The Orioles have already tested Caden Hunter twice in his pro debut, and the 22-year-old left-hander has answered each promotion by making the next level look a little too easy.
Hunter’s first Double-A Chesapeake start on July 29 at Altoona was the loudest statement yet. The 2025 sixth-round pick out of Southern California struck out 10 over seven innings of one-hit ball, turning in the first of two Eastern League outings that showed he’s more than just a fastball arm. His changeup is starting to matter, too.
“He just dominated the zone, and under the zone with the changeup, and he threw the slider and curveball well,” Double-A Chesapeake pitching coach Jeremy Hileman said.
“But really the changeup, because guys were so committed to the fastball there that he just played the game of speed them up, slow them down, and never let them just hunt one. Because the changeup looked so good out of hand, they had no choice but to be on-time for the heater.”
That wasn’t the version of Hunter scouts saw during his junior year at USC in 2025. He transferred from Sierra JC expecting a bigger showcase, but a knee injury got in the way and his stock slipped until the sixth round.
The stuff returned in spring training this year, though, and the low minors had little answer for his lively heater. Across Low-A Delmarva and High-A Frederick, Hunter put up a 1.46 ERA with 102 strikeouts in 68 innings.
At that level, he was able to lean on his fastball in and above the strike zone while mixing in the rest of his arsenal. The Orioles understand that won’t be enough forever, but they also know exactly why Hunter keeps moving: the fastball is a weapon, and the secondary pitches are coming along.
“That’s just going to push the challenge for him to execute the offspeed at a really high clip, because the fastball is so good that . . . it’s good enough that if he executes it, he’s going to win a lot of those battles,” Hileman said.
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