playing baseball, because staying healthy and getting ready to play is the No. 1 priority.“

While major leaguers and minor leaguers aren’t paid salaries for spring training, they do get meal and housing allowances, with the amount far more substantial on the major league side. While camps are closed, the teams presumably stopped paying those, and the Major League Baseball Players Association will pay $1,100 per week through April 9 to any player on the 40-man roster through March 13 or anyone in major league camp on a nonroster invitation who had at least one day of major league service time in 2019, according to The Athletic.

Of the 54 players in Orioles camp, Zimmermann is one of four who doesn’t qualify for either designation, along with infielder Dilson Herrera and pitchers Rob Zastryzny and Eric Hanhold. Zimmermann is the only one of those, however, to not have made his major league debut.

However, MLB announced Thursday that teams would be providing lump sum payments of what players would have been getting for their housing and meal stipends through April 8 — the day before the minor league season was set to begin.

“MLB remains in communication with clubs on the development of an industry-wide plan for minor league player compensation from April 9 through the beginning of the coming season,” according to the league’s announcement.

At the time of the shutdown, Zimmermann was likely to start the year at Triple-A Norfolk but was one of the organization’s few pitching prospects left in camp, giving him a chance to make an impression on manager Brandon Hyde and the staff for a potential midseason call-up.

That’s all secondary to the health aspect of it, Zimmermann said. He quickly shifted from a baseball mindset to a safety one while thinking about going home to Ellicott City to his parents, who are in a demographic that might be more vulnerable to the coronavirus. Even before it became clear the season was going to be delayed, Zimmermann said that was the priority among the Orioles in Sarasota.

“The main thing that most of us are all concerned about was just the general health of everybody around us, including our teammates, the staff at the field,” he said. “It’s become so much more apparent how serious this virus can be, and how quickly it can spread. So once that became apparent, it really wasn’t baseball first. It was just kind of figuring out the best steps to take and to follow the people that actually know what they’re talking about.”

From a practical standpoint, Zimmermann said he’d be trying to work out at home, and if it’s safe, meet up with some players in the area so they can stay fresh. With gyms closed in Maryland and elsewhere around the country, much of the hyper-focused preparation players brought into spring training won’t be easily replicated, at least in the short term.

It’s small consolation that Zimmermann ended camp feeling as if he’d done everything he could to use the time he had in major league camp well, knowing that it ended abruptly for something more important than baseball.

“It’s not that it’s not worth processing because I was very happy and very pleased and proud with how I was able to present myself in that camp and how I pitched,” he said. “I loved being with the guys in camp. I tried to learn as much as I could from the older guys like [Wade] LeBlanc and [Tommy] Milone and [John] Means and [Alex] Cobb, and all those guys, to name a few, but I was really happy with how it went.

“There’s no reason in crying over spilled milk. This pandemic affects much more than our spring training career, and that’s something to keep the bigger picture in mind. On a personal side, I was very happy with how I was able to play in spring training, and hopefully whenever we start up again there may be a chance. If not, I’ll just be ready to play whenever that happens.”

https://www.capitalgazette.com...5ucfedahe-story.html

https://www.baltimoresun.com/s...5ucfedahe-story.html

Text from Big Bruce (Bruce's father):

Well, its on.¿I have the 28th prospect with the Orioles and the 9th prospect with the Orioles having dinner in my dining room.¿Dean Kremer will be staying here till the Orioles place the rest of the pool players in their housing. ¿They get Covid tested tomorrow and will probably move to the housing after a 14 day quarantine. ¿Bruce, as of tomorrow will officially become one of the 60 players for this year's season.

********
Roster rules for the 2020 Major League Baseball season
60 man player pools, alternate training camps, taxi squads and more explained here.

Spring Training 2.0

The 60-man lists provide another level of players that will include some players with major league experience, some of the game’s top prospects that clubs would like to invite to target for development, and others who might be called upon to help the major league team during the season. Most importantly, those on the 60-man list will either be on the major league team or at a nearby alternate training facility.

Teams may resume spring training in one or two facilities with players reporting by July 1 and workouts beginning July 3. Clubs may assign players to their alternate training facilities at their own pace, as long as they get the major league roster down to 30 players by Opening Day on July 23.
https://www.blessyouboys.com/2...ague-baseball-season

Proud Dad and Uncle BEAMING with pride!!! Pretty cool...(2 thumbs up)

‘Been a long road’: Orioles pitching prospect Bruce Zimmermann added to player pool after COVID-19 diagnosis
By Jon Meoli
Baltimore Sun | Aug 04, 2020


Orioles pitching prospect Bruce Zimmermann works out at Route 1 Athletic House last winter. Zimmermann grew up in Woodstock, played at Loyola Blakefield and Towson University, and lives in Ellicott City. (Kenneth K. Lam)

The Orioles used their day off Monday to add three prospects to their 60-man roster to get some developmental time at the secondary site at Double-A Bowie, inviting outfielder Ryan McKenna, right-hander Kyle Bradish and left-hander Bruce Zimmermann to the alternate camp at Prince George’s Stadium.

Zimmermann, who lives in Ellicott City and graduated from Loyola Blakefield, tweeted Monday night that he was excited to join the camp, and was doing so after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this summer.

“Been a long road since testing positive for COVID-19, and then some preemptive heart tests which all came back negative,” Zimmermann said in the tweet. “Can’t wait to get back to work.”

Zimmermann could not immediately be reached for comment.

He had a 2.58 ERA in 18 games for Bowie, striking out 101 in 101⅓ innings with a 1.20 WHIP before making seven starts at Triple-A Norfolk. He would have been back there this summer after making an impression as a nonroster invitee in spring training, and was still in camp when the coronavirus shut things down.

McKenna, who was added to the 40-man roster in the offseason, was the only rostered player not yet at the camps.

The secondary sites are meant to serve as depth for the major league team, though top prospects like Adley Rutschman, Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall are at the camp despite being farther from the majors so that the Orioles can get them into more productive developmental situations than they would have training at home.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/s...y3zewgk3e-story.html

After COVID-19 bout, Bruce Zimmermann is back chasing MLB dream

By: Steve Melewski
August 14, 2020

It did seem a bit strange when the Orioles released their initial 60-man player pool that Baltimorean Bruce Zimmermann was not on the list. The 25-year-old lefty, acquired in a trade on July 31, 2018, had been with the club and was still on the roster when the first spring training was shut down.

He had pitched well in Florida and was set to start on March 12 in Fort Myers against the Twins, but that was the day of the Major League Baseball shutdown.

Zimmermann recently revealed via his Twitter account that he tested positive for COVID-19. He only experienced mild symptoms and only for a few days. On Aug. 3, he was added to the group of players at the Bowie alternate site.

“Lately, I’ve been feeling 100 percent,” Zimmermann said today during a Zoom interview with O’s reporters. “Throughout this whole process, even though I tested positive, I was pretty much asymptomatic. I had very few symptoms - in fact, the only one I had was I was congested for a few days the first week of it. I was able to work out and throw on my own following social distance protocols. I feel great and practice has been going great. Been throwing off the mound. Pretty happy with how I feel moving forward.”

Zimmermann was able to resume activities and his throwing just a few days after his positive result.

“I got quickly back to throwing on my own and my trusty net at the local high school by myself,” he said. “I was doing my long toss program and staying on my five-day schedule. Was staying in contact with Chris Holt (O’s director of pitching) and the other pitching coaches down here in Bowie. Sending them video from my self bullpens.

“Through quarantine, I was able to stay on my five-day schedule, which was the big thing. All on my own until I tested negative. My last outing was supposed to be four innings, but it got rained out. As far as being built up, I will be four innings and 60 pitches on Tuesday. On my own during quarantine, I was up to three innings and 50 pitches. Thankfully, I don’t think I really lost too much compared to the guys in camp and it’s been a seamless re-entry with no physical issues.”

Zimmermann is a 2013 Loyola High School graduate and he pitched for two seasons at Towson University. The Atlanta Braves selected him in round five of the 2017 draft. The next year, he was traded to his hometown team in the deal that sent pitchers Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day to the Braves.

Zimmermann had a very solid 2019 and put himself firmly on the O’s radar. Not only did he take to the new technology and analytics on the farm, he thrived with it and produced a year in which he went 7-6 with a 3.21 ERA between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. In 18 games and 101 2/3 innings with Bowie, he was 5-3 with a 2.58 ERA and a .227 average against. In 38 2/3 innings with Norfolk, he pitched to a 4.89 ERA.

He said he probably would not have even thought to get a test on his own. He never had a fever, lost his sense of taste or smell, or had other common COVID symptoms.

“Thankfully, I did find out through the Orioles’ intake testing. Currently, I do live with my parents and my father would probably be considered high-risk. So that was a blessing in disguise. I was able to quarantine immediately away from my parents for the most part,” he said.

His bout with coronavirus was short and fortunately didn’t impact his health very much. But it provides one a greater appreciation of family, baseball and things we do every day.

“I guess the biggest lesson is probably to not take anything that you do every day for granted,” said Zimmermann. “Baseball has been a part of my life for 20 years or so. The most important thing that people are thinking about is their health and wellness and keeping their family safe. It was definitely an interesting time.

“I think some of the things I took away from it was my sister came home from New York city where she lives for about a month. So it was actually really nice to have her around and connect with her again. I can’t tell you the amount of honey to-do list jobs I helped my dad with around our yard and house. I got really back into reading with so much free time, because I didn’t want to be on my phone and Netflix all the time. Went back to some personal development type things. So there were a lot of positives that came out of it.”

And he got to experience baseball in a way that reminded him of his youth.

“I had some teammates that were in the area, so I was able to practice,” he said. “We even set up some small, like live BPs with under six people. And that was honestly nice to just play baseball in a way that wasn’t, you know, so professional, I guess you could say, in a way. It was kind of like back to sandlot-style baseball. So the love of the game was really apparent with the guys.

“All in all, I was trying to see the positive side of things. Because it was so easy to look around you and see the negative spin on things. I was waking up and trying to find that one way to get better that day and be grateful for what was in front of us.”

https://www.masnsports.com/ste...g-the-mlb-dream.html

Per MASNsports.com, Bruce was called up to the bigs, and could start game 2 of the double-header for the O's later today. Good luck!

^^^^ Outstanding news!