Bundy and Gausman no longer need to carry O's rotation

No doubt the entire Orioles roster will benefit from having right-handers Alex Cobb and Andrew Cashner in the rotation this season. They combined to make 57 starts and throw 346 innings in the 2017 season. At 3.40, Cashner finished ninth in the American League in ERA last season and Cobb was 11th at 3.66.

Both have been good against the AL East. Cashner has made just eight career starts versus the other four division teams, but is 3-2 with a 2.82 ERA. Cobb has made 36 career starts against the Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays, going 15-11 with a 3.21 ERA.

Cobb has allowed 0.8 homers per nine innings in his career with a groundball rate of 54.0 percent. Cashner has a 0.9 homer rate and groundball percentage of 49.0. They keep the ball in the park and should give players like Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop the chance to record a lot of outs for them.

But the two players that probably benefit most from the additions of this pair and the return of Chris Tillman are right-handers Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman. They now have three veteran leaders to learn from in the rotation and three to help them carry the load. A load they held completely on their own shoulders when spring training began.

Bundy and Gausman both seem ready to take steps forward and still could become the consistent top-of-rotation starters the organization always hoped they would become. But now there is a lot less pressure on the duo. They don't have to do it all, just take care of their own business.

Bundy and Gausman both seem ready to embrace bigger roles with more responsibility. But now they can do it with more proven performers around them. They need to be good, not great, but greatness is always welcome should they reach their respective ceilings.

I digress for a moment, but, by the way, the Orioles now have three first-round picks in their rotation and four starting pitchers drafted among the top 50 selections. Bundy and Gausman were taken No. 4 overall by the Orioles and Cashner was the No. 19 pick in 2008. Tillman was a second-round pick, taken No. 49 overall, in 2006. Cobb was drafted in the fourth round and No. 109 overall in 2006.

In that 2008 first round where the Cubs selected Cashner, the top two picks were Tim Beckham and Pedro Álvarez. Eric Hosmer was drafted third and the Orioles took Brian Matusz No. 4 overall. All four were taken before the Giants drafted Buster Posey with the fifth selection.

But back to Bundy and Gausman. They should directly benefit from the remade rotation. They are still being counted on heavily, but the whole show doesn't mostly rely on them anymore. That might help the duo perform even better in 2018.

The choice of Bundy as opening day starter is a good one in my opinion. I'm not concerned at all about Bundy's spring stats. The kid spent a lot of the spring working on his curve and changeup. He felt he used his slider too much last year. But he'll be ready to go when March 29 comes. Let's not forget that last year Bundy's spring ERA was 7.41. When the season started, he had an ERA of 1.65 and a WHIP of 0.98 in April. Yeah, so much for his spring numbers.

Meahwhile, Cobb has said a couple of times now that he is shooting for a mid-April timeframe to make his first O's start. That might be ambitious, but that is his goal. On 105.7 The Fan yesterday, in an interview with Jim Hunter and Joe Angel, Cobb said he expects his split-change to again be a big pitch for him this season. Previously his key out pitch, Cobb threw his curveball much more often last year and his changeup less. He said his mechanics with that changeup just never got ironed out completely following his Tommy John surgery in 2015 and he became more of a fastball-curve pitcher in 2017. But if the split-change regains its pre-surgery effectiveness, that could be huge for both Cobb and the Orioles.

Last season, batters hit .310 off the pitch and just .232 off his curve. But in the two seasons before Cobb's surgery, batters struggled against the pitch. Hitters batted .220 in 2013 and .191 in 2014 off his changeup. Cobb doesn't throw hard, averaging 92 mph on his sinker in 2017. But if he has both his secondary pitches going this season, the Orioles will see the complete pitcher he has been in his career.

Finally, catcher Chance Sisco had a good day at the plate in Thursday's win over Boston and Camden Yards is no longer a winter wonderland with opening day less than a week away.

4 RBI day for @chance_sis12 & he scored the go-ahead run! 👀#OrangeSpring ⚾️🌴 pic.twitter.com/145i4LP7nq

-- Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) March 22, 2018

Photo 1: Early morning today courtesy of O's photography 📸
Photo 2: Just now via an iPhone📱

One is higher quality, but the other lets you breathe a sigh of relief. #OpeningDay in 1️⃣ week! ⚾️☀️ pic.twitter.com/A0VBI1Wjqd

-- Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) March 22, 2018