Andrew Stetka: Sink or swim for Kevin Gausman

There were a ton of very important storylines entering the season for the Orioles, and two weeks in, not a whole lot has been solved or changed.

The biggest one in my mind was the rotation, but it has quite a few tentacles to it. The first is how the overall performance of the unit will compare to last year, which I think many can agree was strong down the stretch. There's no doubt that a dropoff is expected among this group. The more obvious question was the simple fact that there are six starting pitchers on the staff for five spots.

I don't think it was a very big surprise that Kevin Gausman was left out of the rotation to start the year, but that's where things have become messy and complicated. In four outings out of the bullpen this season, Gausman has logged eight innings and given up six earned runs, including two homers. He has walked five and struck out six, and aside from yesterday, has frankly looked less than stellar in each outing. Everyone tends to gawk at Gausman's fastball, which has hit the 100 mph mark a few times, but that really shouldn't be the story here.

The Orioles have quite the history of botching the development of pitching prospects. I start to wonder if we are seeing the start of another similar case. There have been many examples of pitchers who were supposed to be rotation stalwarts that never quite worked out. Look at the current bullpen for a few like Zach Britton and Brian Matusz. There were many others like sixth-round picks John Maine and Jason Berken. There's former fifth-round picks Rick Bauer and Hayden Penn. Point to fourth-round selection Brad Bergesen or third-round pick Matt Riley. As you work your way up, you find first-round guys like Adam Loewen and Matt Hobgood. None of these players quite had the clout or ceiling projected for them like Gausman, and some like Britton have even been productive in other roles, but there's a definite trend of draft-pick blunders. Whether it was from a talent standpoint or a developmental one is anyone's best guess.

I don't think anyone argues that Gausman has talent. There's a certain way to approach the development of a top pitching prospect, and I question the one the O's are currently taking with him. If he is best served in the bullpen, leave him in there. Perhaps the early-season struggles will work their way out and he can provide a contribution in a long-relief role. I don't think that's the endgame for Gausman.

At this point, I'd rather see him pitch in Triple-A out of Norfolk's rotation. It has been pointed out, specifically by MASN's own Steve Melewski, that Gausman has been throwing a curveball early this season for the first time since his college days at LSU. I don't have any opposition to Gausman throwing a curve in addition to the slider that he's been working on. The issue comes from the fact that Gausman isn't sure if he's throwing the curve in addition to the slider, or in lieu of it. A pitcher should know what's in his repertoire when he heads to the mound.

Gausman needs to focus on becoming a frontline starter, and he's not going to figure out how to do that in the bullpen. There's obviously no room in the Orioles rotation right now, but there's always a chance that an injury crops up or ineffectiveness hits one of the current starters. In the meantime, Gausman is being wasted in the bullpen. He has actually been a detriment to the club so far.

He won't help the big league club in Norfolk, but perhaps with an eye on the future and the long-term, that's where he needs to be. Even if the stay only lasts a few weeks, it's something that would benefit him. He needs to learn to be a dominant starter. If that's what's expected of him by the franchise, he isn't going to figure it out while sitting in the bullpen. He goes to the park each day not knowing whether he's pitching. If he's not going to be optioned, he should be in the starting rotation. If the Orioles want Gausman to be a top-of-the-rotation starter, it'd be a good idea to get him in a routine very soon.

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.