{"id":1529,"date":"2021-05-12T14:10:53","date_gmt":"2021-05-12T18:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/riverhillcurrent.com\/?p=1529"},"modified":"2021-05-12T14:11:35","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T18:11:35","slug":"these-guys-arent-that-bad-early-season-orioles-evaluation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/riverhillcurrent.com\/these-guys-arent-that-bad-early-season-orioles-evaluation\/","title":{"rendered":"These Guys Aren’t That Bad–Early Season Orioles Evaluation"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Gabe Kamins\u00a0\u00a0Current\u00a0<\/em>co-Editor-in-Chief<\/p>\n

After a shortened 2020 season that saw the Orioles finish with a 25-35 record, the club turned its attention back to rebuilding. The following offseason, Baltimore shipped away star shortstop Jose Iglesias to the Angels, and parted ways with two of their most consistent hitters in second baseman Hanser Alberto and first baseman Renato N\u00fa\u00f1ez. With the Orioles getting rid of some key veteran pieces and failing to replace any of them with significant players, 2021 was expected to be another disastrous season. However, as of May 1st, the Orioles hold a respectable 13-14 record and have been very competitive despite a lack of big-name talent. Let\u2019s take a look at some of the reasons that the Orioles have been able to hang in there against some of baseball\u2019s best throughout the first month of the season.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cedric The Entertainer<\/strong><\/p>\n

After struggling greatly to open his MLB career, Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins needed to change something up if he wanted to stick with the team. This past offseason, he committed to ending his switch-hitting experiment, and instead focused on solely batting from the left side. He also attempted to \u201cslow the game down,\u201d as he had been pressing too much in the past. It\u2019s safe to say that this has worked for Mullins, who leads the league in hits (35), is hitting .337 with 4 home runs, and is playing stellar defense in center field. Lifelong Orioles fan and current River Hill student Ryan Miller noted that Mullins, who is also the Orioles\u2019 speediest player on the roster, \u201chas been super consistent and fun to watch every night,\u201d even if the team is struggling. It will be difficult for Mullins to keep up this incredible pace throughout the long season, but Mullins has undoubtedly been the Birds\u2019 best bat thus far. Only 26, Cedric Mullins could be manning center field in Camden Yards for years to come.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

John Means Business<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>Orioles fans were confident that former All-Star pitcher John Means could return to form in 2021, but nobody expected that Means would be a legitimate Cy Young candidate after the first month of the season. Means is currently 3-0 with a 1.70 ERA and 0.84 WHIP, and is on pace to finish with numbers that have been rare to see from an Orioles pitcher over the last decade. Even fans of other teams are taking notice of Means\u2019 dominance. \u201cAlthough I am a Nationals fan, John Means\u2019 ability to command his pitches has impressed me so far,\u201d explained River Hill senior Alex Shim, who plays baseball for the school and is a long-time watcher of the MLB. The fact that Means is a lefty makes him even more valuable for a Baltimore team that is looking to lock down starting rotation spots for the future. Every contending team needs a true ace, and Means has been just that in 2021.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Plethora of Pen Options<\/strong><\/p>\n

Baltimore\u2019s bullpen was surprisingly serviceable in 2020, and they have taken the next step so far in 2021. Adam Plutko, Travis Lakins Sr, Dillon Tate, and Cole Sulser have all been solid righty options out of the bullpen, while Paul Fry and Tanner Scott have been getting the job done as lefty specialists. C\u00e9sar Valdez has provided more drama than one might want from a closer, but his numbers speak for themselves (2-0, 1.42 ERA, 6 saves). With the club\u2019s starting rotation still a bit shaky outside of John Means, the bullpen will have to continue to perform at a high level if the Orioles want to continue to stack wins.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In order to get over the hump, Baltimore will need its infield play to improve with both the bat and glove, as well as see its starting pitchers go deeper in games. However, no Orioles fan should be complaining about 13 wins in 27 games. As the team continues to develop minor league talent in hopes of truly contending within the next couple of seasons, near-.500 ball from the major league club should be celebrated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Gabe Kamins\u00a0\u00a0Current\u00a0co-Editor-in-Chief After a shortened 2020 season that saw the Orioles finish with a 25-35 record, the club turned its attention back to rebuilding. The following offseason, Baltimore shipped away star shortstop Jose Iglesias to the Angels, and parted ways with two of their most consistent hitters in second baseman Hanser Alberto and first…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":1530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/riverhillcurrent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/orioles-logo-1588197203.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/riverhillcurrent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/riverhillcurrent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/riverhillcurrent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/riverhillcurrent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/riverhillcurrent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1529"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/riverhillcurrent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1532,"href":"http:\/\/riverhillcurrent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1529\/revisions\/1532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/riverhillcurrent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/riverhillcurrent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/riverhillcurrent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/riverhillcurrent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}