The Baltimore Orioles finished in fourth place in the American League East in 2022 with a shocking 83-79 record. Every other fourth place team in the MLB finished with 74 wins or less. That shows how stacked the American League East is. The competition is tough and the Orioles will definitely have to earn their spot in the playoffs. The heart this team has is outstanding and they showed their grit when they tried to make a late season playoff run in 2022. They showed they have the passion, desire, and drive to prove the doubters wrong. 

The Orioles have a young, promising roster. Rookie sensation Adley Rutschman had a great first impression in the league through 113 games. He batted .254 with a well above average OPS (on-base plus slugging) of .807. The switch-hitter also has outstanding defense behind the plate with a great arm that features a pop time of 1.91 seconds, which is the time it takes him to get the ball from his glove to second base. He finished second in American League Rookie of the Year voting behind outfielder Julio Rodriguez. 

The Orioles had 8 of their young prospects appear on www.mlb.com’s prospect list. They have the number one prospect in Gunnar Henderson, seventh overall pitcher in Grayson Rodriguez and the twelfth spot in Jackson Holliday, son of former MLB player Matt Holliday. Henderson was drafted back into the 2019 draft in the second round. He is already in the MLB. He made his debut August 31st, 2022. In the 34 games he played, he batted .259 with and a .788 OPS. That is well above expectations for players’ first 100 at bats. Holliday was the first overall pick in last year’s draft and got his first taste of professional ball in the summer. In his 64 at-bats he hit for a .297 average. The potential he has is through the roof. Just like the rest of this young squad. 

Besides all the young prospects the Orioles have, they have players like 25 year old first baseman Ryan Mountcastle who has a career slashline of .261/.315/.773 in 2022, 27 year old outfielder Austin Hays with a .257/.309/.743 career slashline, 27 year old shortstop Jorge Mateo who is in the top 1% of sprint speed in the MLB, 28 year old Anthony Santander who had a breakout season with a .773 OPS (on-base plus slugging) and many others. 

The Orioles started making much needed moves. They signed free agent second baseman Adam Frazier. Frazier has been a steady, key role-player in organizations in the past. Even with a down year of a .238 batting average, he still has a career average of .273. He is a scrappy player who you know will go out there and give it 110% day in and day out. This is a great addition for Baltimore.. Baltimore made a trade for some more depth in their lineup in catcher James McCann. McCann had a really rough 2022 season that was filled with injuries. There is still potential alive for the 32 year old. We have seen him put up great numbers especially in his 2019 all star season. The 6’6 starting pitcher Kyle Gibson was also a great addition for the team. Coming off a 144 strikeout season Gibson will really impact this rotation.

The Orioles rotation will take as much help as they can get. The 7th prospect in the MLB is Orioles pitcher Grayson Rodriguez is looking to break into the show this season. After being the 11 pick in the 2018 Amutear Draft, Rodriguez has taken off as a young pitcher. He showcased his stuff this season with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. He played 14 games with and finished with a 2.02 ERA (earned run average) and a 12.5 K/9 (strikeouts per 9 innings). If he doesn’t make the opening day roster, look out for him to get the call to to the bigs in the first few months of the season. This team has a promising future, the rest of the league should be on watch for the O’s.

Next Up: Part 5- The Miami Marlins (to come)