O's Opening Day starter on high expectations and pressure pitching in a walk year

This spring the announcement of the Orioles' Opening Day starter seemed to come earlier than it has most years. But why wait? There were no surprises when manager Brandon Hyde told reporters Sunday in camp that right-hander Corbin Burnes will be first up March 28 versus the Los Angeles Angels.

The Orioles acquired their new ace Feb. 1, and he will indeed pitch the first game of their 2024 season, and many more this year, they hope.

During a lengthy one-on-one interview last Friday in the Baltimore clubhouse, I asked Burnes what kind of club he sees from his new teammates.

“It’s a great young group,” said Burnes, 29, the 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner. “I think the best part about this group is they are so young. It’s a team that had guys that were in their first or second year in the big leagues last year, and so getting that experience at the big league level is unmatched. Even guys that only played 15-20 games, you just can’t replicate that anywhere else.

“So, coming into this year, guys have a year or two of that experience. You learn how to play at this level, you learn how to prepare and bounce back each day to be at your best. The fact this group is so young and hungry to keep competing versus being an older group that’s done it for so many years, these guys are still trying to figure out their spot in the game. That’s exciting. They are going to play their butts off. A team that won 101 games last year and could be even better now.”

Led by a pitcher that ranks among the game’s best the last four years.

MLB leaders in ERA since 2020:

2.86 – Corbin Burnes
2.94 – Max Scherzer
2.98 – Shane Bieber
3.06 – Zack Wheeler
3.08 – Gerrit Cole

Burnes is still getting to know his new teammates and continuing to feel more and more comfortable as an Oriole.

“I think we’re getting closer. It is one of those things you’d like to see within a week that you fit in perfectly, but it’s one of those things that it will take time to build a relationship with everyone," Burnes said. "Some of these guys have played together for years, but it’s been good. Definitely feeling more and more like I belong.”

Burnes could be a one-(year)-and-done guy with Baltimore. He is a free agent at the end of this year and has said he’d like to test the free agent market. A massive contract could be in his future. 

I asked Burnes if there is pressure to perform in his walk year?

“The way I look at it, the last two years have been contract years as well, going into arbitration," said Burnes, who will earn $15,637,500 this season. "As well as you pitch is how well you will get paid. So, for me, it’s not really any different than it has been the last couple of years. As far as I’m concerned, I’m going out there preparing to make every start. And every month, every year is the same for me.

“I’m preparing as I would the week before, whether it was my first start in the big leagues, my first Opening Day or it’s 10 years from now. I will be doing the same kinds of things. For me, it’s going through my process, going through my routine. Know I am as prepared as I can be and then go out and have fun and do what I can to win.”

Burnes’ tremendous four-year run as a pitcher is such that he also leads the major leagues since 2020 in batting average against at .197, with both Cole and Scherzer at .211. He leads the majors in OPS against in that span at .571, with Wheeler at .620, Cole at .626 and Scherzer .628. He leads the majors in WHIP (1.00), with Cole and Scherzer at 1.01.

The expectations will be enormous for this pitcher. That is something, he said, he never thinks about or stresses about.

“I don’t. For me, I am always trying to be the best in the game,” Burnes said. “So, what everyone else’s expectations are for me are probably nothing compared to what I expect of myself. I am always continuing to work, always feeling like there are little places I can get better. Even after winning a Cy Young. Even after throwing eight shutout innings. Expectations for me may be as high as you want, but I don’t think they will ever be as high as I have for myself.”

Checking some numbers through Sunday:

* After hitting a grand slam yesterday off Toronto lefty Yusei Kikuchi in Dunedin, Jackson Holliday is batting .286 with a .917 OPS. Among his eight spring hits, he has two doubles, two triples and a homer.

* Colton Cowser hit another homer Sunday and is 9-for-20 (.450) with four homers and nine RBIs, leading the club in homers and tied with Coby Mayo for the team RBI lead this spring. Cowser's OPS is 1.627.

* In his first four spring games, Gunnar Henderson is 7-for-11, batting .636.

* The 2023 Jim Palmer award winner, right-hander Chayce McDermott, pitched three more scoreless innings in Dunedin Sunday, getting 11 whiffs on 21 swings while averaging 94.5 mph on his fastball. In 6 2/3 scoreless this spring, he has fanned 10. I wrote this about him and his tweaks to help improve his control and command.