Andrew Stetka: O's rotation exceeding expectations thus far

Entering this season, there was little debate over what the biggest concern surrounding the Orioles would be. While there were questions about the corner outfield spots and the offense's reliance on the home run, the starting rotation was always the most glaring question mark. There are still major doubts over what the rotation will become as 2016 plays out, but the unit deserves a little credit for the way it has performed in recent days.

Specifically, Chris Tillman, Ubaldo Jimenez and Kevin Gausman have stepped up in a big way. With full recognition that some of what these guys have done looks more impressive because of lowered expectations, just over a month into the season I've been pleased with how they've performed. More often than not, they are giving the O's a chance to win games with their strong offense and stout bullpen.

When it comes to Tillman, perhaps no one has more riding on this season. After a fairly abysmal 2015 campaign, there was a lot of pressure for the 28-year-old entering the year. The words "bounce back" and Chris Tillman became as synonymous as the words "polarizing candidate" and Donald Trump. It's not like Tillman didn't know he struggled last year. He was very blunt about his ERA that ballooned to nearly 5.00 a short two years after he was awarded an All-Star appearance. Each of Tillman's starts presents its own high-wire act. Even yesterday, after giving up three runs in the first inning, he was able to balance himself and deliver the O's 6 1/3 innings of quality ball. These types of circus-like performances are going to be at a premium going forward.

Jimenez is perhaps the ultimate box-of-chocolates pitcher. You really never know what you're going to get with him. He's been bad at times this year, specifically in his May 1 outing against the White Sox when he gave up six runs in 4 2/3 innings. He's also been very good, like in his first outing where he allowed just one run over seven innings and struck out nine against the Twins. The same could be said about his most recent where he tossed eight innings of two-run ball in Saturday's win over the Athletics. Like Tillman, it hasn't been all good, but it's been more good than bad. Jimenez still doesn't have the numbers to heap a ton of praise on him, but he's showed in a few outings that sometimes he provides the O's with an indulgent, caramel-centered chocolate type of performance. Others, he's more the piece of chocolate that is filled with some type of creamy cherry or raspberry filling and a weird combination of nuts. It just doesn't taste as good.

The third, and perhaps most important piece to this rotation puzzle, is Gausman. He obviously got a late start to the regular season after dealing with a shoulder injury, but since entering the rotation has looked great. He's looked like the exact type of pitcher the Orioles need in their starting five. The 25-year-old - and it is important to remember he's still just 25 - has allowed only three earned runs in 19 innings thus far. He went toe-to-toe with Masahiro Tanaka in Thursday's outing against the Yankees, putting up zeros for eight innings. There is little doubt who the most important part of the rotation is this season, and he's giving the folks who are reluctant about this team's ability to make a playoff run without a ton of pitching depth something to think about.

If history tells us anything, it's that the most important thing these starters can provide is quality innings. They've already started doing that. These three are the only pitchers who've logged starts of at least seven innings at one point this season. More of that will go a long way in providing relief for the bullpen, which has been overworked in years past. No one expects these starting pitchers to pull the majority of the weight for the Birds this year. Then again, no one expected the O's rotation to post a top-five American League ERA two years ago when they won the division. It hasn't been all that pretty to start the season, but it sure has been better than anyone expected.

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.