After Means as the number one, the Baltimore Orioles will continue to build a young core in their rotation with Keegan Akin, Dean Kremer, and Bruce Zimmermann right behind him. DL Hall and Grayson Rodriguez are two of the O’s best pitching prospects, but they are still some time away from making their MLB debuts. In the meantime, 2021 will be an opportunity for guys like Akin, Kremer, and Zimmermann to prove their worth to the future of this Orioles rotation.
All three guys displayed exciting potential in 2020 in various degrees, but what is to be most intrigued by is the spin rate on each of their fastballs. Zimmermann posted a spin rate of 2,360, Kremer posted a 2,321 and landed himself into the 66th percentile in K-rate, and Akin posted a 2,389 spin rate and landed in the 81st percentile in K-rate.
None of these three guys have, by any means, overpowering “stuff” or high-90s velocity, but the way they select to use their tools and how they approach at-bats is what is going to make them successful. All three have spin rates that put them in the mid-70th percentile in MLB. All three can find strikeouts even with limited velocity.
What they all need to work on heading into 2021 is their command of the zone. Guys like Kremer were all over the place last year and noticeably wild. Guys like Akin and Zimmermann couldn’t command the zone because they didn’t trust their ball. All three are going to find themselves missing bats and posting lower ERAs if they can just trust their stuff and go after hitters.
I’m excited about this Baltimore Orioles rotation heading into 2021. I think nobody is really expecting much out of it, but John Means, Keegan Akin, Dean Kremer, and Bruce Zimmermann all have a ton of potential even being non-ace material. People are going to be surprised at how competitive this Orioles team is and a lot of that is going to come from the contributions they get from the starting rotation.