October 4th, 2016. The Toronto Blue Jays face the Baltimore Orioles in a tiebreaker wildcard game as both teams finished the regular season with an 89-73 record. Blue Jays won the game 5–2 in the 11th inning when Edwin Encarnación hit a walk-off three-run homer off Ubaldo Jiménez. Arguably the most controversial call in Orioles playoffs, Zach Britton, the Orioles’ closer and 2016 American League Reliever of the Year who won the Rivera-Rel award pitched to a 0.54 ERA and did not appear in the game. The Blue Jays advanced to the American League Division Series to face the Rangers for the second consecutive time in the postseason while the Orioles are left with devastation and heartbreak.

The Orioles who hoped to contend the following season were left with a 75-87 record and failed to reach the postseason during their 2017 campaign. Frustration brewed in Baltimore as hopes of making it back to the playoffs seemed far from reality. Little did they know that a 75-87 win campaign was the highest win total Baltimore would see for 5 years (2020*) 2018 was the ugliest of their horrid stretch they went 47-115 equal to a .290 win and by far a devastating time to be a fan of the orange and black. Superstar Manny Machado was traded to the LA Dodgers during the trade deadline and any promise they had at turning it around completely went through the window. The Orioles swallowed their pride and started the teardown of the club. Besides Machado, starting pitcher Kevin Gausman was traded to the Braves, star closer Zach Britton packed his bags to the Bronx and Jonathan School departed to Minnesota. It wasn’t supposed to be a pretty few years but they hoped to get the pieces they needed to collect, remain in the position they were in, and bolster their farm system.

Before the 2018 season, the Orioles ranked the 23rd best farm system headlined by OF Yusniel Diaz (who never made it to the majors), Ryan Mountcastle (their current 1B), LHP DL Hall (traded for Corbin Burnes), and current Orioles LF Austin Hays. Nonetheless, they didn’t have a star player headlining their farm. That’s until the following season at the 2019 MLB draft when the Orioles were rewarded with the #1 overall pick and used it on Oregon State catcher; Adley Rutschman. In his last season playing in the NCAA, Adley slashed a .411/.575/.751/1.327 in 57 games played. Hitting over .400 is remarkable but isn’t crazy to do in college ball.

With a stellar 2019, Orioles decided to take him first and hoped to have him lead the future of the Orioles staff for years to come. Adley wasn’t the only superstar to be drafted in 2019 to make an immediate impact for the Orioles once called up. 2nd round pick 42nd overall, the Orioles pick shortstop, Gunnar Henderson from John-T-Morgan Academy out of Selma Alabama. As a senior, he was named the state player of the year after batting. 559 with 17 doubles, nine triples, 11 home runs, 69 runs scored and 75 RBIs while stealing 32 bases. The Orioles had the steal of the draft with catcher Adley Rutschman and shortstop Gunnar Henderson. The Orioles also drafted shortstop Joey Ortiz in the 4th round of the draft and OF Kyle Stowers. For now, they were in the ugly but the future was bright.

2019 was another disastrous season for them but slightly better than 2018 where they finished with a record of 54-108 a mark 7 games better than their last season. This was also the beginning of Brandon Hyde’s tenure with the O’s as Buck Showalter was let go following the 2018 season and wouldn’t become an MLB manager until the 2021 offseason when Steve Cohen signed him to a 3-year deal to be the manager of the Mets. 2019 was the step in the right direction led by star DH Trey Mancini who broke out with 35 bombs and a 134 OPS+ and John Means who had a 3.60 ERA and 12-11 record in 27 games started. In a season where they finished at the bottom of the barrel, Means provided much-needed rotation help which earned him his first all-star nod.

Regardless of the two stars on their team the Orioles still sucked, on the bright side it was another high draft pick the O’s were banking on would be successful. They managed to get the #3 overall pick in the 2020 draft and used it on Arkansas OFer Heston Kjerstad. In 16 games in 2020, he had 30 hits, 20 RBIs, and slashed .448/.513/.791 for an OPS of 1.304. Short sample due to the COVID-19 virus getting underway but he proved himself worth being picked #3 overall. Since then with two years in the minors under his belt Heston has slashed .309/.385/.492/.877, he seems like he will provide damage to an already strong lineup for the team in 2024.

It was the second year for manager Brandon Hyde and 2020 left another year of misery. The pandemic-shortened season led them to a record of 25-35 and was all they had of play that year. While the team overall sucked it also was the season some of their stars broke out. Leading the 2020 team in WAR was RF Anthony Santander with (1.6) Its a small small but reflected well on what he would bring to the team shortly. He slashed .261/.315/.575/.890 for an OPS+ 35% above league average. Again, it’s a sample of 37 games but it was a sure bright side in a pretty weak team. Left fielder Ryan Mountcastle was a stud too in the small sample of 35 games. He slashed .333/.386/.492/.879 for an OPS 37% above league average. It’s not much to chuck over as everyone had inflated stats in the 60-game stretch but provided some hope for their future.

2020 also was the year the Orioles rose the prospect rankings to #11 overall headlined by star catcher Adley Rutschman and LHP DL Hall. The future was very promising for the Orioles. The minor league season was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic. Flash forward to 2021 and Adley is ranking between double AA and triple AAA he produced 25 home runs, and 75 RBIs with a slash line of .285/.397/.502/.899. He would only play 20 games the following season for the Norfolk Tides before being called up and making his presence pop. Gunnar Henderson was also electric in 2021, he produced a slash line of .258/.350/.476/.826. With 17 home runs, 74 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases it was only a matter of time before he would add a dangerous threat to the MLB.

Ranking ranking and ranking, the Orioles minor leagues were heating up big time. The Orioles didn’t make much noise in the draft except for left-hitting OF Colton Cowser drafted out of a small college in Huntsville Texas. In his first year of pro ball, Cowser slashed .375/.490/.492/.892. He’s a .300 hitter with some pop. He hasn’t made much of an impact on the major league team but looks to prove it for himself during spring training this year. Back to the majors and it’s another year of 5th place. The 5th year in a row of a horrible season they were seen as the laughing stock of the MLB with no end in sight. However, 2021 was the breakout year for CF Cedric Mullins who led the team with a 5.9 WAR, the highest WAR for an Oriole since Machado put up a 7 WAR campaign in 2016. He broke out as the team’s CF and received his first all-star nod, he put up 22 homers and was almost a .300 hitter during the season, he was 37% better than the league average. John Means was also super solid, with another season of an ERA below 3.62, with 26 starts and 134 strikeouts he was 23% better than league average. He was a rock in their rotation and was a surefire bet that he would continue at his stellar abilities. Regardless the Orioles went 52-110, they had 3 consecutive seasons of their lowest win count, and looked like nothing would change. All they can do is keep their head up and hope for a strike of luck. And 2022 proved those who wait will be rewarded. 2021 proved it by rewarding the Orioles with the #1 farm system in all of baseball.

The offseason has come and the Orioles hope to look turn over a new leaf. Not only did the Orioles have the #1 farm system they were also rewarded with the #1 overall prospect none other than catcher Adley Rutschman. Adley was on fire in 2021-2022 already a plus defender at the hardest position in baseball started to turn things around with his bat. After struggling to hit above the Mendoza line hitting a career worse .254/.451/.423/.774 turned it up big the next year, raising the question of whether the Orioles make the call.

2022 finally seems like all the hard work they’ve done will finally pay off. This was the year of a new era of Baltimore baseball, the city just didn’t know that yet. Flash forward to the 2021-2022 offseason and the Orioles make an unusual statement, Mike Elias and the FO were frustrated with the run production teams had against the Orioles. The long ball at Camden Yards has been at an all-time high these past 5 seasons. So Elias and Co decided to move back the OF fence in hopes of fewer balls leaving the park and better run prevention. They decided to move the LF wall 30 feet back as it was the better range for OF Austin Hays to catch.

Their fanbase didn’t take lightly of this thinking it was a stupid idea and that the Orioles will still be trash regardless of moving the left field wall back. However, times are about to change and this Orioles team showed one thing about this team; they always believed and never gave up. 2022 has started and things could not look more rough for the Orioles. With Robinson Chirinos behind the plate, the Orioles were lost and were in for another subpar season. The 2022 Orioles were on pace for a 65-97 record until Mike Elias made the call that brought Adley Rutschman up to the majors. The Orioles were sitting at a 16-24 record 8 games below .500 but as soon as Adley took over the whole dynamic of the club evolved. It is corny to put all the praise onto one young 24-year-old catcher but with Adley, the Orioles went 67-55 the rest of their 2022 campaign. The lineup started to click as 7/9 everyday hitters in the lineup were hitting above league average. Mountcastle was continuing to defy the odds as a late-round draft pick turned into a star-caliber player. Anthony Santander was solidifying himself as a cornerstone piece of the franchise as he put up a career-best in home runs (33), RBIs (89), and hits (138) he showed a big time that those who wait get a massive return.

The starting pitching was still shaky led by longtime veteran Jordan Lyles who led the team in wins (12) but also in losses (11), he put up a 4.42 ERA in 179 innings and made all 32 starts. It wasn’t pretty but he was an innings eater when the Orioles desperately needed it. The only two pitchers who had an ERA below 4.00 were RHPs Austin Voth and Dean Kremer who had an era of 3.23 or better. The rest of the staff struggled and combined for an ERA over 4.30. Now you may ask yourself with a rotation this deep in the mud how could the Orioles possibly pull off their best winning season in over 6 years? Simple. It’s the lockdown bullpen the Orioles established for their campaign. The Orioles 2022 bullpen combined for an era just a smidge above 2.50. To put it in perspective just how elite this bullpen was the 2022 Orioles (2.50) had a better ERA than the 2016 Orioles (2.84) the last time the O’s made the playoffs.

The biggest turnaround story of the 2022 Orioles bullpen was their newly pronounced closer Jorge Lopez. Jorge Lopez had the come-up story of the ages as he turned it all around from being a terrible replacement-level starting pitcher for the Orioles to a lockdown closer with an ERA of 1.68 for the first half of the O’s season in 2022. Jorge Lopez had his career worst season in 2021 going 3-14 with an ERA of 6.07. After being traded to the Orioles from the Royals in 2020 he went 6.20 in 2 seasons with them. Although his 2021 campaign was far from ok the coaching staff decided to take a longer look at his peripherals. Lopez pitched 121.2 innings and had 112 strikeouts, his strikeout per 9% was the highest on the staff yet his SO/W was the second worst on the club. The Orioles knew he was a hard-throwing fastball pitcher who just had trouble with his command. They decided to give him a second chance and move him to the bullpen to be their closer. During his 44 games played that season he had career highs for everything, a 1.68 ERA, 35 GF, 19 saves, 3 ER, a 10.2 SO/9% with 54 SO, and an ERA+ 134% above league average. This brilliant season catapulted him to his first and only all-star selection at that point as well as a mid-season trade to the Minnesota Twins who needed extra bullpen support.

The fans were in major disbelief and fighting the ownership for trading their star closer during a season when the Orioles were in the hunt for the playoffs. The trade was as follows- The Twins received RHP Jorge Lopez while the Orioles received RHPs Juan Nunez and Jennifer Cano, and LHPs Juan Rojas and the Oriole’s #26 prospect Cade Povich. The Orioles were putting all their hopes into the 2023 campaign a season where they knew they would compete. The Orioles were more than surprised to see they were still in contention come September but they knew Lopez’s return was at its highest and needed to be a trade candidate.

The 2022 Orioles were a beautiful story that no one predicted, but let’s not forget the years of being in the gutter that brought them there and their stellar draft picks that turned things around. Speaking of the draft in 2022 the Orioles were again rewarded with the #1 pick in the draft and they didn’t disappoint. The 2022 MLB draft showed a lot of familiar names such as Braves Andruw Jones’s son Druw Jones making his pro debut, Carl Crawford’s son Justin Crawford and a few more family duos dominated the first round. But none took to the spotlight more than Matt Holliday’s son Jackson Holliday. Jackson Holliday drafted out of Stillwater High School in Oklahoma was picked as the #1 overall pick by the Baltimore Orioles. A smart but risky choice to make to draft someone out of high school with that high of a draft pick. Nonetheless, it was a smart investment for the Orioles to make as he’s already approaching the majors at just 19 years old. He could cement himself in the same conversation as Juan Soto and Ronald Acuna who both made their debuts around the same age. As we speak Jackson Holliday is the surefire lock for the shortstop position out of camp, he’s the missing link for the team to become a serious threat in the AL. Combined in the two years of minor league play Jackson Holliday has a stat line of .314/.445/.921/.926. He had a walk rate of 20% with 101 walks it seems clear he’s ready.

Flash forward to the end of 2022. Cheers and happy fans are finally here, although the Orioles didn’t make it into the playoffs they knew what they had in store with their minor-league talent. It would be the second year in a row that the Orioles were rewarded with the #1 farm system. Headlined by RHP Grayson Rodriguez and #1 overall prospect Gunnar Henderson. Best farm system and best overall prospect two years in a row, it’s amazing how far this organization has come over the last 6 seasons. It was a painful wait but the wait is over. It’s spring training 2023 and it’s time for this team to fly. Slowly and surely in some facet, the team has had players step up and break out and this was the year everyone showcased that. Adley Rutschman had a killer first year in the majors. In just 113 games Adley had combined for 101 hits, 13 home runs, and over 50 RBIs giving him an OPS 38% above league average. He would have taken him home the AL ROY if it wasn’t for Mariners superstar galactic Julio Rodriguez who took the award home and the silver slugger. The Orioles knew Adley could replicate those numbers they were also very excited about the recent call-up of Gunnar Henderson to the show. Gunnar made his late-season debut when he was called up for 34 games at the end of the trade deadline. At 21 he’s already 3 years younger than Adley and more of a dangerous offensive weapon. Pair Adley with Gunnar and that’s lethal. Mixed with the veterans who stepped up, it was finally Oriole’s year. Up to this point the Orioles never lost a series and going into 2023 it seemed like they were on a historic stretch. Since Adley made his debut the Orioles have been 158-109 in the regular season. They ended 2023 with a 101-61 campaign, it’s their highest win total ever in a season. The second closest was the 1997 Orioles who had 98 wins.

The Orioles pre-all-star break stood at a 54-35 record, they were the best team in the AL. The 2023 Orioles also featured 4 of their players to make it to the all-star game. All 4 of their players made their all-star debut; Adley Rutschman, LF Austin Hays, and two of the most elite relief pitchers Felix Bautista and Yeinner Cano. Felix Bautista already made his presence heard in 2022 when he busted on the scene with a 2.19 ERA and was even better once he became the closer after the Jorge Lopez trade. Bautista was even better in 2023 he put up a 1.48 ERA, 33 saves, and 110 strikeouts in 61 innings which gave him an ERA 134% above the league average. To top it off he also was 8-2 as a closer easily the best closer in the AL last year, so it only made sense for him to receive the Rivera-Rel award among his all-star selection. Cano came from the Lopez trade and was pretty ugly with his debut with the club in 2022. He had an 18.00 ERA in 4 innings, it was a season to forget. 2023, was a season never to forget. A 2.11 era in 72 innings with 8 saves he was 96% better than league average. After Bautista went down with injury Cano stepped in big time.

Back to the season and the Orioles finish out their campaign going 47-26 after the all-star break easily cementing themselves as the #1 seed in the playoffs bracket. They were finally going to taste the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and they were ready. The Baltimore Orioles were set to face off against the Texas Rangers in the ALDS at home. 0-3 season over. Swept by the eventual World Series champs. Just. like that. The Orioles season has come to a close. But it certainly was a season for the ages. Gunnar Henderson took home the AL ROY award as well as the first edition of the Silver Slugger Award for the utility position. Though his primary position was 3rd base he dabbled around the diamond at short and second. Others in the team winning awards were most notably manager Brandon Hyde who took home the AL MOTY award beating out Bruce Bochy and his 2023 World Series champion Rangers. Most importantly, Mike Elias was recognized as the stellar GM with the Executive of the Year award.

January 31st, 2023 the Orioles made a big change to help their future. The Orioles finally decide to sell their team away from the Angelos family. The Angelos family has controlled the Orioles for almost as long as they’ve been in Camden Yards when Peter Angelos bought the team for $173 million in 1993. The family sold its stake to Forbes Top 100 billionaire David Rubenstein who is one of three billionaire founders of private equity firm Carlyle Group, which is approaching $400 billion in assets under management. Nonetheless, the Orioles are in good hands.

Everything is starting to come together and the Orioles future has arrived. It’s been the 3 years in a row of the Orioles having the #1 farm system with an MLB best 7 prospects in the top 100 prospect list. They were doing things right and finally, they have an offense they can build around. Still, their pitching needed work to be done. Don’t get me wrong the Orioles had very good pitching from their rotation in 2023 led by breakout star Kyle Bradish who competed for the AL ERA title late in the season and ended his mark with a 2.83 ERA, 12-7 record, and a WAR almost at 5. He was the best pitcher in the rotation to pair with fresh prospect RHP Grayson Rodriguez had an ERA of 2.64 in his 11 starts of the season. He was bound to be electric in 2023. But the Orioles still needed more insurance in the starting pitcher department, a day after the Orioles sold the team the Orioles made a massive statement. The Orioles traded for 1 year of RHP Corbin Burnes from the Brewers for two players and the compensatory draft pick in return for Milwaukee. The Orioles gave up on their 8th and 12th prospect in shortstop Joey Ortiz and LHP DL Hall. Joey Ortiz was going to be blocked by superstar Jackson Holliday who is already the #1 prospect in all of baseball so it only made sense for him to be trade bait.

The Orioles fixed a much-needed problem and are a real problem once the playoffs arrive. It looks like a rejuvenated organization, they suffered in the gutter but it paid off serious money in 2023 and reflects teams who decide to do a full rebuild it pays off. If you play it right and continually trade players who break for your club while also keeping certain players long is the key to longevity with successful baseball teams. Two managers and 3 seasons of 108+ losses and now they have finally reached salvation. Every team can take this model into how they want to mold their team into a competitive playoff-caliber team. You don’t need money to be the most dominant, those that spend right rather than impulsively tend to perform better as the season goes on. The Orioles were 27th/30 ball clubs in payroll yet they still put up a stellar season with less than $43,000,000 guaranteed. All I have to say is Mike Elias you are a mastermind and without you, this would not have been such a masterful rebuild.