Drake started from the bottom and hopes to make headlines

The Orioles roster on opening day won't resemble the one that's utilized later in the month of April. The three open dates on the schedule in the first eight days enable them to carry fewer pitchers and an expanded bench. Don't get too attached to every player who runs down the orange carpet.

Manager Buck Showalter suggested that the Orioles could carry 10 or 11 pitchers because they won't need a fifth starter. Oliver Drake has no idea whether he's going to be part of the bullpen. He made a solid impression late in the 2016 season, but will it carry over to the Ed Smith Stadium complex and beyond?

Drake confirmed last week that he's out of minor league options, in case anyone still doubted it. He doesn't know whether that's an advantage or a detriment and he isn't dwelling on it.

"I really haven't given much thought to it," he said last week on the "Hot Stove Show" on 105.7 The Fan. "I'm going into spring knowing that if I'm going to get a spot, I'm going to earn it, and I have to go out there and pitch well and show the coaching staff that I belong in the big leagues. I don't think I'm going to make the team because I'm out of options or any other way than earning that spot."

It may have largely gone unnoticed, but Drake allowed only two earned runs, walked two and struck out 14 in his last 11 1/3 innings in 2016, a stretch covering all of September and Oct. 1. Adjustments were made, advice was heeded.

"I really just focused on getting ahead early in the count, and once I was comfortable doing that and throwing my fastball for strikes, and quality strikes, not just pitches over the middle where the major league hitters can do some damage, but getting ahead, that really helped," said Drake, 30, a 43rd-round pick in 2008 out of the Naval Academy.

"My split-finger, guys would chase it out of the zone and then I was able to throw that over the strike zone, as well. It was just a lot easier pitching like that. You get ahead, throw strikes, get quick outs and you kind of get the momentum going your way."

The hard part is identifying whether Drake is throwing a splitter or forkball.

"I call it a splitter," he said. "A lot of other people and coaches especially have called it a forkball because it's not your traditional split-finger that's hard and kind of dives. Mine kind of tumbles and moves a lot. But I fiddle with it. I have different ones that can kind of dive out of the zone that I'm looking to get a swing and miss or a strikeout. And then I have another one where I throw it over the plate and try to get it in the zone and hopefully get some weak contact."

The pitch was crucial to Drake's success on the farm - he shared the organization's minor league Pitcher of the Year Award with Mychal Givens in 2015 - but he was reluctant to use it with the Orioles. It took some prodding.

"I think it was in '15 when I got my first experience in the major leagues, we kind of looked at, I was pitching differently at the big league level and it's one of those things I took away from what my strength was in the minors and I had a lot of success throwing the forkball frequently," Drake said.

"I came up originally and just started throwing a lot of fastballs and then we realized, let's do what I do in the minors and what makes me successful, and that is throw a lot of off-speed."

The heater has to be a complementary pitch for Drake at this level. It has to set up hitters, not routinely dispose of them.

"I'm not exactly a hard thrower," he said, "so when I throw my fastball, I have to be consistent with it and really locate it."

Drake left his Massachusetts home and arrived in Florida on Wednesday, almost two weeks before pitchers and catchers are required to report.

"I've always come in knowing that I kind of have to earn a spot, so I'm coming into this spring training just worrying about what I control," he said. "I spent a lot of time this offseason making sure I was ready for this time of the year, so I'm going to go out there and compete and do everything I can to get one of those spots.

"I didn't change much in terms of strength and conditioning. I just focused on, once I started throwing, I was able to be pretty consistent last year at the end of the year commanding my fastball and throwing my split-finger for strikes. And I want to make sure once spring comes that I'm able to do that again."

It's a game of adjustments and Drake is learning to make them, with huge assists from some of the veterans in the bullpen.

"I think the biggest thing is just realizing how consistent you have to be outing to outing," he said. "Coming up, I'm very fortunate that I get to sit in a bullpen with guys like Zach (Britton), Darren (O'Day), Brad (Brach) and Givens. You watch them go about their business and every time they throw they're focused, they're locked in. Warming up to go out to the game, you see it. They're hitting their spots, they're locked in in the bullpen and it translates once they get out there to the game.

"It was a big thing realizing you can kind of get away with not being so focused every time you're on the rubber in the bullpen or in the game in the minor leagues. When you get to the major leagues, every pitch matters."

Today's Super Bowl also matters to Drake.

"I am a Patriots fan," he said, "so I'm excited about this one."

I'll say Patriots 31, Falcons 26. And remind everyone that I picked the exact score of the 2006 Rose Bowl when Texas beat USC 41-38.

In other words, I'm only going to be right once in this lifetime.