The Baltimore Orioles have responded in the best way possible since selling at the trade deadline.
With 52 games left, they are now tied with Tampa Bay for the final Wild Card spot, and they are only two games behind the Blue Jays for second place in the division. At 58-52, they have continued to climb the standings and become a serious threat for a spot in the postseason.
Baltimore Orioles hungry for more
The lineup has filled the void after losing Trey Mancini and the bullpen has done a flawless job replacing Jorge Lopez. As each day passes there’s more and more belief that the Orioles will in fact make the postseason. If they do, Brandon Hyde should be the runaway candidate for AL Manager of the year. This Orioles team is special and has come back from every form of adversity this season.
When you look at the offense, the biggest reason for their success lately is the emergence of their top prospect Adley Rutschman. They have been well above .500 since his call up, and now he’s really coming into his own. He got off to a rough start, but now his OPS is right around .800 and he has five home runs with 19 RBI and two stolen bases. His defense has also been great, and he’s approaching a WAR of three in 63 games. Play that out to a full season and that’s close to seven. Next season he’s going to be an even bigger force for them. On the season, his WRC+ is 127 and his wOBA is 348.
When it comes to the bullpen, Felix Bautista has filled in perfectly for Lopez. He has closed out the last two wins against Toronto and has six saves on the season. He’s a ground ball pitcher getting 43% of his outs that way. His ERA is 1.69 and his WAR is just over one. Bautista has 64 strikeouts in 48 innings which is good for 12 K’s per nine. He walks just 2.5 batters per nine. His strikeout to walk ratio and his ability to keep the ball in the yard has been huge for the O’s. He’s given up just six home runs and was the most surprising bullpen pitcher besides his former teammate Lopez.
It’s time to fully believe in this Baltimore Orioles team. The Playoffs might very well be in its future. What a time to be an O’s fan! They’ve deserved this for years.