Andrew Stetka: Gausman's importance never higher to O's

It'd be insane for anyone to claim that the fate of a contending team relies on one player over the next two months, and that's especially the case if that player only takes the field every five days, but I can't help but shake the feeling that Kevin Gausman is of the utmost importance to the Orioles down the stretch. That may be a lot of pressure to put on a 24-year-old, who only has 31 career starts under his belt, but being inserted into the rotation on a full-time basis right now carries a ton of weight. Saturday's outing against the Tigers wasn't the best we've ever seen Gausman, but it was an extremely important step in establishing himself as "one of the guys" in the O's rotation. I've long been a proponent of sticking Gausman in the rotation and letting him work through whatever struggles he may find. He's finally getting that chance, after about 18 months of riding the Norfolk shuttle. Gausman has logged less than 50 innings in the majors this season, so with about two months to play, there should be plenty left in the tank for a potential playoff run.

Prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, I was fully on board with any plan the Orioles had to trade Gausman. His value may never be higher than it is right now as a "prospect" and he would've brought a good return. To be fair, I was also in favor of the O's dealing away pending free agents like Chris Davis, Matt Wieters and Wei-Yin Chen so long as it made the team better in the long run. Now that all of that has come and gone, the Orioles are obviously still in a "win now" mode (not that they couldn't have still won this season without those players). Over the last few weeks, I briefly had visions of Gausman going down the same road as Jake Arrieta and simply not working out in Baltimore before having success in another organization. The team's developmental woes are a key factor in all of this. It seems though, that it was never in the realm of possibility that the O's would trade Gausman. All the rumors and reports of him being involved in trade talks were just that, rumors and reports. Gausman remains a key to the rest of the season. It's no secret that the Orioles lack a true top-of-the-rotation starter, so now that the LSU grad has been handed a key to that rotation, it's important that he help drive the bus toward October.

Part of Gausman's postgame comments on Saturday said a lot about his mindset in helping the Orioles down the stretch. He spoke about feeling more comfortable and "knowing when he's going to pitch" as reasons for his successful outing. He's no longer worried about making his next start for Norfolk. There's no fear of being demoted in order to make room for someone in the bullpen. This week's trade of Tommy Hunter also alleviates much of that struggle because it allows the bullpen to have players with options. Gausman also mentioned that he's feeling much more comfortable pitching at Camden Yards. He said he used to have a fear of giving up home runs because it's such a small ballpark. He points to being a different pitcher than when he first came up to the majors, which is obviously a good thing because it points to a growth and a maturity. Gausman said he likes to be more aggressive with certain hitters now rather than avoiding them. Perhaps a trust in his own capabilities is what's needed to push him to the next level.

The Orioles are clearly going to need every bit of not just their 25-man roster, but even their full 40-man roster down the stretch if there are any hopes of getting to the postseason. Sitting right in the mix of both the wild card and division races, many eyes will be on the newly-acquired Gerardo Parra to help spark the offense and additions like Mychal Givens to the bullpen. As we saw last season with the AL East champions though, the rotation remains a key. The O's got big pitching performances from their starters throughout the season, and it's part of what led them all the way to the ALCS. Now that he's locked in to a rotation spot, Gausman is going to be a key contributor to that part of the team's playoff push.

Andrew Stetka blogs about the Orioles for Eutaw Street Report. Follow him on Twitter: @AStetka. His thoughts on the O's appear here as part of MASNsports.com's continuing commitment to welcome guest bloggers to our little corner of cyberspace. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.