Losers no more: the 2022 season will go down as one of the most important in Baltimore Orioles history.
The team has seven pennants and three World Series championships, but 2022 will be one of the years modern fans will remember the most because it signaled the end of a losing period and the start of what supporters hope is a winning era.
No, the Orioles didn’t even make the playoffs this year, but they had their first winning season since 2016.
They had won just 52 games in 2021, but increased that tally to 83 this season and finished at 83-79.
Mike Elias’ work as the Orioles general manager and executive vice president is starting to pay off: the Orioles are competitive again.
They produced, coached, and guided numerous young (and even veteran) players to be the best versions of themselves, and it resulted in a diverse, efficient roster with some really good pitchers, especially relievers, and some offensive building blocks.
Rodriguez Is About To Get His Shot
The Orioles are perhaps two or three pieces away from making a serious run at the postseason.
They will, apparently, look for one of those pieces from within their own organizations.
That is actually what winning franchises do: focus on player development and produce their own stars.
“Grayson Rodriguez, the No. 1 pitching prospect in baseball per @MLBPipeline rankings, is “on the inside of the competition to break camp” in the @Orioles 2023 starting rotation, Mike Elias told me in this @MLBNetwork interview,” MLB insider Jon Morosi tweeted.
Grayson Rodriguez, the No. 1 pitching prospect in baseball per @MLBPipeline rankings, is “on the inside of the competition to break camp” in the @Orioles 2023 starting rotation, Mike Elias told me in this @MLBNetwork interview. @MLB pic.twitter.com/rvBkj1GnSq
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 9, 2022
Rodriguez is universally regarded as the top pitching prospect in all baseball.
The soon-to-be 23-year-old right-hander had a stellar 2.20 ERA in Triple-A this season, and has nothing left to prove in the minor leagues.
As long as he brings his A-game to spring training, he will likely be in contention for a spot on the Opening Day roster, where he is expected to be a fixture for years to come.