The AL East: Baltimore Orioles

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It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, we're back to full swing today as I begin a look at all 30 teams around Major League Baseball. Today, we'll focus on the AL East.

No question that for the most part of last season the O's were pretty much viewed as a laughing stock. Enter one Buck Showalter. While he didn't exactly lead any of us believe they could be contenders for even this season, he did change the culture within the organization. That's an important step as the O's go forward.

The O's did go out and snag a few players in the offseason. All have experience and all can play.

Of course the two big names were that of Vladimir Guererro and Derrek Lee.Vlad experienced a rebirth last season in Texas and Lee started in Chicago and was dealt to Atlanta for their playoff run. Both bring still productive bats and Lee can still play a steady first base.

The left side of the infield was revamped as well. Josh Bell will be given some time to mature as the O's traded for Mark Reynolds to play third.Yes, there will be a lot of strikeouts. You could be concerned of his severe drop in batting average (.198) in 2010. He's always a threat to go long. And J.J. Hardy was also added to the roster to play short even though Cesar Izturis was brought back.

Add Brian Roberts and this is a better than average infield. Roberts neck? Oh, the training staff will be able to deal with his sore neck and he has said he will have them make the call during spring training. He also stated he would be a go if it were the regular season.

The outfield may appear a little thin to some. From left to right, you have Felix Pie, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis. It is a little thin and not because of Pie either. Not Jones. Markakis.


I've been waiting for this guy to enter the world of star. It hasn't exactly materialized. He's not a bad player. He's pretty darn good. This could be another nice season from him, too. If the pattern holds true, expect around 20 HR and 100 RBI while hitting .300. But for 2012, expect a drop off in HR and RBI. That's the cycle with Markakis.

And don't forget Matt Wieters behind the plate. The former #1 overall prospect according to Baseball America has seemed to figure out the hitting aspect. He also threw out 31% of would be base thieves last year.

What may be the Achilles of the Orioles is the starting pitching. It's not bad, but it isn't good either. It's young for the most part. Jeremy Guthrie, the elder statesman at 31 (he'll be 32 in early April) is atop the rotation with  Brain Matusz (24), Jake Arrieta (25 in early March) and Brad Bergesen (25) round out the first four slots. Justin Duchscherer and Chris Tillman should battle for #5. None have an overly impressive stats to bear, but with the exception of Guthrie, all are still in either their second or third season (or some point therein).

If Tillman wins the spot, the O's will put one of the youngest (if not the youngest) starting staffs in baseball. Tillman turns 23 in April. If Duchscherer is healthy (finally), he could snag #5. Tillman is still that young. He's done well at Triple-A (19-13, 3.06 ERA, 1.197 WHIP), but has struggled at the b ig league level. You almost want Duchscherer to get the spot so Tillman can work just a bit more and even relieve some pressure to perform.

The bullpen should be no major worries. Showalter has three closers to select. Kevin Gregg was signed as a free agent from the Toronto Blue Jays. Mike Gonzalez is healthy again. And the incumbent closer, Koji Uehara, returns. You can't forget yet another free agent (and another former Toronto hurler) in Jeremy Accardo.

All things considered, the Orioles look like they could provide a headache or two to their divisional opponents. Post-season? Not seeing it, but I do think this team could win no less than 70-72 games. It will depends a lot on that starting staff.