TORONTO – The legacy of three active pitchers in Major League Baseball towers above the rest. 

Between them, they have combined for nine Cy Young awards and two Most Valuable Player awards, the last pitchers not named Shohei Ohtani to win that honor since Dennis Eckersley in 1992. 

They’re the only active pitchers in the game with over 200 career wins. They’re also the only trio to each accumulate over 3,000 strikeouts over their Hall of Fame careers. 

Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer have another thing in common, too: They’re the last three starters to oppose Tomoyuki Sugano. 

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Sugano is set to become the second pitcher in O’s history to face a 200-game winner in three consecutive outings, joining Dave Schmidt in 1987, who faced Bert Blyleven twice and Joe Niekro. So, Sugano will actually become the first Oriole to face three different 200-game winners consecutively. 

TORONTO – Trevor Rogers’ early exit from tonight’s game due to left toe discomfort, and the subsequent questions that followed in the brief absence of that injury update, perfectly summed up his recent stretch of dominance. 

The lefty wasn’t his sharpest tonight in Toronto. He walked four batters, contributing to more traffic on the basepaths than we’re accustomed to seeing, and had to work through lengthy innings. 

He didn’t allow an earned run in five innings of work. 

And yet, given Rogers’ standards and the level to which he’s raised the bar, many were left pondering what went wrong. 

That’s the luxurious viewpoint that we’re able to have on Rogers, whose mastery on the mound has made elite outings commonplace and merely good outings surprising. 

TORONTO – On Aug. 1, the Orioles’ outfield no longer included Cedric Mullins, a mainstay in center field since his breakout 2021 campaign. The next day, right-fielder Tyler O’Neill was a late scratch from the lineup due to illness. And a few days later, after a collision with the wall, O’Neill hit the injured list with wrist inflammation. 

On Aug, 1, Jeremiah Jackson was called up to the big leagues after hitting a staggering .377 in 40 games with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. Most anticipated that Jackson, who played 35 of those 40 games in the infield, would fill the role vacated by Ramón Urías. 

Instead, through 35 games with the Orioles, Jackson has spent 27 days in the depleted outfield and has mostly been patrolling right field, a position that he had played on just seven occasions as a minor leaguer. 

Today, Baltimore’s primary right fielder, O’Neill, returns from a rehab assignment. But don’t expect Jackson and his .829 OPS to just hit the bench. 

“We’ll see kind of where it goes,” Tony Mansolino said of his lineup upon O’Neill’s return. “It’ll be very day-to-day, and we’ll do the best we can with the lineup and get people in the right spots.”

Each year, in preparation for the MLB Draft, MLB Pipeline ranks their 250 best draft-eligible prospects. From the college ranks to the high school prep class, this list is filled with names that could change the outlook of an organization’s future. 

In 2024, that list included the O’s first-round pick Vance Honeycutt, ranked No. 22 among the 250. Griff O’Ferrall came in at No. 38, and his college roommate Ethan Anderson was 40 spots below. The speedy Austin Overn, in Double-A Chesapeake with O’Ferrall and Anderson, checked in at No. 131, and Baltimore’s fifth-round-pick, Ryan Stafford, was ranked 175th. 

More often than not, there’s little conversation to be had about the prospects ranked outside of this list. 

Baseball America takes things a step further, though, ranking 500 prospects before draft season. Coming in at No. 272 was an “under-the-radar prep prospect” hailing from Illinois with a commitment to Northwest Florida: Nate George. 

The center fielder and his raw skillset fell to the 16th round of the 2024 Draft, and that’s where the Orioles selected him, swaying him away from his college commitment. 

From hot dogs’ validity as a sandwich to drawing up the best starting 11 if the Orioles were fielding a soccer team, all bases were covered in Episode 100 of “The Bird’s Nest.” We talked about some baseball, too. 

If you didn’t get the chance to tune in, you can watch the full episode here: https://masn.me/tc1q2qs8 

As we did on the show, let’s start with the fun ones. 

If you both were stranded on an island and could listen to only one album, which one would it be? And is lasagna a casserole?

I have no idea how to pronounce the name of the person that asked this question. Roch? Strange spelling. 

Three minutes into episode 229 of the “MASN Orioles Podcast,” Paul Mancano and I reveled in the Baltimore Orioles’ 15-7 start to the 2023 campaign. 

The Birds had come a long way from the start of the podcast, with shows like Episode 12, titled “What can the O’s get for Manny,” and Episode 66 named “Fill in LeBlanc.” 

Gone were the days of Episode 123, highlighted by Adam Plutko’s addition to the roster, or Episode 157, discussing how Baltimore had claimed Lucius Fox and left Robert Neustrom III unprotected from the Rule 5 draft. 

Instead, the main topics of discussion for episode 226 included Yennier Cano’s outstanding start to the 2023 season, and Jackson Holliday’s promotion to High-A Aberdeen after hitting close to .400 for the Delmarva Shorebirds. 

40 minutes and 35 seconds in, Paul said his goodbyes. 

The American League Cy Young race is one of the two-man variety, coming down to the wire between Detroit’s Tarik Skubal and Boston’s Garrett Crochet. 

The latter has been dominant in a Red Sox uniform, posting a 2.38 ERA and over 11 strikeouts per nine innings entering this afternoon’s contest against the Orioles. 

The O’s were lucky to avoid Crochet for a two-game series up in Fenway. They didn’t get so lucky in this afternoon’s series finale in OPACY. 

In a game that Crochet starts, you’re fortunate to not be trailing when he leaves. That’s where the Orioles found themselves entering the seventh inning, all knotted at two. 

But it was the Red Sox bullpen that got the best of the Orioles, blanking the birds' bats in the final three innings. The Sox were able to push one run across in the eighth, and that was all they needed. The O's fell 3-2 and were swept in this four-game series. 

“Steal bases I guess, I don’t know,” first-round pick Ike Irish answered with a laugh. 

“Steal bases, the first thing out of the catcher’s mouth, huh?” I replied with a chuckle. I had asked Irish, the No. 19 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, if he had any goals for the remainder of his first professional season. 

“Hit the ball hard and steal bases,” he doubled down. “And outside of that, have fun.” 

That element won’t be missing for MLB Pipeline’s second-best Orioles prospect. The catcher/outfielder/first-baseman hybrid is keeping things light after being drafted just a few months ago. 

It’s the message the organization has sent him, too. 

The trade deadline is a date that looms large for any professional baseball player, whether you’re at the big league level or working your way through the minor leagues. 

Very few are truly safe from any kind of movement. 

Those feeling the least secure would include anyone in the Padres organization and rising arms in the system of a winning ballclub. 

Juaron Watts-Brown, a starting pitcher in the Blue Jays’ Double-A affiliate, found himself in the latter category as the calendar inched towards August. 

“We all thought it was a possibility,” Watts-Brown told me ahead of Double-A Chesapeake’s matchup with Richmond yesterday. “Me and a couple of other guys, a couple of other guys that got traded, there was talk of like, ‘the Blue Jays are doing well, they’re probably going to go get a few pieces and we could be part of those package trades.’

HOUSTON – “For a lot of the year, for the first month and a half, there were a lot of nights when we probably looked like the worst team in major league baseball,” Tony Mansolino said after Friday night’s dominant win over the Astros. 

“We were probably 30th of 30 how we played the first month and a half. Tonight, for nine innings, we looked like the best team in baseball in all facets of the game. On the mound, defensively, and then also at the plate.” 

Today, the Orioles excelled in all facets once again in a dominant 12-0 victory. 

"The Friday night game, the game today, we’ve played really well, and we’ve played well for a while now," the interim skipper said today. 

After taking two of three against a playoff-caliber Mariners team, they took two of three against a playoff-caliber Astros team. Baltimore didn’t play favorites with who they want to win the American League West. 

HOUSTON – All eyes are on the future of the Orioles. Calling up one of the best prospects in baseball only fuels that fire. 

On Friday, Brandon Young came within four outs of a perfect game. Yesterday, Dylan Beavers made his long-anticipated debut. 

And today, for the grand finale, Samuel Basallo, the No. 8 prospect in the game, according to MLB Pipeline, puts on an Orioles jersey for the very first time in the big leagues. 

His dad was the one to call and tell him that he had made the Show. 

“There’s no better feeling than getting that phone call from your family,” Basallo said this morning, via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “My dad is very special to me, he means a lot to me. To get that phone call from him and from my family, it means everything.” 

HOUSTON – The August schedule isn't an easy one for Baltimore. 

With inexperience everywhere, the O's have had to face the two crown jewels of the American League West, the Mariners and Astros, in two consecutive series. 

Baltimore took two of three against Seattle. And after taking game one in Houston, the Birds fought tooth and nail in Game 2. 

In the end, though, it was Houston that came away with a 5-4 victory in 12 innings. 

And, of course, it was Ramón Urías. Last night, the former Oriole broke up Brandon Young's perfect game bid. Tonight, he walked it off. Another slow dribbler to third, and another heartbreaker. 

HOUSTON – The second half of the Orioles’ 2025 season won’t go the way that many had expected. 

Baltimore won’t be competing for an American League East crown, nor will O’s fans be keeping an eye on wild card playoff spots. Instead, the excitement will come from memorable moments, encouraging signs for the future, and individual accomplishments. 

Last night, Brandon Young provided the excitement. The rookie tossed 7 ⅔ innings of perfect baseball before surrendering his first hit with one out to go in the eighth. He did so in front of family and friends, who made the short trip from Lumberton, TX to watch Young deliver the best start of his young career. 

Today, it’s Dylan Beavers who provides the excitement, making his MLB debut as one of the O’s most anticipated prospect promotions. 

“It’s super exciting,” Beavers said this afternoon. “It’s what I’ve kind of been working for my entire life. But there’s nerves, too, kind of uncertainty in not knowing when it’s going to happen. A little bit of a mixed bag of emotions, but yeah, exciting.” 

HOUSTON – When a pitcher is in a groove, you can look up at the box score in the middle innings and think to yourself, “Oh wow, he’s through four without allowing a hit.” Usually, it doesn't amount to much. 

Tonight, many in Daikin Park may have shared that thought about Brandon Young. 

The rookie looked sharp through three. Then, he was through four perfect innings. And then five. 

Through six, things start to feel real. Through seven, folks at home change their evening plans to find a television. 

Young recorded the first two outs of the eighth inning, but surrendered his first hit and baserunner of the game on a 56 mph single off the bat of, you guessed it, former Oriole Ramón Urías. It was a tough play for Young, who fielded the dribbler and delivered a throw wide of first. 

HOUSTON – On Friday, Aug. 1, the Orioles roster looked drastically different for an afternoon contest at Wrigley Field. 

Gone were four members of the lineup, a starting pitcher and four key pieces of the bullpen, including a new resident of Chicago, Andrew Kittredge. 

Orioles hitters saw their former teammate right away, as Kittredge entered that game in the top of the seventh inning, blanking the O’s en route to a Cubs victory. 

Kittredge, while impressive in an Orioles uniform, didn’t have much time to leave a lasting impression. After missing a large chunk of the season, the right-hander appeared in just 31 games for Baltimore, pitching to a 3.45 ERA. 

So the feeling evoked upon seeing Kittredge trot through the outfield glass in Chicago’s colors was, more than likely, relatively subdued. 

Entering the 2023 season, the Orioles’ farm system was at the peak of its powers. 

Baltimore had eight top-100 prospects, according to Baseball America. That included the No. 1 overall prospect, Gunnar Henderson, another top-10 prospect, Grayson Rodriguez, a rising star in Jackson Holliday, a soon-to-be Rookie of the Year candidate in Colton Cowser, and the underrated Jordan Westburg, checking in at No. 76. 

By the time 2024 rolled around, however, that list had taken quite a hit due to graduations. Then it included just three players, with Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo joining Heston Kjerstad. 

With Mayo’s graduation this season, there was some question as to who, if anyone, would join Basallo in the top 100. Baseball America’s most recent rankings gave us an answer, highlighting three Orioles prospects on the rise. 

Nate George 

CHICAGO – A post-trade deadline world involves a lot of moving pieces. 

The Orioles will take chances on waiver claims and young talent, hoping to find diamonds in the rough. 

Who knows if Ryan Noda will be a flier that becomes a piece. This afternoon, though, he was a ninth-inning hero. One of two, but we'll get to that.

With the O's down 3-2 and down to their final out, Noda brought Colton Cowser home to tie the game at three. 

But the heroics, and the good feelings it brought, were short lived. The Cubs walked it off in the ninth, and the Orioles fell 5-3. 

CHICAGO – The process was supposed to be smoother for Jeremiah Jackson. 

Entering the 2018 MLB Draft, the Alabama high schooler was the No. 57 prospect in the class, according to MLB Pipeline. They noted that the shortstop had been starting at that position for his high school team since the seventh grade, winning two state championships in the process. 

His upside was high enough for the Angels to make him the 57th pick in that year’s draft.

Jackson hit the ground running with a .939 OPS in 65 games in rookie ball in 2019. In 2021, he advanced to Single-A, and finished that minor league season with an OPS over .900, too. 

But then, in Double-A, he hit a road block. 

CHICAGO – For seven and two-thirds innings, things looked bleak for the Orioles' offense. 

Yesterday, the Birds were blanked in nine innings. Trevor Rogers' eight-inning complete game, allowing just one run, was for naught. 

This afternoon, it looked as if the Orioles would squander another solid pitching performance. Baltimore had allowed just three earned runs in seven innings, and the offense was, once again, shut out. 

For over sixteen innings, the O's offense was lifeless. 

A three-run home run from Gunnar Henderson in the eighth inning changed everything, and the Orioles walked away victorious, 4-3. 

CHICAGO – For years, the Orioles’ rebuild afforded them the opportunity to find diamonds in the rough. 

You know the story here. Cedric Mullins wasn’t a highly touted prospect as a 13th-round pick out of Campbell, but became Baltimore’s everyday center fielder. John Means was selected in round 11. Anthony Santander was a Rule 5 draft pick that turned into an All-Star. Ramón Urías was a waiver claim. 

For the last few seasons, dart throws like that wouldn’t have found much playing time in Baltimore. Even top prospects like Coby Mayo have had to wait patiently for more playing time. 

But after a deadline in which the Orioles traded away nine big leaguers, the final two months of the 2025 season give the O’s roster a familiar feeling: opportunity. 

“Weird to think that I’m sitting at the most service time down there now,” Keegan Akin joked about the O’s bullpen.