A few things the O's may need to break right for a playoffs return

Finally, the 2023 regular season is almost here. We’re counting down hours at this point and it’s great. Baseball that counts and a potentially very exciting season of Orioles baseball is about to begin. 

They gained 31 wins last year, finished 83-79 and were just three games out of an American League playoff berth. The last time they won more than 83 was also the last time they made the playoffs, as an AL wild-card team with 89 wins in 2016.

As the pursuit of a playoff berth begins for real tomorrow, here are a few things the Orioles no doubt hope goes well for the club in the season ahead. It is just a partial list.

Stay healthy: Captain Obvious called to suggest I didn’t need to state this one, but I did anyway. The Captain was not amused. Yes, every team could use good overall health over six months and 162 games. Some teams have a larger margin for error however. But key injuries can make the difference in the standings. The Tampa Bay Rays will begin the year without right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who could debut in May. The Yankees, who won the AL East by seven games with 99 victories last year, will be down a few starting pitchers to begin the season including lefty Carlos Rondón. He has a left elbow strain and is expected to begin the year on the injured list but could return before April is out.

The Orioles are a deeper organization on Opening Day 2023 than a year ago, but still likely need most of their key players to stay on the field to truly have a postseason shot. Getting John Means back in July, if he meets that projection and is throwing well, could be a big lift as someone coming off the IL.

Get more innings from the starting pitchers: This is another important one for the team. The O’s rotation ERA last year of 4.35 ranked 10^th-best in the AL and in starter innings they ranked 12^th, meaning 11 clubs got more innings from their starting pitchers. Something to work on for 2023. Adding two innings eaters – Kyle Gibson and Cole Irvin combined for 61 starts and to pitch 348 2/3 innings last season – should be a real plus.

So could a re-run of sorts of late last year for both Dean Kremer and Kyle Bradish. Kremer had a solid year overall, with an ERA of 3.23 in 22 games. His ERA was 2.25 in August and 3.00 in September. After coming off the IL in late July, Bradish posted an ERA of 3.28 his last 13 starts with a 1.16 WHIP. Over his last eight games that was 2.76. Very encouraging as the right-handers head into this season.

The Orioles could use more quality starts. They got 41 last year and went 28-13 (.683) in those games. But that was the second-fewest QS in the AL last season. Houston led the way, by comparison, with 94. Minnesota, with 35, was the only club in the league with fewer than Baltimore.

Can this trio elevate their game on offense?: The O’s offense will benefit from full years of Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson for sure. It might also benefit from better seasons from the likes of Ryan Mountcastle, Austin Hays and Cedric Mullins. They make up 33 percent of the everyday batting order. Last year Mountcastle produced an OPS+ of 105 with Hays at 103 and Mullins in the middle at 104.

All three can take that to another level. All three have achieved more on offense at other points in their careers. All three seem motivated and geared up to produce more this year. For what it’s worth, Hays and Mountcastle were raking in spring training and the Orioles as a team scored the fourth-most runs of any MLB squad this spring and produced a team OPS of .805. It won’t help starting tomorrow, but there were some good signs in March and we didn’t even mention Anthony Santander’s WBC hitting.

Will the ‘pen be good again?: The O’s bullpen ranked seventh in the AL last year with an ERA of 3.49, but the O’s relievers threw the fourth-most innings in the league. So yes, they could use some rotation help and more rest in the 2023 season.

The O’s ‘pen had a 3.05 ERA in mid August before fading late in the season. The heavy innings load may have taken a bit of a toll.

The club begins the year missing a couple of key late-inning arms in Dillon Tate and Mychal Givens. Closer Félix Bautista is back, but he pitched in just five spring games. But he was exceptional closing games late last year and the O’s would love to see him duplicate that. He went 4-4 with a 2.19 ERA and 15 saves in 17 chances. Bautista produced a 52.9 percent whiff rate off his splitter, the third-best in the majors. Quite a year for a pitcher who as recently as June of 2021 was pitching in High-A ball.

Couple of minor league notes: Congrats are in order for Sam Jellinek, who for the last three years was the radio voice of the Orioles’ Low Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds affiliate. He was hired to serve as broadcaster this year for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs of the International League. They are a Philadelphia Phillies affiliate and Sam grew up a Phillies fan in Doylestown, Pa.

The Shorebirds have hired Mitchell Speltz as their new broadcaster. He joins the team after working last year for the Augusta GreenJackets, a team that plays in the same league as Delmarva in the Carolina League.

The O’s Double-A Bowie Baysox affiliate can be heard over the airwaves this year. Capital Gold WNAV (1430 AM and 99.9 FM), also the flagship home of the Navy Midshipmen, will carry all available Baysox games that do not conflict with previously scheduled weekday daytime programming, or Navy athletics broadcasts. All 138 games, including those not carried on WNAV, will begin 20 minutes before first pitch with the pregame show and will also be streamed on Baysox.com/listen.

Matt Sabados returns for his second season as lead play-by-play voice of the Baysox and will be joined in the booth by long-time Baysox broadcaster Adam Pohl, the former voice of the Frederick Keys. Pohl is also broadcaster for Mt. St. Mary’s men and women’s basketball. Additionally, Andre Magaro will join the Baysox broadcast in 2023. A recent graduate of Penn State University this past December, Magaro joins Bowie as a Public Relations assistant this season.

Minor League Baseball announced yesterday that the 2023 Triple-A National Championship Game, which will feature the winners of the International League and Pacific Coast League meeting in a single-game format, will be played on Saturday, Sept. 30^th in Las Vegas.  

The Triple-A National Championship Game, which will follow the best-of-three League Championship Series of the two leagues, will crown an overall winner of the highest level of the minors.

Each Triple-A season will be split into two halves, with the first half ending on June 25^th and the second half commencing on June 28^th.  The regular season will conclude Sept. 24. The winners of the two LCS will advance to Las Vegas Ballpark, which also hosted last season’s Triple-A Triple Championship Weekend, for the season’s decisive matchup in Triple-A.

The O’s Triple-A Norfolk Tides affiliate begins its 150-game schedule this Friday at Durham. After a three-game weekend series there, Norfolk plays its home opener against Gwinnett next Tuesday at Harbor Park. The Tides, who finished 74-76 last year, are beginning their 53^rd year in the International League and 30^th season playing at Norfolk’s Harbor Park.

The O’s Bowie club along with High-A Aberdeen and Delmarva, will all open on April 6.