When the Orioles and their fans think about some of the young hitters in their lineup producing in the future, as they did in 2021, Cedric Mullins and Ryan Mountcastle immediately come to mind. But outfielder Austin Hays should be in that mix, too. And long-term, he might prove to be the best player of this group.
He is certainly toolsy, as a scout might say. He's got plenty of ways to beat you. With his bat and power. With his glove, arm and speed. Yep, plenty of tools.
O's fans first got a...
While the Orioles were encouraged by the performance of several hitters in their minor league system, especially players at higher levels who had big years, including Adley Rutschman, Kyle Stowers and Jordan Westburg, the group coming behind this group also made its mark during the 2021 season.
We are talking mostly about the 2021 draft class headed by outfielder Colton Cowser, selected No. 5 overall in round one in July out of Sam Houston State.
Most of the draft picks got their feet wet in...
It happened 55 years ago today at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. The Orioles beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 to complete a four-game World Series sweep built on stunning pitching. The Orioles used just three starters and four pitchers total in the entire series to vanquish the National League champions, who were led by ace pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale.
But it was the Baltimore quartet of Dave McNally, Moe Drabowsky, Wally Bunker and Jim Palmer that pitched the Orioles to the first of...
Only 20 times since 1901 has a big league team lost 110 or more games in a single season. Two teams did that this year - the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Orioles.
You lose that much, you have earned the No. 1 draft pick. But Arizona, thanks to a walk-off homer on the season's final day, is not going to get one next year. That is, barring something in the new collective bargaining agreement that changes that.
When teams tie for a spot in the draft - in this case the No. 1 pick - the previous...
More honors were announced Wednesday for the Orioles' top two prospects, catcher Adley Rutschman and pitcher Grayson Rodriguez. They keep adding hardware after each had very strong full seasons after missing minor league game action for the 2020 season due to the pandemic.
Rodriguez was named the Pitcher of the Year for the Double-A Northeast and Rutschman was named the No. 1 major league prospect in the league. Both also made the league's postseason All-Star team. Earlier, they were ranked...
It is not easy to remember now. But for Ryan Mountcastle, the 2021 season, one that ended with him pushing to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award, did not begin well.
At the end of April, Mountcastle, 24, was batting .196/.229/.286./.515 with one homer and seven RBIs. He was chasing pitches big time. It seemed like he would need a 50-inch bat to get to some of them.
Was this a sophomore slump? Would he need to be sent to the minors to work it out?
No and no.
It was a hitter that...
As the Orioles work to improve their pitching in 2022, there remain a few ranked pitching prospects the club has yet to see pitch in Baltimore. And there are others, like Zac Lowther and Alexander Wells, that we saw get their feet wet this year. Enough to know how tough it is to pitch in the American League East.
The Orioles still play more than half their games outside of the East, this is true, but the division remains the best in the baseball and maybe the toughest in all of sports.
Topping...
The Orioles took two of three games from the Boston Red Sox in their final home series of 2021. They allowed just 10 runs in those three games. But it didn't go as well in the final road series at Rogers Centre.
The Orioles gave up 11 homers in three games - and 28 runs in the series - in getting swept by Toronto. The Blue Jays hit nine homers the last two games in posting 10-1 and 12-4 wins.
Any improvement the Orioles look to make in 2022 must start on the mound. They will need their current...
It got lopsided early. And while the Orioles' season began with a bang when they swept Boston at Fenway Park in April, it didn't end that way.
The Toronto Blue Jays, in a game they had to have, blew out the Orioles 12-4 today to complete a three-game sweep that ends the Orioles' 2021 season.
They finished 52-110 and with the second-most losses in club history, behind only the 115-loss 2018 Orioles.
Arizona was tied late in its game today. A Diamondbacks win and the Orioles and Arizona would...
For the Orioles, the final day and game of the 2021 season has arrived. They play the Blue Jays this afternoon at Rogers Centre to conclude the year and then head into the offseason and the winter.
They have lost the first two games of this series, by 6-4 and 10-1 scores. Toronto opened a 6-0 lead Friday night before a late O's rally. The Blue Jays hit five homers in the first five innings yesterday, opened a big early lead and won by nine runs.
The O's have gone 3-2 in their last five...
He may have given up seven runs in three innings on Saturday afternoon - and that tied his career high for runs allowed - but Orioles lefty John Means closed out another strong year.
In 2019, he emerged as the top starter on the team. In 2021, he confirmed for all of us that he remains that and was not a one-year fluke.
Or that the earlier season was going to be an outlier in a longer career. He missed a few starts with injuries, but Means showed again that he is the ace of this staff.
Until he...
The Orioles play the penultimate game of the 2021 season this afternoon. After a 6-4 loss Friday night, they are back at Rogers Centre for Game 2 of the season-ending three-game series.
Toronto scored twice on Danny Jansen's homer in the third inning and then opened a 6-0 lead, scoring four runs in the last of the sixth. The Orioles pulled within 6-4 in the eighth, both avoiding their 11th shutout and pushing the Blue Jays to the point they needed closer Jordan Romano to get five outs. He...
Orioles area scout Brandon Verley noted he was in a very strange position on Tuesday at Camden Yards. He's used to sitting in the stands at ballparks for long hours watching players. He is not used to sitting in the O's dugout surrounded by reporters and taking questions.
But there he was, talking to us about being named the club's Jim Russo Scout of the Year Award winner.
"It's an incredible honor," Verley said. "You know, as a scout, we are never really in this position, in the...
The final weekend and series of the 2021 season has arrived. The Orioles play three games starting tonight at Rogers Centre and the offseason and winter will follow Sunday's Game No. 162.
The O's take momentum north of the border after winning two of three from the Boston Red Sox, beating Boston 4-2 Tuesday night and 6-2 last night to wrap up their home season. They held the Red Sox to 10 runs in the series. Boston began the series leading the majors in doubles and extra-base hits, second in...
Before their win last night, the Orioles had just two American League East series wins this year, and none at home.
Then left-hander Alexander Wells held Boston to one run over six innings as the Orioles won 6-2 to take two of three from the Red Sox. The loss left Boston at 89-70 and tied with Seattle for the No. 2 AL wild card. Those two teams are one game ahead of Toronto (88-71), which hosts the Orioles tonight.
The O's are on a bit on a pitching roll as this season winds down. They have...
Well, this was somewhat unexpected. An Orioles team with the worst rotation ERA in baseball facing the Boston Red Sox. When this series began, Boston led the majors in doubles and extra-base hits, were second in slugging, third in OPS and fourth with 5.15 runs per game.
They had posted wins over the Orioles this year by scores of 14-9, 11-6, 8-1 and 16-2.
And then they got shut down pretty well by three O's rookie left-handers.
First it was Bruce Zimmermann going four innings Tuesday. Then Zac...
The Orioles would love to win their final home game of the 2021 season. Tonight, they get their chance when they host the Boston Red Sox in the series and homestand finale. The O's have a chance to win this series after they won 4-2 Tuesday night but lost 6-0 last night, shut out for the 10th time this season.
The Orioles (51-107) fell to 26-54 through 80 home games with last night's loss, where they were held to four hits in 32 at-bats and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. They...
On an otherwise not-so-great night in Birdland - in a 6-0 loss to Boston with the Orioles held to four hits - the best development of the night for the O's was the pitching of 25-year-old lefty Zac Lowther.
It has been a tough year in some respects for Lowther, who began the 2021 season ranked as the Orioles' No. 11 prospect, per MLBPipeline.com, and No. 19 via Baseball America.
He had a strong resume on the O's farm coming into this season, one that included his leading all O's minor...
After a night where their pitching shut down the Boston Red Sox, holding one of baseball's best offenses to two runs on 3-for-30 hitting, the Orioles look for another win tonight at home versus their American League East rival.
The O's 4-2 win last night snapped a six-game losing streak against Boston. The Orioles began the year sweeping three games in Boston in April and then lost 12 of the next 13 between the teams before taking Tuesday's series opener.
The Orioles (51-106) improved to...
After a season in which the Orioles farm system was ranked No. 1 in the majors by MLBPipeline.com and No. 2 by Baseball America - reaching heights they had never before seen - some of the players responsible for such a lofty ranking took home some hardware at Oriole Park on Tuesday night.
In a pregame ceremony, the O's honored catcher Adley Rutschman and outfielder Kyle Stowers as co-winners of the Brooks Robinson Minor League Player of the Year Award, and right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, who...
