In the last month, the third base position for the Orioles has been among the most productive in the league, providing an .816 OPS and 124 wRC+ that ranks fifth in baseball.
COLUMN | Craig Albernaz holds Samuel Basallo to a high standard and hasn’t always waited for private moments to do so. It’s not about Albernaz, but he certainly knows that turning Basallo into a consistent, high-level catcher would reflect well on him and his staff, and make the Orioles good for a decade.
COLUMN | Just because the Orioles have demonstrated time and time again that they won’t stay down long, that doesn’t change the reality that all of this takes a toll.
Pitcher Joseph Dzierwa skipped Low-A Delmarva entirely and made quick work of High-A Frederick. He’s pitched three times at Double-A Chesapeake with a 3.24 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings.
Rogers spent four months as one of the game’s best pitchers last year by doing it the way he did until the seventh — and avoiding big innings like the one that chased him Friday.
COLUMN | It’s nothing to brag about to say the Orioles are improving at the plate, on the mound, in the field and on the bases, considering how rough things have looked at time. But they’re talented enough to do all those things well.
COLUMN | The club’s faith in what it does is so deeply held by those running the organization that any meaningful change would be an admission of failure that, at a time of such scrutiny, would only lend credence to the criticisms of the Orioles’ front office.
COLUMN | We aren’t far enough removed from watching this team tumble off the cliff to be OK with it standing so close to it again, but we need to acknowledge it is on sturdier ground.
“With all of the changes that have happened over time, the evolution of this game, a couple things always stay true. It’s starting pitching, and defense, timely hitting,” manager Craig Albernaz said.
COLUMN | Alonso entered Wednesday with 54 hard-hit balls and 21 walks, accounting for 48% of his 155 plate appearances. That was 11th best in baseball among all qualifiers.
COLUMN | The Orioles can undo the damage in the standings. It’s only four games. But it might take four months of good baseball to make anyone think about this team in a different way.
COLUMN | The Orioles have mostly been floating under the radar, and even if I suspect the underlying play will continue on that path for a while, there’s value to making early statements when the chance arises.
The Orioles offense hasn’t been as consistent or productive as you might hope. There are five more months to change that, but this one is basically in the books.
In the context of the balance and simplified swing load he now boasts, Rutschman looks back at last year with the knowledge that “sometimes less is more.”