While the pitching staff wasn’t good, there is now some promise for future
What was deemed as the true Achilles heel of the Orioles at the start of the season, the starting rotation was interesting to say the least in 2016. Chris Tillman and Yovani Gallardo were the only pitchers that really had a consistent track record of success in the league, but neither should be confused about being an ace, especially with the poor numbers Gallardo put up.
Miguel Gonzalez, who was the team’s one of the best starters during the Orioles ALCS run in 2014, was released at the start of the season. This left Baltimore relying on unproven guys in Mike Wright and Tyler Wilson, who far the most part, were not capable major league starting pitchers.
This leads us to Ubaldo Jimenez, perhaps the most frustrating pitcher in the entire major leagues. He doesn’t throw in the mid-high 90s like he did in Colorado, but he still uses that wacky delivery. His poor play forced him to the bullpen for most of the season, but something happened to the Orioles highly paid starting pitcher in the month of September. In his five starts in September, the 32 year-old right hander allowed only nine earned runs in 35 innings of work. This was a huge development for an Orioles team that needed innings from their starters to get into the postseason.
However, the most positive development came from development of the Orioles two talented young starters, Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy. Gausman was somewhat expected to take a step forward being that he already had some experience as a starting pitcher in the majors, and he really did come into his own, especially towards the end of the season. Gausman pitched great games against Boston and the New York Yankees that were crucial in keeping the O’s in the postseason picture. Overall, he finished the 2016 season with best numbers he’s ever had. The 25 year-old finished the season with an ERA of 3.61 and struck out close to one batter per inning, which isn’t a surprise given his dominant pitching arsenal.
Bundy on the other hand was stuffed into the bullpen because he needed to be on the 25 man roster. But as Buck started to see some growth in the former fourth overall pick, he gave him the opportunity to start during the middle parts of the season when the team was really needy for some quality innings. At times Bundy looked unhittable, using his poise and exceptional stuff attack hitters. Of course with this being Bundy’s first stint starting in the majors there were some hiccups with control and consistency, but overall, Bundy’s play was a positive development for the Orioles as he probably solidified a spot in the O’s starting rotation next year.