{"id":48421,"date":"2025-04-15T07:56:03","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T07:56:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=48421"},"modified":"2025-04-15T07:56:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T07:56:03","slug":"good-news-finding-positives-in-orioles-poor-start-to-the-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=48421","title":{"rendered":"GOOD NEWS: Finding positives in Orioles\u2019 poor start to the season"},"content":{"rendered":"

A not so nice 6-9 start to the season has some in Birdland worried, but it\u2019s not all bad for the O\u2019s.<\/em><\/p>\n

Things are not going well for the Orioles.<\/p>\n

The offense has been streaky. The rotation is among the worst in baseball. And although the bullpen has been good, it failed one of its few true tests over the weekend. On top of that, injuries are piling up in all areas of the roster.<\/p>\n

With all of this bad news, it can be easy to get down on the 2025 Orioles. But even the most pessimistic of fans would agree that it\u2019s still early.<\/p>\n

And while the AL East is shaping up to be the competitive gauntlet it typically is, this time it may lack the sort of juggernaut at the top that we tend to expect.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s take a step back from the ledge for one blog post and look at the few things that have actually gone right for the Orioles to this point.<\/p>\n

Maybe this exercise will make us feel at least a little bit better about the team\u2019s outlook for the summer ahead.<\/p>\n

Mullins is the man<\/strong><\/p>\n

The magic of a contract year seems to be working for the Orioles\u2019 center fielder. Not only has he been the best hitter on his own team to this point, but he might be the game\u2019s top center fielder of the moment.<\/p>\n

Across 14 games Mullins is hitting .277\/.414\/.553 with three home runs, two stolen bases, and a 184 wRC+. It\u2019s a well-rounded offensive onslaught that few in the game can match.<\/p>\n

Mullins is also turning back the clock on some of his physical outputs. The 28.6 feet per second sprint speed he is currently boasting is his best since 2020, and it puts him in the top 10 percent of all runners in MLB.<\/p>\n

And while his 89.7 mph average exit velocity is just about league average, it is the highest he has ever averaged in his career.<\/p>\n

But perhaps the most eye-popping stat so far has been Mullins\u2019 patience at the plate. His walk rate is a career high 15.5% and his strikeout rate is a career low 17.2%.<\/p>\n

We know Mullins is capable of impressive offensive performances. After all, he went 30\/30 in 2021 and has been an above-average hitter in three of the last four seasons. But if did feel like this sort of production was in his rearview. Maybe we were wrong?<\/p>\n

Adley\u2019s bat is back<\/strong><\/p>\n

There were genuine concerns after Adley Rutschman\u2019s horrific second half in 2024 that something was wrong with him. The Orioles denied that an injury was the cause, so we were all left to wonder what happened.<\/p>\n

But that all feels like a distant memory given how the catcher has begun 2025. Rutschman\u2019s .259\/.344\/.463 batting line looks quite similar to his full season numbers in 2023, when he was widely considered the best hitting catcher in MLB.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s done it by reverting back to an approach that he seemed to abandon in 2024. His launch angle has lowered. His walks are back up. His strikeouts are down. And in general, he just looks more comfortable in the box.<\/p>\n

As of this writing, Rutschman is on an eight-game hit streak, during which time he has posted a .353 on-base percentage and walked (four times) almost as often as he has struck out (five times).<\/p>\n

Eflin is doing his job<\/strong><\/p>\n

Entering the season with Zach Eflin as your ace is not ideal. That\u2019s not a slight against the 31-year-old. He has always been a competent pitcher, but an ace he is not. He was thrust into the role by default when the Orioles\u2019 pursuit of a number one fell short during the offseason and injuries took their toll during the spring.<\/p>\n

Through three starts, the Orioles have to be pretty happy with the veteran. He\u2019s got a 3.00 ERA and has tossed a \u201cquality start\u201d in each of his three trips to the mound. The strikeout numbers are worryingly low (4.00 K\/9) and his .214 BABIP probably isn\u2019t sustainable. But he\u2019s limited the self-inflicted damage (0.50 BB\/9) and been exactly what this questionable rotation needed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Of course, as this is being written Eflin is on the IL with a right lat strain. The hope is that the stay will be brief. He missed just two weeks with right shoulder inflammation last August, so perhaps this will be similar? Fingers crossed.<\/p>\n

The bullpen has shown off its depth<\/strong><\/p>\n

The timing is rough here. Sunday\u2019s performance from the bullpen was poor. Both Gregory Soto and Keegan Akin struggled.<\/p>\n

But that probably gives the unit\u2019s overall numbers a more realistic tinge to them.<\/p>\n

As a group, the Orioles\u2019 bullpen has a 3.58 ERA, 3.40 FIP, and 4.04 xFIP. Those are all above league average, and they have come while their closer, F\u00e9lix Bautista is still being handled with kid gloves and building himself back up.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew has been pretty solid. Seranthony Dom\u00ednguez is yet to allow an earned run and is striking out 10.29 per nine.<\/p>\n

Soto, including his bad showing over the weekend, still has impressive numbers. Over 6.2 innings he has a 1.87 xERA, 2.08 xFIP, 12.15 strikeouts per nine, and 2.70 walks per nine. Yennier Cano is yet to issue a walk. And shoutout to Bryan Baker for barely making this team and turning in a solid run (1.23 ERA, 11.05 strikeouts per nine through 7.1 innings).<\/p>\n

If Bautista can get even closer what he was in 2023, this unit could step up another level. Or maybe they even add an arm at the deadline, provided the team\u2019s recored improves by that point. Regardless, this is a group with several late-inning options.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not something that every team can claim, and a rare spot where the Orioles may have a leg up on the competition in the pitching department.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A not so nice 6-9 start to the season has some in Birdland worried, but it\u2019s not all bad for the O\u2019s. Things are not going well… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":48422,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nGOOD NEWS: Finding positives in Orioles\u2019 poor start to the season - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=48421\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GOOD NEWS: Finding positives in Orioles\u2019 poor start to the season - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A not so nice 6-9 start to the season has some in Birdland worried, but it\u2019s not all bad for the O\u2019s. 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