'It's going to be awesome': Brewers' DL Hall is eager to pitch against his former team in Baltimore
CINCINNATI – Every start is something to be eagerly anticipated for DL Hall, who finally has achieved his longstanding goal of being a regular in a major-league rotation.
But the Milwaukee Brewers left-hander admits his next turn has him a little more amped than usual.
That’s because Hall will be facing the team that drafted him, developed him and, yes, traded him along with Joey Ortiz and a draft pick for Corbin Burnes – the Baltimore Orioles – on Saturday afternoon at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
“Since my last outing, I knew I was out there,” Hall said earlier this week. “It’s already been in my head for seven days. I'm not really nervous but it's jittery, it's excitement. I'm super-excited for it, just to be able to go out there and do it.
“It's going to be awesome.”
Hall, 25, was Baltimore’s first-round pick out of high school (21st overall) in 2017 and of his 96 appearances in the team’s minor-league system, 81 came as a starter.
His major-league debut in 2022 also was in a starting capacity.
But the final 27 appearances of his Orioles tenure came out of the bullpen. It was a role Hall understood, accepted and succeeded in – his stuff was widely considered to be among some of the best in baseball out of the bullpen and he logged a 4-0 record with a 3.38 ERA on an up-and-coming team.
Still, Hall knew he had more to offer.
Settling in to Brewers rotation is a work in progress for DL Hall
The trade to Milwaukee on Feb. 1 suited him well in that regard and through his first two turns he’s gone 0-1 with a 4.82 ERA and a WHIP of 1.93, numbers that are destined to improve as he continues to build up his endurance (he threw 90 pitches over 5⅓ innings against the Seattle Mariners his last time out) and velocity.
“You’ve got to give this guy some grace here,” assistant pitching coach Jim Henderson said. “Everybody just thinks of the guy who's throwing 98 last year in the playoffs. He's still young. He's still getting stronger. He's still trying to figure out his routine throughout the week to make him his best on start days.
“There's a lot that goes into it behind the scenes that people aren't seeing. All everyone sees is the number on the board when he's pitching. We get all that stuff tightened up and I think we'll start seeing an uptick here."
What better time or place than Saturday for Hall to take that next step forward than against his former team?
“I’ve told a few people this," Hall said. "No matter the outcome of the outing – if they hang 10 runs on me – just to get there and start that game in front of those fans and against that team is just going to be a blessing in itself. For me, just being able to walk out there at 6:05 and start the game against them is going to be pretty special.”
Henderson is somewhat familiar with the dynamic Hall will be facing.
“I think you're always excited about that familiarity with the group you came up with, right?” he said. Henderson spent three years as a Brewers reliever – even saving 28 games as the closer in 2013 – before pitching twice against his former club in 2016 with the New York Mets.
“I think it's just like, ‘Look what I can do.’ It's not like, ‘I'm going to prove you wrong.’ You almost want to be viewed as like, ‘I'm continuing to mature and get better.’ So, you want to show the other team that.
“There's that little added pressure there. It's going to feel weird. But it’s also going to be exciting.”
There will be no Corbin Burnes vs. DL Hall matchup this weekend
Hall keeps in regular contact with a couple of his former Baltimore mates and that, yes, the smack talk already has begun.
“I talk to Grayson (Rodriguez) and Keegan (Akin) every day,” he said. “We play video games together. There’s been a lot of trash talk this week in the group text and what not, but it’s going to be really fun.”
The dream scenario would have been Hall facing off against Burnes. But Hall was slated to start Friday’s game and Burnes on Sunday after being moved up a day in Baltimore’s rotation.
Through three starts, Burnes is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA, WHIP of 0.75 and 20 strikeouts in 18⅔ innings.
“I was kind of hoping for that a little bit,” Hall admitted. “I thought that would be pretty interesting. But it didn’t line up that way. I’m facing the Orioles, so that’s good enough.”
Beyond the return of Hall and Burnes facing the Brewers, there also will be the Jackson storyline – as in Jackson Holliday, the son of former all-star outfielder Matt Holliday, being called up by the Orioles and Brewers rookie Jackson Chourio seeking to continue his hot start to the season.
The duo entered 2024 as the top two prospects in all of baseball.
“I think it’s going to be a pretty live atmosphere, for sure,” Hall said. “I’m just excited for it, I really am. I am an anxiety guy. Like, I have starter’s anxiety all the days in between. It’s such a buildup. But this time has been a little bit different.
“It’s just excitement. Those fans meant a lot to me. They were really great to me. I felt like I had a close relationship with the fans in Baltimore. So, just to toe the rubber in front of them is going to be pretty cool.”
Does Hall expect the fans to greet him warmly?
“I would think so,” he said. “But it’s business once we get out there between the lines. I honestly wouldn’t mind a few boos. ‘Bring it on. Give it to me a little.’”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers' DL Hall eager to pitch against Baltimore Orioles
