As spring training begins, five questions about the 2016 season

Orioles pitchers and catchers officially report to Ed Smith Stadium today. Spring training is set to begin. Opening day is April 4. That seems a long time away, but it will be here before we know it.

As a new season begins, five teams are chasing the American League East championship. It is a title won by four different teams the last four years. The Yankees were first with 95 wins in 2012. Then the Red Sox won with 97 victories, followed by the Orioles with 96 and the Blue Jays with 93 last season.

With the fun in the sun set to start, here are five questions concerning the 2016 Orioles:

1. Will the rotation improve?

This is the biggest question for the 2016 season. A much-improved rotation will likely lead the team toward being a contender and something less will lead to, well, something less.

The Orioles scored eight more runs last year than in 2014 - even without Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis - yet the 2015 team won 15 fewer games than the season before. The starting pitching falloff was the biggest reason for that.

The rotation ERA, which was 3.61 to rank fifth in the American League in 2014, was 4.53 last year to rank 14th. While the Kansas City Royals managed to win the World Series with a rotation that rated 12th in the AL, that is most likely not a blueprint for success.

We've talked repeatedly about how Chris Tillman and Miguel Gonzalez need to have bounceback seasons and this is critical for the team, with or without Yovani Gallardo. The O's rotation didn't need an ace to pitch well in 2014. They won't have one this year, but improvement is vital.

2. Will the team stay healthy?

This is a big one for the Orioles and every team for that matter. Last year, Matt Wieters played 75 games, Jonathan Schoop 86, J.J. Hardy 114 and Adam Jones 137, which was his fewest since 2009.

Manager Buck Showalter no doubt will work toward keeping these players on the field more this year. We'll see how big of a load Wieters can carry and whether Showalter provides more off-days for players like Hardy and Jones to get the most out of them.

3. Will the O's offense be too reliant on the home run ball?

The answer to this one is easy - yes, it will. No surprise here. The Orioles lead the majors in homers since 2012, hitting 854, which is 62 more than the next closest team. I wonder how many teams in the majors can feature a lineup with five players that have hit 30 homers at least once?

But we also know that with a homer-laden team comes frustration at times. When they are bashing the longball, the offense looks great. When they are not, they are prone to slumps, which could lead to losing streaks.

The search for improved on-base percentage is ongoing. Perhaps Chris Davis, Manny Machado, Hyun Soo Kim and Dexter Fowler, if acquired, make a big difference.

The Orioles had a team OBP of .307 last year and that was ahead of only Chicago at .306 and Minnesota at .305 among AL teams. The league average was .318.

4. Will Machado have another huge season?

He filled up the stat sheet last year. Machado hit .286/.359/.502 with 30 doubles, 35 homers, 102 runs, 86 RBIs, 20 steals and an OPS of .861. It is time for him to find his way into the middle of the batting order.

Machado's OBP and OPS have increased every year he's been in the majors. He ranked 10th in the AL last year in homers and 11th in slugging. Can he duplicate or even exceed those stats? It could be tough, but it will sure be fun to watch him try.

5. Who will surprise us this year?

Sometimes surprises come when a player performs better than expected. Sometimes it happens when a player performs worse. Who will surprise us in 2016?