Baltimore Orioles Need Former Top Prospect To Live up To Ace Potential

A young Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher will be relied upon to raise his game to another level in 2025.

Jun 26, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Grayson Rodriguez (30) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles have faced a lot of scrutiny for how they have handled things with their pitching staff this offseason, specifically the starting rotation.

Their ace from 2024, Corbin Burnes, hit the free agent market and by most accounts, the team didn’t make too much of an effort to bring him back.

He eventually agreed to a massive six-year, $210 million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Before he even signed that deal the Orioles had made multiple moves, signing veteran Charlie Morton and international free agent Tomoyuki Sugano.

They are going to add some strong leadership and depth to the rotation, as they will fill in the middle and back end along with Dean Kremer. Trevor Rogers, Albert Suarez and Cade Povich are other players who will vie for a spot in the Opening Day rotation during spring training.

Atop the rotation Baltimore will be relying on the duo of Grayson Rodriguez and Zach Eflin as their anchors.

After being acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays ahead of the deadline last July, Eflin performed like an ace. He made nine starts, pitching 55.1 innings with 47 strikeouts and an impressive 2.60 ERA.

However, some of his advanced and underlying stats hint that his performance with the Orioles involved some luck.

If any of their current starting pitchers are going to ascend to true ace status, it will be their former top prospect, Rodriguez.

“Entering his age-25 campaign, Rodriguez easily has the highest ceiling on a staff…While he was limited to 20 starts in 2024, Rodriguez made notable strides, posting a 3.86 ERA with a 3.66 FIP and a 3.61 K/BB ratio, portending a potential breakout this year,” wrote Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com, who listed the young Baltimore hurler among the players who have to step up replacing key offseason departures.

After a rocky rookie campaign in 2023, he took steps forward across the board in his sophomore season. Could 2025 be when he truly breaks out, living up to the lofty prospect status that he previously had?

His strikeout rate, walk rate and hard hit percentages all went in the right direction last year, as he could be in for an even more dominant performance in 2025.

That would be a major development for an Orioles team that currently doesn’t have the kind of high-end pitching to compete with some of the other contenders in the league.

In their own division they have to deal with Gerrit Cole and Max Fried on the New York Yankees and Tanner Houck and Garrett Crochet on the Boston Red Sox.

It will be interesting to see if the depth they have put together will be enough to overcome not having a lockdown ace like Burnes in the fold. 

There is still a chance for them to add that kind of player to the mix via trade, but for now, they seem content with what they have, hoping that Rodriguez and turn into the kind of star he has the potential to be.

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