The Traders Arena Blog

Last year the Orioles finished in the cellar of the AL East with a record of 68-93.. It really was not even fair for the Orioles last year, having a rare division with 4 teams over 85 wins each, with 2 teams over 90 wins. However, it was not long ago when the Baltimore Orioles were in fact in 1st place of that powerhouse AL East. They were in first for the month of April and some of May, and then they had dropped off. People talked how they were surprising teams, little did they know that the Rays would in fact be the team to really surprise. The Orioles have made a few moves this off-season, as well as trying to make a push for local star player, Mark Texeira. They recently signed SP Mark Hendrickson to a deal to get an experienced pitcher on their staff. They are still in the market to add 1 more pitcher says their GM. They also traded C Ramon Hernandez to the Reds for Utility Player Ryan Freel. Freel may have a hard time finding a position, however since he plays OF and IF, he should be used early and often. The Orioles have some great prospects to look forward to in the upcoming years, most notably Matt Wieters. Wieters is a near MLB ready talent who many say will become the next great catcher in the game. He is highly touted and with the trade of Ramon Hernandez, it seems like he will be the opening day starter. They also have some nice pitching prospects in Chris Tillman and Jake Arrieta.

Here is their projected position players this year:

C: Matt Wieters: As mentioned above, Wieters is a top 5 prospect. He has a great bat and should be one of the best hitting catchers in the years to come. He will likely be the starter this year after the Hernandez trade and no one is in his path. He could realistically hit over 20 HRs this year and have a very good season. He has a few good hitters in front of him like Melvin Mora and Aubrey Huff to help his skills.

1B: Aubrey Huff: Aubrey had a great year last year, surprising some, hitting .304 with 32 HR and 108 RBI. That is a very respectable season from a 1B and if he can put those numbers up again, he will help his team for sure. He will be a threat in the middle of their order.

2B: Brian Roberts: Roberts, who was in trade talks to the Cubs all of last year, had a down year last year. He hit just below .300 with 9 HRs and 50+ RBI. Not a great season but not terrible. He did have 40 SB though however and is a staple at the top of their lineup.

SS: Cezar Isturis: I am not a big fan of him so I would like to see them try out Ryan Freel in the position since he is a utility man.

3B: Melvin Mora:  Mora had another decent season last year hitting in the 280s, with 23 HR and 100+ RBI. A very good season by Mora will be needed this year if they expect to contend.

OF: Adam Jones, Luke Scott, Nick Markakis: Nick Markakis quietly becoming a top OF in the AL. He had over 15 assists in the OF last year in addition to hitting  .306 with 20 HR and 87 RBI. He will be a star for the upcoming years and has a great future. Adam Jones was a top prospect for the Mariners and was traded to the Orioles in the Erik Bedard deal. He is still raw and learning, but he is expected to put up some big numbers in the next few years. Luke Scott is a veteran who had a decent year last year hitting in the .240s with 23 HR and 60+ RBI, not great, but again not terrible.

Here is their projected pitching rotation:

SP: Jeremy Guthrie, Greg Olson, Mark Hendrickson, Radhames Liz, Chris Waters/Matt Albers: The Orioles are still looking to get another veteran pitcher to help out this young staff. Jeremy Guthrie and Liz are projected to be nice pitchers in a few years but are still young and raw. This experience should help them out a bit. The rest of their rotation is not too good, but in the next year or two will get some help when Chris Tillman and Jake Arrieta, both top prospects in the majors, come up and help.

CL: George Sherrill: Sherrill last year surprised many by having 30+ saves. He started out very hot, got injured and had a good season. He was practically a throw-in from the Bedard trade and made that pay of dividends. He is a good option at closer although he should cherish the opportunities he gets as their will not be that many.

My expectation for the team: They probably will finish near or in the cellar again this year. The AL East got even stronger this year with the Yankees acquisitions and I can not see the Orioles being able to compete against the Yanks, Red Sox, or Rays.  If they got to 75 wins, I would be surprised.