Will 2016 be a big season for Kevin Gausman?

Kevin Gausman knows the Baltimore-to-Norfolk shuttle so well he could drive the route forward and backward. And probably with his eyes closed. But as he looks toward 2016, he hopes this is the season he gets the ball every fifth day and is in a major league rotation for the entire season.

Gausman made five starts for the Orioles in 2013, 20 the next season and 17 among his 25 outings last year.

"That is what you work to get to. I'm just ready to take the ball every fifth day and be one of those guys that can throw 180 to 200 innings each year," Gausman said at FanFest.

Manager Buck Showalter said Gausman may be "ready to pop" this year, meaning taking a nice step forward and having a big season. Gausman is aware it is an important year for him to move closer to becoming a top-of-the-rotation starter and possibly a future ace.

"It's huge," he said. "Obviously, I want to bounce back. I feel like last season I learned a lot, and at the end of the year, I felt like I was pitching my best. When the season ended, I felt like I was just getting started. Being on the DL kind of hurt me a bit with my development."

Gausman began the 2015 season working out of the bullpen and then spent time from May 8 to June 20 on the disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis.

"Last year was frustrating, being on the DL for the first time," he said. "But those experiences show you what weaknesses you have and kind of test your faith also."

Gausman went 4-7 with a 4.25 ERA last year after going 7-7 with an ERA of 3.57 in 2014. Even though his ERA went up, several other peripheral numbers improved. His strikeout rate per nine innings increased from 7.0 to 8.3 and his walk rate went down from 3.0 to 2.3. His WHIP decreased from 1.315 to 1.228. He gave up fewer line drives and got more ground balls.

"It will be nice to be throwing my breaking ball this whole offseason and go into spring training knowing I'm going to be throwing a curveball," Gausman said. "Last year, I started throwing my curveball a week before spring training was over. Going into the season having those reps will be huge for me."

Gausman is 14-19 with a 4.21 ERA in three seasons with the Orioles. But he said he learned a lot along the way since his debut season in 2013.

"I think the biggest thing is (your) routine," he said. "When I first came up, every start, I had adrenaline and I was ready to go. That kind of fizzled out a bit and I've gotten used to it. I've tweaked my routine in a lot of ways so I can throw 200 innings. It is nice to have guys like Ubaldo (Jimenez) and (Chris) Tillman that have been around for a good bit. They are right there to answer questions."