Baltimore Orioles: Can the 2015 rotation get the job done?
By Joe Wedra
If the Baltimore Orioles want to make a special run that even comes close to comparing to 2014’s, Buck Showalter‘s 2015 rotation must find a way to fill leaks early and often. Chris Tillman‘s dominance can often be short-lived and the influx of young arms will undoubtedly bring issues that have to be covered up.
Let’s spotlight on Tillman first.
The “ace” of the staff put together a nice 13-win season in 2014 that didn’t come without flaws that are worrisome looking ahead to this season.
His 8-1 road record would look impressive if you took away the 4.31 ERA that went with it. He was bailed out too many times by his offense’s road performances, something that has to change if he wants to keep the number in the ‘L’ column down. The 1.34 road WHIP has to improve as does a tendency to get behind batters.
One starter that shouldn’t have command issues in the new year is 16-win Wei-Yin Chen. The 29-year-old lefty should bring a sense of security to the rotation if he can come close to matching his 35 to 136 walk to K ratio.
With a strong lefty presence after Tillman (also a Taiwan GQ cover guy, seen below), Baltimore should have a consistent one-two punch if all goes as planned.
Wei-Yin Chen is on the cover of GQ in Taiwan. #Orioles pic.twitter.com/1s2URSWy9F
— Ethan Felderstein (@efelderstein14) January 5, 2015
He isn’t on the cover of a foreign GQ magazine, but Bud Norris looks to be sticking around in Baltimore after several trade rumblings and rumors. The stocky righty simply churned out solid performances in 2014, putting up a 1.22 WHIP – a career best by over 0.10.
Norris went 4-0 against the New York Yankees last year in games where he registered 28 strikeouts in 23 innings. As the season progresses, it could be Norris that the team relies on in tough spots.
After Tillman, Chen, and Norris, more pressing questions come into play.
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It’s clear that Showalter and his staff like the young arm of Kevin Gausman in a starting role, but a 98 MPH fastball only means so much without a level of consistency. At this point, we haven’t seen the game-by-game success that warrants a solid year-long spot in this rotation.
In regards to Miguel Gonzalez and Ubaldo Jimenez, Showalter will ultimately have to make his decision and roll with it. If he thinks Jimenez is best-suited in the bullpen – the most-likely situation – the coach needs to make it clear as soon as possible.
Gonzalez can roll, but he’ll ultimately need the trust of the staff to be at his best.
All six starting options bring a bit of risk to the table. However, if the “Orioles magic” proves to be real yet again in 2014, we could be in for another special ride.