After two straight seasons of losing 100 games, really the only direction left to go is up, and that was where the Orioles were this year. They finished in fourth, with a 25-35 record, far from great but far from the pitfalls of the last two years.
John Means, after his scorching 2019, had a step back after his first few starts, but was dynamite by September, with a 2.45 ERA and 35 strikeouts, much more familiar to Orioles fans.
2021 Prediction: A full ace-type showing that'll get competing teams's attention.
As helpful as both Hanser Alberto and Renato Nunez were during the 2019 season, both were non tendered for the offseason. Alberto hit .283 this year with a club-leading 62 hits, and a still-admirable 22 RBIs. Despite a lower WAR, he was still one of the better power hitters in the O's lineup, it's sad that he's on the way out as well
2021 Prediction: Whoever signs him will be rewarded with some classic clutch hitting.
Austin Hays was a charter member of the gang of O's rookies from 2017 and 2018 who didn't make an impact immediately in the majors, along with Chance Sisco, Anthony Santander and Cedric Mullins. Hays has blossomed into a decent backup outfielder, and had a good season this year, batting .279 with 34 hits in 33 games, some good contact numbers.
2021 Prediction: Will eventually get a window into starting in the outfield and become more of a fan favorite.
The relief specialist of the year in Baltimore, especially considering that Richard Bleier, Miguel Castro and Mychal Givens all were traded partway into the season, was Tanner Scott. Scott had some scary relief numbers, with a 1.31 ERA and 23 Ks in 25 innings. He also had the highest WAR of anyone in the pitching staff, with a 1.2.
2021 Prediction: ERA comes over 3, but gets a chance to close.
And as Anthony Santander's can't-miss 2020 ended with an injury, Cedric Mullins got a lot more starting time in the outfield. Mullins finally began to hit for average in the majors, with a .271 average and 12 RBIs in 48 games, a useful stint if anything.
2021 Prediction: Won't be starting thanks to a likely Mountcastle-Santander-Hays formation, but will still be useful off the bench.
As the rotation succumbed to both injuries and high ERAs, the O's turned to two pitching prospects. The first was Keegan Akin, who had a 4.56 ERA in 8 games, complete with 35 strikeouts. A decent start, but it'd be dwarfed by the second guy.
2021 Prediction: Becomes a decent mid-rotation guy. Eats up innings without getting hit too much.
The second call-up was Dean Kremer, the true rookie and Israeli-American who made his community proud by making the bigs, and proceeding to strike out 22 in his first four starts, with a 4.82 ERA. Yes, he got some earned runs, but his stuff looks really good, and he could be a tricky little fireballer for the next few years.
2021 Prediction: Makes an all-star team and gets 200 strikeouts.
Coming Tomorrow- While the Padres did make the playoffs, for some reason a lot of their core members didn't get customs during the season, so I have a few of theirs ready.
As the rotation succumbed to both injuries and high ERAs, the O's turned to two pitching prospects. The first was Keegan Akin, who had a 4.56 ERA in 8 games, complete with 35 strikeouts. A decent start, but it'd be dwarfed by the second guy.
No comments:
Post a Comment