Orioles ace accomplishes historically rare feat

A Baltimore Orioles pitcher has done something no one in franchise history has accomplished since 1959.

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One of the major reasons that the Baltimore Orioles are outside of the American League's playoff race was the performance of their starting pitchers earlier in the campaign.

There wasn’t a team getting less out of their rotation than the Orioles, with their offseason additions of Charlie Morton and Kyle Gibson performing as poorly as any pitchers in baseball at the start of their tenures.

Morton turned things around and became a legitimate trade chip for the team. The same could not be said about Gibson, who was designated for assignment, landed with the Tampa Bay Rays on a minor league contract, and has since retired.

Maybe things would have turned out a little bit differently for Baltimore had they turned to Trevor Rogers earlier than they did. He has been on a historic hot streak, looking every bit the kind of pitcher he showed promise of early in his career.

An All-Star in 2021 as a rookie with the Miami Marlins, he looked like a future ace in the making, finishing second in National League Rookie of the Year voting to second baseman Jonathan India of the Cincinnati Reds. He had a 2.64 ERA across 133 innings with 157 strikeouts and a 3.5 bWAR.

Rogers never got close to replicating that level of success with the Marlins, but that didn’t deter the Orioles from trading for him last year.

Trevor Rogers has been on fire for Orioles

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Ahead of the trade deadline in 2024, Baltimore sent two prospects, outfielder Kyle Stowers and infielder Connor Norby, to Miami in exchange for the left-handed pitcher. It looked like a disaster of a trade out of the gate after Rogers was demoted to Triple-A following a disastrous four-start stretch to begin his Orioles tenure.

To make matter worse, Stowers has turned into a legitimate middle-of-the-order bat for the Marlins, earning a spot on the NL All-Star Team this year. Given the current state of Baltimore’s outfield, Stowers would sure look nice roaming the grass in Camden Yards.

However, the script has been flipped by Rogers, who has looked like a totally new pitcher in 2025. He is performing at an incredibly high level, blowing away even what he did in 2021 en route to a historically hot run; the 27-year-old's 1.43 ERA through his first 11 starts is the best for an Orioles pitcher since Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm in 1959, when he had an ERA of 1.11 through his first 11 starts.

Trevor Rogers' 1.43 ERA is the lowest through the first 11 starts of a season for an Orioles pitcher since Hoyt Wilhelm's 1.11 ERA in 1959.

— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) August 14, 2025

Read More: Have the Orioles found their ace of the future?

Whatever work Rogers did over the offseason and earlier this year ramping up from an offseason injury has paid major dividends. He isn’t just taking advantage of bottom-feeding teams, either: over his last three starts, Rogers has thrown 21 innings with 20 strikeouts and two walks, registering a 1.29 ERA and 1.49 FIP against the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Seattle Mariners, three legitimate playoff contenders.

Baltimore certainly hopes this level of performance is here to stay, with Rogers looking like an ace to build the rotation around. If he does maintain this form, then the Orioles may be inclined to give him a well-deserved contract extension.