2020 record - 25-35, 4th place in AL East
Key Addition - Felix Hernandez
King Felix signed a minor league contract with Baltimore earlier this month. The fact that the biggest addition to the Orioles roster is on a minor league deal tells its own story.
But as with any minor league deal, it's a low risk move with potentially high rewards if Hernandez first makes the roster and secondly can be effective enough to be an attractive option for a contender at the trade deadline. His last 3 seasons in Seattle (he opted out of 2020 because of the pandemic) weren't promising though, with his ERA rising to 4.36 in 2017, 5.55 in 2018 and 6.40 in 2019.
He'll only be 34 by the time Opening Day comes around though, so there is some reason to be optimistic.
Just missed out - Freddy Galvis, Matt Harvey, Yolmer Sanchez
Key Departure - Hanser Alberto
Hanser Alberto heads the list of players that have moved on from Baltimore this offseason. But in reality, there aren't really many departures that Orioles fans will lose sleep over. Perhaps the one exception to that would be Alberto, who has been very good over the last two years in Maryland. Over the last 2 seasons, Hanser Alberto was good for 3.6 WAR. But his replacement - Freddy Galvis - had 2.9 WAR so the Orioles can be confident that they won't miss him too much.
Notable rookie cards - Ryan Mountcastle
The highly touted rookie is the sole Orioles representative in the Topps 2021 series 1 rookie class.
Mountcastle was called up to the majors last year and impressed with his bat in his first 35 games after getting called up in August where he hit .333 with 5HR and 23 RBI.
The 2019 International League player of the year at AAA Norfolk made a really positive impression with Orioles fans last year and they will be hoping it continues going into 2021.
We think that Mountcastle will start the season in the Opening Day line-up for Baltimore and that a .280, 20 HR, 80 RBI season is attainable for the youngster.
Predicted 2021 Team MVP - Anthony Santander
The outfielder has hit 33 home runs with 91 RBI in 130 games over the last 2 seasons, which amounts to less than a full regular seasons worth of games. These are respectable numbers, to say the very least. There is a good reason why he led the Orioles in intentional walks last year.
In another rebuilding year for Baltimore, Santander looks set to be the standout Oriole. A 2021 season where Santander hits 30 HR and 85 RBI isn't out of the question.
Player to watch for the future - Adley Rutschman
A no-brainer of an answer to this one. The 1st overall draft pick is listed as the 2nd best prospect by MLB Pipeline and should likely be called up this year. Once the infuriatingly frustrating service time clock has avoided being set into motion.
Rutschman hasn't played professionally above A ball yet, but his talent means that a call-up to the big league club is likely to happen sooner rather than later.
Just missed out - Grayson Rodriguez, Heston Kjerstad, DL Hall
Storyline to keep an eye on - Trey Mancini's return
This is another massively inspirational baseball story. For those who don't know, Mancini revealed last year that he was undergoing surgery and chemotherapy to treat colon cancer. The fact that he's even attending Spring Training less than a year after being diagnosed is nothing short of incredible, let alone that it appears as though he'll be in the starting line-up on Opening Day.
Regardless of how many wins the Orioles manage this season, a courageous and heroic comeback of Mancini will go down as a major success story both for him and the Orioles.
Prediction for 2021 - 5th in AL East
Sorry, Orioles fans but we're predicting that you finish bottom of the AL East this season. Right now, we think it's incredibly unlikely that Baltimore will be able to challenge against the stacked Yankee and Blue Jay line-ups, the Rays Rays and an improved Boston team.
That doesn't mean that the future isn't bright for them though. With 5 players in the top 100 prospect list, help is on the way Orioles fans. It just won't be in time for 2021.
Do you agree with our predictions? Or have we got them horribly wrong?
Let us know in the comments or on twitter @gbbaseballcards.
Comments