2011 Baltimore Orioles Season Preview and Predictions

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The Baltimore Orioles suffered through their 13th straight losing season in 2010 and finished with a 66-96 record. It didn't help matters that the Orioles began the season just two-16. The Orioles went through 3 different managers last year, but lastly identified their man in Buck Showalter. The team responded pretty well when he took over, posting 34-23 record over their final 57 games. The future looks bright with a lot of young pieces in location, but folks have been saying that in Baltimore for fairly some time now. Take a look below for my MLB predictions on how they will finish this season.

Projected Lineup

The Orioles revamped the middle of their order with the offseason additions of HD Vladamir Guerrero and Derek Lee, but its tough saying what these two veterans will bring to the table in 2011. Lee brings Gold Glove defense at initial, and if he can just remain wholesome he figures to be a big improvement. Guerrero had an awesome run with the Rangers last season, hitting .300 with 29 residence runs and 115 RBIs, but you have to wonder if he can maintain those numbers up at age 36. Baltimore also acquired third baseman Mark Reynolds, who hit 32 house runs with the Diamondbacks, but he also hit just .198 with a ton of strikeouts. Luke Scott really should benefit from getting some assist about him, as he hit .284 with 27 dwelling runs in effortlessly his most productive year at the plate. The most significant piece to the Orioles offense is veteran leadoff hitter Brian Roberts, but he managed to play just 59 games last season.

If he can avoid finding hurt and come close to his career numbers, the Orioles offense really should be in for a massive turnaround. Perfect fielder Nick Markakis is a doubles machine, finishing fourth in the league with 45 last season. Markakis didn't hit a ton of house runs, but if he continues to hit the gaps you will not hear significantly complaining from the Orioles. The two players to watch out for are center fielder Adam Jones and catcher Matt Wieters. Jones hit a career-high 19 dwelling runs and has continued to get superior in every season. Wieters hasn't fairly lived up to his fist round selection, finishing with just 11 dwelling runs in 2010, but like Jones, the prospective for a major season is there. The last piece to the lineup is shortstop J.J. Hardy, who was added in a trade. Hardy's stats were way down last year, hitting just six property runs with 38 RBIs, but is capable of turning items about, as he hit 50 residence runs over 2007 and 2008.

Projected Rotation

What is stopping the Orioles from competing in the loaded AL East is their lack of confirmed starters, but there is some prospective for this unit to rebound off a poor 2010 performance. Jeremy Guthrie cemented his status as the ace of this staff, going 8-four with a 2.76 ERA in the second half of the season. If he builds off those numbers, he could surprise a lot of many people with his numbers in 2011. Yet another guy who appears on the verge of a major year is Brian Matusz, who went 10-12 with a four.30 ERA in his rookie season. Jake Arrieta is an additional starter coming off a solid rookie campaign, and the Orioles are hoping he can improve off a good finish, where he posted a 3.78 ERA over his final eight starts. Baltimore had high expectations for Brad Bergesen in 2010, as he went 7-5 with a three.43 ERA in 19 begins as a rookie in 2009, but he definitely struggled in his second season, going 8-12 with a 4.98 ERA. Chris Tillman and Justin Duchscherer figure to compete for the final spot in the rotation, but it's hard to expect much out of either of these starters.

2011 Projection: 5th Spot AL East

If the Orioles weren't playing in the AL East, it would not be surprising to see them make a playoff run with the talent they have on board. Challenging to not like the additions or Gurerreo, Lee, and Reynolds to add pop at the plate and leadership in the clubhouse to this young team. The Orioles will score runs, but stopping opposing teams from scoring even far more will be the challenging component. They are counting on too many ripe starters in their rotation, and their bullpen has confirmed to be unreliable. Kevin Gregg may well add some stability there, but in the end pitching is going to be their downfall.