Sitemap - 2022 - Maximizing Playoff Odds - A Baltimore Orioles Newsletter

A year on from their epic losing streak, the Orioles have proven they're different. The Gunnar Henderson situation will show whether that extends beyond the field.

The Orioles have played a half-season since Adley Rutschman's debut. He's more than delivered so far.

Inside how the Orioles are helping new pitching prospects Cade Povich and Chayce McDermott acclimate to the organization

What we talk about when we talk about Jorge Mateo

So, is it still not a probability the Orioles make the playoffs, or are we supposed to think they can?

What are the Orioles' top hitting prospects working on at Norfolk as they wait for a big league opportunity?

I asked Austin Hays why he thought the Orioles started winning. His answer manifested on the field last night.

To challenge their hitters to improve, Orioles minor league coaches go to great lengths to develop 'nasty stuff' for batting practice

Colton Cowser left Aberdeen "ready to take off," and has at Bowie. He's done so by embracing the Orioles' hitting program in a way that was difficult early.

The more the Orioles trade their stars away now, the more comfortable they'll be continuing it. So what will the impending competitive window actually look like?

The Orioles trading Trey Mancini was hard enough. Talking about it the same way as the three years of rebuilding trades doesn't help.

Inside the adjustment that helped Orioles infield prospect Joey Ortiz become "a dude" at Bowie

The Orioles' went .500 in this instructive 10-game division swing. What did it teach us?

How the Orioles discovered Noah Denoyer and helped make the undrafted free agent one of their breakout prospects

The non-emotional reason why trading Trey Mancini shouldn't be a priority for the Orioles

Can the Orioles' trade hauls over the last few years give any hints as to what they could be seeking before the deadline?

Re-ranking the Orioles' top prospects after a half-season and the draft

Four questions that will define the Orioles' second half

The Orioles' flurry of high pitcher draft picks are a natural progression of the holistic pitching program they've built largely without them

Analyzing the Orioles' (quite familiar) picks on the first day of the 2022 MLB draft

Four things to remember once the Orioles are on the clock in Sunday's MLB draft

Examining the Orioles' recent draft strategy in a different light

Does the Orioles' surge to the middle have the potential to carry them past that? The answer will inform how they go forward this summer.

DL Hall at his best is 'like playing video games.' Did the Orioles' prospect's 14-strikeout effort prove he's ready for The Show?

Meet June's Orioles minor league All-Stars, as chosen by me

Why the next month could be the most telling stretch since the Orioles' rebuild began.

What the Orioles' hitting coordinators learned on a recent two-week trip through the affiliates.

Colton Cowser, Connor Norby, and Coby Mayo are now in Bowie. How quickly does history show the Orioles could promote them again?

Why Gunnar Henderson being so age-advanced ahead of his 21st birthday matters for him and the Orioles at this pivotal point in their timeline

Which aspects of the Orioles' relative improvement bode well for the future?

How Orioles prospect Jordan Westburg's emphasis on pulling the ball has boosted his 2022 power surge

Tyler Wells' approach to potentially doubling his innings has been to halve his strikeout rate. It's working, but is it permanent?

On an Orioles team that's not good enough to avoid the trade deadline chatter but too good for that to feel right

The Orioles claiming another infielder, Jonathan Araúz, off waivers is a reminder that part of this process should soon be over

How two Orioles' minor league coaches balance their biomechanics backgrounds with the daily grind of games

Orioles prospect Creed Willems gives off serious Kenny Powers vibes. But it's his glasses that have made the difference at Delmarva.

So, about that Orioles ownership lawsuit

Four observations from a four-hour trip to see the Orioles' young prospects at Delmarva

Orioles prospect Carter Baumler, after two years off the mound, now crams his development into one start each week

Meet May's Orioles minor league All-Stars, as chosen by me

Grayson Rodriguez has always been a special pitching prospect. His injury shows the pitfalls even the best can struggle to avoid.

How Orioles top pick Colton Cowser is getting back to himself at Aberdeen — and getting some more sleep, too

On caring, not caring, and the intersection of two former Orioles top picks

Four things I think matter from the first quarter of the Orioles season

From Statcast with love: Breaking down data for Orioles prospects whose performances were tracked last week

How I made peace with missing Adley Rutschman's Orioles debut, but shared the joy in other ways

From 'digging holes and playing golf' to the Orioles bullpen in just over a year, Logan Gillaspie's path is as unique as his arm prep

Gun show: A look at all the little factors behind Gunnar Henderson's breakout in Bowie

All the Orioles' work to build a team worth adding Adley Rutschman to has created one. Now, they just need to call him up.

Can the Orioles keep pitching well with such low strikeout rates?

From the Delmon Double to the Oriole Way: How the Orioles teach fundamentals to a new generation of prospects

Why Orioles prospect Coby Mayo left 2021 thinking even better was in store for his full-season debut

Adley Rutschman is now a step away from his Orioles debut. Will he save the offense, or is it saving itself in his image?

New breakouts are underway on the Orioles farm. A year on from minor league baseball's return, whose stock rose the most in that time?

How Orioles prospect César Prieto shed his contact-hitter reputation to lead the organization in home runs

Meet April's Orioles minor league All-Stars, as chosen by me

On Kyle Bradish's Orioles debut, his climb through the system, and what it means for the rest of 2022

At Aberdeen, top Orioles prospects Adley Rutschman and DL Hall demonstrate a quality that's rightfully growing scarce: patience

Could the Orioles' 2021 draft class already be better than anyone thought? Their hitting coach breaks down the progress.

Regression is coming for the Orioles' bats and arms, and for better or worse, the two might be linked.

Orioles prospect Darell Hernaiz returned to Delmarva having learned plenty of lessons in 2021. And they're paying off.

'We understand what it's like': How the Orioles are supporting Delmarva's international core

Orioles pitching prospect Moisés Chace could be the next teenage phenom in the Delmarva rotation

The Orioles' RISP woes have been drastic, but not enough to materially change their season so far

How John Means' injury could serve as an accelerant for whatever the Orioles already planned this season

How Félix Bautista, the Orioles' unique new bullpen weapon, rose from an internal unknown to the big leagues

For the Orioles, a home opener where their on- and off-field ambitions were front and center

Opening Day in baseball purgatory: The Orioles are no longer rebuilding, but still no good.

Finally, an Orioles season where the opening weekend may not be as good as it gets.

On Mike Elias' challenge to the Orioles' tweener pitchers, the last source of hope that aren't solely on his account

The Orioles' latest win-later trade, and its impact on the club's more immediate concerns.

How the Orioles' starter gambit with Tyler Wells could foretell the future of their pitching program

The Orioles are $100 million off the league-average payroll. What would closing that gap have looked like this winter?

The Orioles sent top prospects to minor league camp this week. Did Mike Elias shed any light on when they'd debut?

Another Orioles molehill, and another occasion for the fanciful and fatalists alike to forecast what the future holds.

The four Orioles spring training nuggets that fascinated me the most this week

The Orioles are four months from another No. 1 overall pick. Expectations for who it could be, even now, could lead to disappointment.

Spring training injuries to top Orioles prospects Adley Rutschman, Heston Kjerstad show the next player development frontier they're pursuing might be the hardest

So the Orioles don't want to give out long-term free agent deals. Here's how they can elevate their payroll to improve despite that.

A recent insider’s guide to following Orioles spring training as an outsider

For the Orioles, baseball's new CBA means their rebuild rolls on – whether they plan on getting good, or having it last forever

Major FOMO for minors camp: Orioles prospect DL Hall, in MLB's lockout limbo, left 'itching for baseball.'

Meet Eric Garfield, Orioles fans' eyes and ears at minor league camp in Sarasota

Carlos Correa and the Orioles? We all could use a smile, and got one with the mere thought of it.

Coaching with an analytics lens: How the Orioles' development coach role is enhancing their farm system and their player development department

Scrap the scrap heap: When baseball resumes, a plea for the Orioles to pass on past-it pitchers

I've never experienced baseball labor issues like this before, and it's as bad as everyone said.

Meet Chandler Couch, the Orioles' scouting coordinator carving out a crucial role for herself in their draft prep

Fixing a hole: Concerts aside, are the Orioles going to bring fans back when the team is good?

The Winter of Coby Mayo: On growing prospect buzz, and what the Orioles' prep hitter success could mean for 2022

Tip of the spear: How Buck Britton learned and grew as a manager through this Orioles rebuild

From the O's to overseas: How a better CBA for young players could impact the allure of playing in Asia

What's he like? As MLB opens clubhouses for 2022, the inability to answer that question with Matt Harvey is uncomfortable

Meet Branden Becker, the Orioles' minor league hitting coach seeking to give their prospects instruction that wasn't available to him

On Cedric Mullins' Crohn's disease revelation, the fragility of a young career, and MLB's insistence on keeping it that way

Austin Hays' case as the next breakout Orioles is built on the end of 2021, and a lot of hope. What is each worth?

The Orioles are almost exclusively future-focused, and I'm (maybe?) complicit. How does that work?

How one feature of baseball's CBA negotiations could impact Adley Rutschman and the Orioles

Just because Yusniel Diaz can't be at the Orioles' minicamps doesn't change the feeling this rebuild has left him behind

Meet Di Zou, the Orioles' bridge between the past and future of their burgeoning analytics department

The Orioles got an infielder into the top-100. What will the next sign of progress for the farm be?

As if I'd pass up a shot at one last Chris Davis contract anniversary story

The connection between the Orioles' Camden Yards wall call and another international haul

The Orioles are changing the dimensions at Camden Yards. Here are some unproductive attempts at quantifying the impact.

How the Orioles' commitment to Latin American scouting elevated their Dominican Academy along with it: "This is what you devoted all your time for, to see this grow"

The Orioles are about to add another big-money international class. What have the millions spent in Latin America yielded so far?

A literal work in progress: Are new pitches for the Orioles' rookie starters promising, or part of the problem?

The Orioles' new hitting coaches can't speak to their players. So how are they preparing for 2022?

Inside the swing change that turned around Orioles prospect Adley Rutschman's impressive 2021