A few more O's facts and opinions

Time for more Orioles facts and opinions as we get closer to their spring training opener on Saturday at Ed Smith Stadium versus Boston. 

Fact: The Orioles acquired Craig Kimbrel in December with the intent that he serves as the club’s closer in the 2024 season.

Opinion: Despite the fact that Kimbrel is a 9-time All-Star and ranks eighth all-time with 417 saves, there is some concern about him around Birdland.

And while yes, he did struggle last year in the NL Championship Series, there are reasons to believe Kimbrel will do a good enough job for the Orioles. Experience for one – few have as much as a closer and he may blow some games, but it won’t be because he is not up to the moment.

But after a slow start last year, he pitched very, very well, going 7-5 with a 2.21 ERA from May 9 on. In that time, batters hit just .162 off him and his OPS against was .538. By the way that is still not up to Bautista dominance as last year he held batters to a .144 average and .460 OPS. But no one said they were getting another Bautista.

Last year Kimbrel’s 33.8 strikeout percentage was in the top three percent of all MLB pitchers. He fanned 12.3 batters per nine innings. I also liked that he had success versus left (.608 OPS against) and right-handed (.612) hitters.

There is also this note: Should Kimbrel struggle or not do the job to the club's liking, they could look to add another closer at the trade deadline. Nope no guarantee that one is available, but usually you can find ‘pen help at the deadline.

Fact: MLB Network ranked Gunnar Henderson as the No. 34 best player in the majors on their top 100 right now series.

Opinion: That is lofty status for the 2023 AL Rookie of the Year, who posted an OPS of .814 over 150 games. He finished tied for 16^th in the AL in homers with 28, second in triples with nine, 11^th in slugging at .489 and tied for 15^th in OPS.

I can see Henderson having a season where he is much higher than No. 34. I can still remember a scout in Arlington, Tex., the day after the O’s season ended last October, saying of Henderson that he was on his way to becoming the best player in baseball.

The excitement for O’s fans here is that in a homegrown product they have a great talent, one that no doubt is driven to get better and just might be scratching the surface on his vast potential.

MLB Network will complete these rankings this week and have announced players No. 21 through 100 thus far. O's right-hander Corbin Burnes is No. 29 (one spot ahead of Blake Snell) with Kyle Bradish at No. 73 and Anthony Santander No. 86.

Fact: The O’s 40-man roster churn sure has players coming and going lately. The latest to arrive, acquired Sunday from the Yankees for cash considerations, is lefty pitcher Matt Krook.

Opinion: While he gave up 11 runs in four innings in the majors last year, getting four callups by the Yankees, he had strong numbers in Triple-A. He pitched out of the bullpen after being used often as a starter since his first pro season in 2016.

Krook was 1-1 with a 1.32 ERA (5 ER/34.0 IP), allowing 10 hits, with eight total runs, 26 walks, and 55 strikeouts in 27 games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Krook’s .090 batting average against was the best in the minors for pitchers with at least 30 innings.

In three years at Triple-A, he has a 10.8 strikeout rate but a 5.3 walk rate. Last year at Scranton he had 14.6 K rate but a 6.9 walk rate.

He has two options remaining and could contend for a lefty bullpen spot. If we assume Danny Coulombe and Cionel Pérez will have Opening Day jobs from the left side, the other southpaw contenders include Keegan Akin, Nick Vespi, Bruce Zimmermann and Krook. Among the non-roster lefties in camp are Tucker Davidson, Luis González, Cade Povich and Andrew Suárez.