DL Hall, LHP
• Tools (entering 2023): Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 40 | Overall: 50
• MLB Pipeline rankings: Entered 2023 ranked No. 97 on MLB Top 100 Prospects list, No. 7 on Orioles’ Top 30 (graduated during ’23 season)
What to know
Hall could move right into the Brewers’ bullpen or rotation, depending on how Milwaukee views him. Hall was one of the Orioles’ top pitching prospects since the club made him its first-round pick way back in 2017. They developed him as a starter all the way through last season, when he made 11 starts at Triple-A Norfolk.
Most of Hall’s big league experience, though, is in the bullpen, where he pitched to a 3.38 ERA in 29 1/3 innings over the past two seasons. The 25-year-old is a four-pitch lefty whose fastball averaged 95.6 mph in the Majors last season. He has seen his velocity flirt with triple-digits when pitching in shorter stints.
Hall’s big stuff has always allowed him to miss bats. He has struck out 12.7 batters per nine innings in the Minors and 11.5 per nine in the Majors. He struggled with walks as a prospect at times and missed most of the 2021 season with an elbow injury that did not require surgery. But his control improved in relief last season, and his starting background makes him comfortable pitching longer in relief; six of Hall’s 18 appearances last season were for more than one inning.
What Hall hasn’t done is throw 100 innings in a season. Over the past two years at all levels, he’s made 33 starts and 39 relief appearances.
With some durability concerns and stuff and command that plays up in shorter stints, some see Hall as a likely reliever (and a good one) long term. But Hall is still young enough that the Brewers don’t necessarily need to choose a lane right now. How Milwaukee deploys him in the short term could go a long way toward determining his long-term value.
What they’re saying
“DL Hall is someone both we and Milwaukee long term project to be a starting pitcher, but it was very likely he would’ve started this season in the bullpen and we would’ve built him up from there.” -- Elias
“He’s been good in both roles. He’s been a starter in the Minor Leagues, and he was an outstanding reliever for the Orioles last year, in particular in the playoffs. And so we think he’s going to have success in either role. … I think whatever role he’s in, he’s going to be great for us.” -- Arnold