Performance of Baltimore Orioles Slugger Giving Reason for Optimism

Will the Baltimore Orioles be able to turn things around this season?

Apr 26, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Baltimore Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins (31) swings and makes contact against the Detroit Tigers in the first inning during game one of a double header at Comerica Park. | David Reginek-Imagn Images

It has been a terrible start to the season for the Baltimore Orioles, but the team is still hopeful about turning things around.

So far, few things have gone right for the Orioles this year. The team has had to deal with a lot of injuries, and the depth of the franchise simply hasn’t been able to make up for it.

In the starting rotation especially, Baltimore is having a hard time getting by. Their top two pitchers in Grayson Rodriguez and Zach Eflin are on the injured list, and new names brought in haven’t done enough to make up for them being out, or the loss of their ace in free agency.

Furthermore, even the lineup, for the most part, has been underperforming. This is a unit that has the potential to be one of the best in the league, but hasn’t been close to that yet.

While a lot of key players are underperforming, they do have one batter who has had a great start to the campaign.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required) recently wrote about the top reason to be optimistic for the Orioles being the play of center fielder Cedric Mullins.

“Playing in his free-agent walk year, Cedric Mullins is off to the best start of his career, posting a .441 on-base percentage (211 OPS+) with six home runs and four steals while playing elite defense in center field.”

The 30-year-old slugger is off to a great start and might be heading toward his best season yet. So far in 2025, he has slashed .295/.433/.590 with six home runs and 20 RBI.

Over the course of his career, Mullins has put together some strong campaigns, with the ability to hit for power and run the bases well. With a 30-30 season in 2021, there is some serious potential to his game.

However, being both a power hitter and a stolen base threat is a rare thing in the game, with the two rarely going hand-in-hand.

As the rest of the offense isn’t playing great, it has been Mullins, who has been one of the biggest bright spots.

Now, while the slugger is playing great for Baltimore, he will be hitting free agency this winter. Even though the Orioles spent a decent amount last winter, they seemingly never had any intention of keeping Anthony Santander, who led the team in home runs.

If the team wasn't going to be willing to pay him, Mullins also might be playing his last year in Baltimore. However, his play this season has been a bright spot and if the Orioles are going to turn things around, they will need him to keep it up.