Last season, the Orioles hoped to battle the Red Sox and Yankees for AL East supremacy, with the hiring of Leo Mazzone as Sam Perlozzo's pitching coach. The man that helped turn Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz into Hall-of-Fame hopefuls now would turn his attention to Erik Bedard, Daniel Cabrera and Rodrigo Lopez.
Kris Benson's torn labrum will keep him out for the season, but the Orioles signed Steve Trachsel on Feb. 12 as a possible rotation replacement.
Unfortunately, the Orioles pitching staff was the second-worst in the majors, ahead of only Kansas City, with a 5.35 ERA. Lopez is in Colorado and the Orioles added Jaret Wright or is that subtraction by addition? They'll also allow young Adam Loewen and Hayden Penn to work in the rotation. Loewen is definitely the player with bigger upside -- especially from a Fantasy persepective.
The bright spot for this staff got even brighter. Chris Ray was superb as a closer in his first full season in the role. And the Orioles brought in Danys Baez, Chad Bradford and Scott Williamson to fortify the seventh and eighth innings.
Their high-powered offense was just as disappointing as their pitching staff. Only four other AL teams scored fewer runs than Baltimore last year. And only three other AL teams hit fewer homers. The O's stole 121 bags last year, getting caught only 32 times, which ranks them among the best in the majors on the basepaths. That's thanks largely in part to Brian Roberts and Corey Patterson.
Spring position battles
SP No. 5 -- Jaret Wright vs. Hayden Penn
Wright is essentially locked in as the fifth starter, but if his spring starts off as bad as he pitched in 2006, his spot is in jeopardy. Think about Penn in your AL-only leagues in the later rounds. He was supposed to arrive last year, but he struggled, which is why they brought in the veteran Wright.
First base -- Kevin Millar vs. Jay Gibbons
The arrival of Nick Markakis in right field makes Gibbons look for at-bats elsewhere. The loser of this battle will likely end up as the DH, so Fantasy owners shouldn't fret too much. Aubrey Huff probably starts in left field, with Jay Payton serving as a fourth outfielder once again.
| Baltimore Orioles Outlook | |||||
| Projected lineup | Pos. | Projected Rotation | |||
| 1 | Brian Roberts | 2B | 1 | Erik Bedard | LH |
| 2 | Melvin Mora | 3B | 2 | Daniel Cabrera | RH |
| 3 | Nick Markakis | RF | 3 | Adam Loewen | RH |
| 4 | Miguel Tejada | SS | 4 | Jaret Wright | LH |
| 5 | Aubrey Huff | LF | 5 | Steve Trachsel | RH |
| 6 | Ramon Hernandez | C | Alt | Hayden Penn | RH |
| 7 | Jay Gibbons | DH | |||
| 8 | Kevin Millar | 1B | Top bullpen arms | ||
| 9 | Corey Patterson | CF | CL | Chris Ray | RH |
| Top bench options | SU | Danys Baez | RH | ||
| R | Jay Payton | OF | RP | Chad Bradford | RH |
| R | Chris Gomez | INF | RP | Scott Williamson | LH |
| Rookies/Prospects | Age | Pos. | 2006 high | Destination |
| 1 | Jeff Fiorentino | 23 | OF | Majors | Triple-A |
| Coming off a bad year, but he's already seen the majors twice | |||||
| 2 | Bill Rowell | 18 | 3B | Class A | Class A |
| The big '06 first-rounder has great promise and will move up fast | |||||
| 3 | Nolan Reimold | 23 | OF | Class A | Double-A |
| The O's top power prospect according to Baseball America | |||||
| 4 | Garrett Olson | 23 | LH SP | Double-A | Triple-A |
| Well-rounded pitcher that could end up as LH specialist or SP | |||||
| 5 | Brandon Erbe | 19 | RH SP | Class A | Class A |
| Erbe won't see the majors for a while, certainly not in '07. | |||||
| Best of the rest: RHP Radhames Liz, 23; RHP James Hoey, 24; OF Adam Stern, 27; OF Val Majewski, 25; C J.R. House, 27; LHP Brian Burres, 25; C Adam Donachie, 23. | |||||
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