Dillon Atkinson: All aboard the Norfolk shuttle

In the past couple of seasons, depth for the back end of the Orioles rotation and front end of the bullpen has been fairly thin. For the most part, it was Tyler Wilson, Mike Wright, T.J. McFarland and - for 2016 only - Vance Worley. In 2017, Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette has made sure manager Buck Showalter has had more options to choose from, and the O's skipper is using all that he can.

Wilson and Wright are still around, joined by Alec Asher, Logan Verrett, Vidal Nuño, Jayson Aquino, Gabriel Ynoa, Stefan Crichton, Richard Bleier and Paul Fry as the 10 pitchers who have already caught the shuttle between Triple-A Norfolk and Baltimore this season. Eight of the 10 have made at least one appearance in an Orioles uniform this year, and each of them has had at least one game where they stepped up big for the Birds in these first 32 games.

* Wilson: Tossed six innings of three-run ball during a last-minute spot start at Fenway on May 4.

* Asher: Gave up one run over 6 1/3 innings in Toronto on April 15.

* Verrett: Pitched three shutout frames in extra innings against the Nationals on May 9.

* Nuño: Threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief after Ubaldo Jiménez struggled to start the game on April 24.

* Aquino: In his first major league start on April 22, tossed six innings of two-run ball against the Red Sox.

* Ynoa: Got called on in the first inning after Wade Miley exited after twice being struck by batted balls and threw six shutout innings in relief.

* Crichton: Gave up two runs in relief over 1 2/3 innings in his major league debut in Toronto, but did enough for the Orioles to not need to use one of their big arms in the bullpen.

* Bleier: After Kevin Gausman got ejected at Fenway on May 3, came in and gave up one earned run over four innings in relief, the most amount of innings he has ever thrown in one game in his career.

Some of these eight pitchers have had more than one key moment for the Orioles so far this season, as Asher and Verrett have stepped up more than once and done a great job.

It's difficult to do what these pitchers are currently doing. Orioles fans have talked about the club's handling of Gausman in the past, and how him being yo-yoed back and forth between Norfolk and Baltimore played a part in why he wasn't able to produce consistently when called upon early in his career. Well, Showalter has been able to call on just about any pitcher in Norfolk to come up and do a job, whether it be starting in place of the formerly injured Chris Tillman or serving in a long relief role, knowing you're probably going to get demoted immediately after contributing.

Some pitchers still haven't even been added to the mix yet. Wright and Fry have gotten call-ups, but have yet to be used. Prospects Chris Lee and Jimmy Yacabonis have been considered already, and will likely continue to be throughout the season. And veterans Edwin Jackson and Steve Johnson, who are currently pitching for Norfolk and have no options remaining, will also be considered. So there are six pitchers, at the least, who could see time in a spot starter or reliever role for the Birds at some point in the 2017 season.

For the pitchers who are constantly on the Norfolk shuttle, it has to be frustrating to produce at the major league level and not be rewarded a solidified roster spot for it. But one would think that, in the back of their minds, they know they could get recalled as early as 10 days later when the next long reliever who pitched needs to be sent back down.

It's going to be a constant roulette of 10-20 pitchers who could be used, and the majority of them will see more than one stint in both Baltimore and Norfolk. It's a strategy that is working for Showalter and the Orioles. At least Showalter knows that if two or three pitchers just aren't cutting it, he has more than 10 more pitchers waiting for another deserving chance. He's keeping the gas tank on the Norfolk shuttle full, and it won't stop running until season's end.

Dillon Atkinson blogs about the Orioles for Orioles Uncensored. Follow him on Twitter: @DAtkinsonOU. His thoughts on the O's appear here as part of MASNsports.com's continuing commitment to welcome guest bloggers to our little corner of cyberspace. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.