A few takes on Machado and Schoop, the rotation and more

A few thoughts as the hours to opening day dwindle and the excitement builds before the first pitch of the Orioles' 65th season in Baltimore.

* It will be fun to watch the duo of shortstop Manny Machado and second baseman Jonathan Schoop. Clearly, they are energized to play next to each other on the infield. What they can do on both offense and defense could be special to watch at times.

Machado has both the motivation to prove he can play well with the glove at shortstop and to have a big season in his walk year before free agency. Schoop would like to prove his big 2017 season will now become the norm.

Schoop's Wins Above Replacement (WAR) have increased each year since 2014 according to Baseball-Reference.com - from 1.3 to 1.4 to 2.4 to 5.2 last season. It was a season when he produced more doubles than Machado (35 to 33), more RBIs (105 to 95), a higher slugging percentage (.503 to .471) and a higher OPS (.841 to .782).

But while Machado produced just 3.4 WAR last year, three times he's exceeded 6.7 or higher. In each of those years - 2013, 2015 and 2016 - he finished in the top 10 in the MVP voting.

The Houston double play tandem of Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve produced a combined 14.6 WAR last year, as Altuve won the American League MVP award. He produced an OPS of .957 with Correa at .941. The O's duo may have to go some to catch this pair on offense. But Machado and Schoop seem determined to show fans that when they discuss the best DP combos in the game, they should make the short list.

No doubt some fans will want to focus on the fact that this may be Machado's last year as an Oriole. But hopefully not to the extent that they forget to enjoy watching what unfolds on the field with this pair. It could be something to watch.

* The Orioles rotation should be much improved this year, but how much better will it be? The 2014 rotation produced a 3.61 ERA to rank fifth in the AL as the Orioles won 96 games and an AL East title.

No doubt Chris Tillman is a wild card here and a return to his previous form would be huge. But it might be hard to predict which of the other four pitchers will have the best season in 2018. Will it be Dylan Bundy, Andrew Cashner, Kevin Gausman or Alex Cobb? All four finished in the top 18 in ERA last year among qualifying pitchers.

All four fared well in 2017 against AL East competition. Gausman went 7-5 with a 3.24 ERA. Bundy was 6-5 with a 3.80 ERA. Cashner went 3-1 with a 2.81 ERA and Cobb was 6-4 with a 3.42 ERA.

Cobb's numbers improve when you remove his 4.44 ERA in four starts last year against the Orioles. Then, in nine games against Boston, New York and Toronto, he went 4-3 with a 2.96 ERA.

Those are solid numbers. Who wouldn't sign up for that right now from that quartet? The fact that it is not unreasonable for all four pitchers to have solid seasons provides the most hope that this rotation is a lot better. The Orioles, on paper anyway, might have a chance to stay in the game and win almost every night. That prospect just wasn't there every night last year as O's fans know all too well.

* How much will Chance Sisco and Anthony Santander play? The two young Orioles both had strong springs and earned roster spots. Santander began spring as someone the club had to keep on the roster for 44 days to satisfy his Rule 5 requirement. He ended it as someone that had to keep on the roster.

Santander can also get some DH at-bats with Mark Trumbo headed for the disabled list. He showed improved defense this spring, so Buck Showalter should not have concerns about using him in left and right field. Since Santander played so well in spring, it makes sense to get him in the lineup early in the year to see if he can keep that going. No reason for him to sit too often. Sisco hit .333 last year and .429 this spring. Kind of makes you want to see more of what he can at the major league level.