Baltimore Orioles Expect Breakout Stars to Replicate Success in 2024
The Baltimore Orioles need help on the mound heading into 2024. With 101 wins and an impressive young core, the Orioles are in a prime position to be one of the best teams in baseball throughout the coming years.
If there was one question, however, it was how they could get better on the mound. Baltimore has impressive arms in Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez, but not much after that.
Having an arm that can do what Bradish did is a huge plus for the Orioles. Bradish wasn’t expected to have the type of season he did in 2023 and if he can continue producing, Baltimore finds themselves in a much better spot than they would’ve been.
MLB.com’s Will Leitch wrote about his unexpected breakout stars of 2023. The 27-year-old from Peoria, Arizona, found himself on the list.
“Bradish was a below-average starter for the upstart 2022 Orioles, a young guy with some potential who still got knocked around for a 4.90 ERA in 23 starts. The Orioles had enough rotation issues heading into 2023 that he got another shot this year, and the stuff the Baltimore brass had seen brewing emerged, big time,” writes Leitch.
“Bradish firmly established himself as the team’s ace, raising his strikeout rate, dropping his walk rate and cutting his home-run rate almost in half. The result was a 2.83 ERA — a full two-run drop — and a fourth-place finish in AL Cy Young Award voting. The Orioles still need some rotation help, but with Bradish and fellow breakout Grayson Rodriguez, they clearly have two spots locked down.”
Bradish enters the 2024 season as the top arm on the staff and has a chance to be the Orioles’ No. 1 for the entire season. With rumors flying about the team’s interest in ace-caliber starters, that could change. Either way, Baltimore has a legit arm and can build upon him in the rotation.
Continue to expect big things from the Orioles’ young gun.
