Baltimore Orioles’ 2017 Fate is in the Hands of their Young Starting Pitchers

Offense is the known weapon for the Baltimore Orioles, but starting pitching is the needed weapon. Prime seasons from Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy are desperately needed if this team wants to make a playoff push.

The Baltimore Orioles are best known for their powerful batting lineup. They’ve ensured another power-based lineup in 2017 with the re-signing of Mark Trumbo and the addition of Welington Castillo behind the plate. Both will blend nicely in a lineup that also includes Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Chris Davis, and Jonathan Schoop. The Orioles could easily lead the major leagues in home runs once again in 2017. They certainly have one of the more dangerous offenses in baseball.

Contrarily, Baltimore has one of the lesser starting pitching staffs in MLB. Their offensive successes are equaled by their starting pitching shortcomings. Starting pitching has been the team’s kryptonite for years, and is the sole deterrent to Baltimore’s World Series potential. Yes their division is compiled of hitter’s ballparks and power lineups, however, the Orioles are not the only team who has to deal with those obstacles. They have struggled to find a true ace. They have also had difficulty convincing free agent pitchers to come to Baltimore. Thus, the Baltimore Orioles will have to rely on homegrown talent to get them to the promised land.

Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy are the likely candidates. Both possess live arms with high ceilings. Their ability to light up the radar gun and to produce high strikeout numbers has never been in question. It’s their ability to command their repertoires and to control each encounter with an opposing batter that has limited them.

Kevin Gausman had a coming out in 2016. He showed off his live arm and appeared to have finally touched his potential. Gausman’s 30 starts led all Baltimore starters, as did his 3.61 ERA, 174 strikeouts, and 179 innings pitched. He was the Orioles’ ace last season. He has a wiry 6’3”, 190 pound frame which produces a very energetic delivery. Also, Gausman’s 3/4 arm slot creates significant movement on each of his pitches. The combination of an unorthodox delivery, a consistent high 90s fastball, and multiple diving pitches makes Gausman extremely difficult to hit.

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Gausman has the makeup of a soon-to-be MLB star. Consistency is now the challenge. Consistency in finding the right arm slot was the delaying factor to Gausman’s growth. Not to over hype him, but he compares to former Baltimore Oriole, Jake Arrieta. Arrieta always had a power arm with a nasty arsenal; however, he could never find a consistent arm slot, causing control issues. That changed when he went to Chicago. In Arrieta’s age 28 season, he found his consistent arm slot with the Chicago Cubs, and has since become one of the best pitchers in the MLB. The Orioles are hoping for a similar result from Kevin Gausman, maybe not to the extent of Arrieta, but something close.

Gausman is now 26-years-old. His 2016 performance proved his talent; he will really raise some eyebrows with an even more impressive 2017 season.

Dylan Bundy is suspected to have even more talent than Gausman. Bundy was drafted 4th overall by Baltimore in the 2011 draft. He was the Orioles’ top prospect prior to Tommy John surgery in 2013. Bundy was on the cusp of full-time MLB status prior to his untimely surgery. He was then forced to miss an entire season of development.

Bundy returned to the major league stage in 2016. Although showing signs of encouragement, the 24-year-old mostly struggled. He had a 4.02 ERA and made only 14 starts prior to being moved to the bullpen. Bundy averaged 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings, but he had a BABIP of .300. He proved his wipeout stuff by his strikeout totals, however, he allowed a lot of base runners either by contact or free passes.

Like Gausman’s early struggles, Bundy needs to refine his arsenal and improve his command. The Orioles have no doubt that Dylan Bundy will become an ace. While they don’t expect it to occur overnight, they do expect improvement in the 2017 campaign. The upcoming season will be vital to Bundy’s projections as a big league pitcher.

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Baltimore certainly does not have a wait-and-see mindset. The Orioles expect to make the postseason in 2017 and hope to flirt with a World Series appearance. As previously mentioned, the Baltimore Orioles have an explosive offense. They also have an elite bullpen led by Zach Britton. Chris Tillman is a nice compliment to the starting rotation, but the Orioles will need Dylan Bundy to pitch like a top-line starter, and they’ll need Kevin Gausman to pitch like an ace if they want to meet their 2017 goals.