Can the Orioles offense be productive with a high strikeout total?

Strikeouts can frustrate fans. The batter failed to put the ball in play and if you can do that, at least you have a chance to get a hit. Even mishit balls like bloops can fall in for basehits. But not much good can come from a strikeout.

Since 2012, the Orioles have ranked among the top five teams in the American League in batter strikeouts three times. They had the third-most strikeouts in 2012, were ranked 11th in 2013, fifth in 2014 and third last year.

The Orioles struck out 1,331 times last season or 8.2 times per game. Houston led the AL with 1,392 strikeouts and Seattle had 1,336. In runs scored in 2015, Houston rated fifth, the Orioles seventh and Seattle was 13th in the American League.

Ranking the O's offense in the AL since 2012:

2012: 712 runs (9th), .311 OBP (11th), 1,315 strikeouts (3rd), 214 homers (2nd)
2013: 745 runs (5th), .313 OBP (10th), 1,125 strikeouts (11th), 212 homers (1st)
2014: 705 runs (6th), .311 OBP (11th), 1,285 strikeouts (5th), 211 homers (1st)
2015: 713 runs (7th), .307 OBP (12th), 1,331 strikeouts (3rd), 217 homers (3rd)

I do feel for the most part that a strikeout is just another out. Repeating, that is for the most part. It can be frustrating to watch a player chase a pitch out of the strike zone, no doubt. Maybe fans feel better if a batter at least strikes out on a pitch in the zone. But for the most part, the strikeout is not much different that a routine fly ball or groundout.

In the above stats listed, it is accurate to point out, however, that the Orioles' highest run-scoring total came in 2013. That was a year where in that four-year stretch, they recorded their best OBP and fewest strikeouts. Maybe it was not a coincidence.

The Orioles had four players with 100 or more strikeouts last season and they add to that Mark Trumbo and Pedro Alvarez. Trumbo has fanned 100 or more in a season four times in his career and Alvarez has done that five times.

The readers on this blog have expressed frustration with the strikeouts here often. They would love to see a batting order more like the Kansas City Royals, a team that can put the ball in play often and keep pressure on the defense.

But while the Royals had a much better OBP than the Orioles last year (.322 to .307), outhit the Orioles (.269 to .250) and struck out 358 fewer times, Kansas City scored 724 runs in 2015 to the Orioles' 713. All that led to just 11 more runs over 162 games.

Perhaps the Royals offense is prone to fewer slumps than one that can produce both a lot of homers and a lot of strikeouts. The readers here that have been critical of the offense in recent years see the O's as too reliant on homers and not good enough in OBP. They are guilty as charged and should be similar this season.

Are we in for another season like that this year? Will the strikeouts frustrate the fans? At the end of the year, will the Orioles offense produce enough runs to win, no matter how they get there?