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| Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images |
We're into the third week of what's been a wildly up and down season thus far. The bats have been hot, while the pitching's generally been hot dog shit... The result has us sitting just above .500, which unfortunately seems fair given the volatile nature of our play.
At some point, a move to bolster the rotation and/or bullpen has to be made. We have too many highly touted prospects boosting their stock with each passing day on the farm, while the need for quality arms glares brighter with each blown lead or shaky start. The offense is consistently performing at a high level, Elias has to get them some help.
Record since Last Orioles Report: 4-2
Overall Record: 9-7
Final Three Games from A's Series
I tried to play it down a few weeks ago on Twitter, but Grayson's walks are starting to become more of a concern. He allowed the first batter he faced to reach base in each of the first four innings, with three of them scoring. His stuff though is absolutely orgasmic when it's all clicking...the gas, the off-speed, everything. If he sharpens that command, he has the makings of a true ace.
Ryan Mountcastle posted an obscene statline on Tuesday as well, going 3 for 4 with two home runs and nine RBI. His Grand Slam was an absolute BOMB. An all-time performance at Camden Yards. He hit a third home run in the final game of the series to continue his wildly productive start to 2023.
Dean Kremer has continued to look iffy, hopefully not reverting back to his frustrating pre-2022 form. Keegan Akin and Austin Voth have been doing just that themselves...the former has a gross 8.31 ERA, while the latter allowed a home run in his first five appearances. Fortunately, Mike Baumann has been solid, as has Bryan Baker.
The Cole Irvin experience is briefly on hold. Many hoped he'd be a reliable middle-of-the-rotation type arm for the Orioles, but he's been atrocious through three starts, having walked eight and given up fifteen earned runs in just 12.1 innings. That type of stat line earned him a stint down in Norfolk, where he'll hopefully get things on track ASAP. Spenser Watkins is back up to the big leagues.
Adley Rutschman sent the A's packing on Thursday with his first walk off home run at any level of play. There was no doubt whatsoever that this ball was out of the park the second it jumped off the bat toward right center field. There's no moment that's shaken this kid thus far.
White Sox Series
Two gritty comeback wins set the tone for this road series victory! Adley delivered yet again in the first game of the trio, with a big time, two RBI double that put the Birds ahead for good. Yennier Cano made his first appearance for a bullpen that needed help, going 1.2 scoreless to preserve the lead.
Cionel Perez continues to be a cause for concern, as do Austin Voth and Logan Gillaspie. The bullpen has been inconsistent at best in general, but Hyde at least has seemed to be willing to move a few pieces around to try and figure it out.
Jorge Mateo finally got thrown out stealing on an absolute seed by Yasmani Grandal. Had to happen eventually right? He's still been a menace at the plate however, batting .372 with the eighth highest OPS in the league. Who saw that coming? The electric shortstop is rounding into All-Star form.
Cedric Mullins is really coming on too, in the midst of a five game hitting streak that's elevated his average from .163 to .250. Just another dangerous bat for opposing staffs to maneuver around.
Grayson was the man of the hour Sunday, hanging strong for five innings after another sketchy start, and arguably outperforming Dylan Cease in the process. He gave up four runs in the first inning and no more the rest of the way, collecting eight strikeouts as he went. If we can just clear up those early jitters...Baltimore could really have something with him.
Farm Report
Nice start Friday Noah Denoyer, 5 IP, 2 H, 6 K. Drew Rom went six scoreless Tuesday before being let down by bullpen, with a shut out five inning follow-up performance on Sunday. Eleven scoreless innings on the week for the Tides' young lefty, love to see it.
Colton Cowser's starting to quietly emerge, cranking his average up to .245 from .100 in just a week. He had hits in all six games versus Nashville, with multi-hit performances in four of them.
Hudson Haskin is still crushing it at the plate. The .391 average is nice, but the 1.152 OPS indicates that when he's hitting (which is often), he's making the opposing team pay.
Chayce McDermott still boasting an ERA of 0.00 in nine innings with twelve strikeouts. Great start on Saturday by Cade Povich too, no runs in five innings, seven K's.
Cesar Prieto so steady at the dish, batting .359. He could be moving up soon if any Norfolk guys get a look in the big leagues.
Heston Kjerstad will be a top 100 prospect soon. His power is undeniable and he's starting to see the ball really well, currently hitting .314 with five long balls.
Jean Pinto and Trace Bright each allowed only one run while striking out eight in 5.0 and 4.2 inning starts, respectively for Aberdeen.
Tough week for the Ironbirds overall, dropping four of six to Hudson Valley. They only mustered 13 runs through first five games of the series before putting up five Sunday.
Shorebirds haven't shown much pitching, minus Bradley Brehmler and Edgar Portes. Hopefully starter Juan de los Santos can return to the quality form he showed last season.
Creed Willems' is still raking a .429/4/11 line; his offensive emergence has been awesome. Jackson Holliday and Samuel Basallo have continued their torrid starts at the plate too. Delmarva's potent offense has been powered by these three.
Anthony Servideo made some sharp plays at second base when we were at the game Thursday night. Would love to see more production at the plate though.
Concluding Thoughts
This is a noticeably better Orioles team than we've seen in recent seasons. They're talented, fast and it always feels like they're in the game. Unfortunately, the precarious pitching situation has given us as much frustration as fun throughout the first sixteen games.
Hopefully getting Kyle Bradish, and eventually John Means, can allow Tyler Wells to return to the long reliever role and the organization to designate a lesser arm for assignment, but those aren't moves that'll move the needle too much for this team. Curious to see what Mike Elias can pull out of his sleeve to help the Birds this year and beyond.
And the AL East is easily the best division in baseball. There's going to be some real dogfights between the five teams that compose it over the next five and a half months.
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@Choppinglines
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