MLB Insider No Longer Believes Baltimore Orioles Will Be American League Champs

After believing in the Baltimore Orioles all season long, one MLB insider no longer thinks they will win the American League.

Aug 16, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde (18) stands in the dugout during the second inning against the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Coming into the season, the Baltimore Orioles looked like they had the capability of repeating what they did in 2023 when they took the baseball world by storm and won the most games in the American League.

At the time, many considered this franchise to still be a couple years away before they would be able to contend, but when multiple star prospects turned into impact players, that allowed the Orioles to immediately jump into contention.

There were still doubters out there who weren't sure if this young squad could put together back-to-back seasons where they were at the top of the AL standings.

That wasn't the case with MLB insider Jon Heyman, though. He was firmly bought into what this team could do this campaign and thought they could get to the World Series.

However, he is now changing his mind about the viability of Baltimore this year.

"In the American League, I mean, I've been on the Orioles bandwagon all along. You've got three out of the four top starters injured. I gotta say, you know what, I kinda think the Astros. I know they start out 0-4 and they looked even worse from there. They did great work at the deadline. They are looking really, really strong right now ...," he said in a video on Bleacher Report.

On the surface, it's hard to argue with what he's saying.

The Orioles have been crushed by injuries in their starting rotation, putting three on the season-ending injured list and two others on the 15-day IL.

As they saw last year, it's really hard to win playoff games when their starters aren't able to keep the team in those matchups.

The best-case scenario for Baltimore is Zach Eflin comes back from his injured list stint immediately when he's eligible to pitch at the high level he showcased during his first four starts with the team, and Grayson Rodriguez recovers from his lat issue and rejoins them during September.

That would at least give the Orioles three top-of-the-rotations arms when they enter the playoffs.

Is that enough to push them to a World Series appearance?

Heyman doesn't think so, and based on the way they've played during the second half of the year, it's hard to argue they are clear favorites to win the American League right now.