At 95-57, playoff baseball will be returning to Camden Yards for the first time since 2014.
With a roster full of young talent, the Baltimore Orioles have a lot of different ways they can beat you. Whether it’s in the batter’s box, on the base paths or on the mound, the Birds keep finding ways to win and are in virtually every game because of it.
But if the O’s want to make a run deep into the playoffs, there are five players who absolutely have to play well. In this piece, we’ll review those players and why they specifically need to step up for the club in October.
Adley Rutschman
It would be a crime to leave the heart and soul of this Orioles team off the list.
We saw first-hand what this team looks like when Adley is not playing well last week, when a 1-for-15 stretch at the plate for Rutschman spiraled into four straight losses and an abysmal six runs in four games, which erased a four-game division lead over the Rays.
I know having arguably their best player on this list might seem too obvious, but it’s clear when Rutschman is playing well, the Orioles are both offensively and defensively a completely different team. The way he can control the O’s pitching staff, along with veteran backup James McCann, is another added benefit.
Austin Hays
Austin Hays has become a pretty polarizing player in the Orioles community. You could ask 10 different fans their thoughts on Hays and probably get 10 different opinions on him.
However, the bottom line is that he’s a great defender whose bat was good enough to make him a 2023 All-Star starter. His ground ball tendencies definitely hurt the offense at times, but Hays’ 36 doubles rank ninth in all of baseball, while his .281 average is tied for 20th.
It’s also worth nothing that when Hays is in the lineup, Baltimore wins 63% of their games, good for 102 wins over the course of a full season. I get he can be incredibly frustrating, but his left field defense is especially valuable with Camden Yard’s dimensions, and he’s shown enough at the plate this season to warrant cautious optimism.
Shintaro Fujinami
Since you’re all probably seeing this after the Astros game, I understand the frustration with Fuji, but if Félix Bautista isn’t healthy enough to return, this bullpen desperately needs Fuji.
His command obviously calls for some serious concern, especially in a postseason setting, but Fuji has flashed some tremendous stuff throughout September. His four earned runs in his last two outings are the only runs he’s allowed in nine September outings.
At this point, every appearance he makes will have you on edge, but at his best, he’s the most dominant reliever Baltimore has, and that would be a massive boost to a bullpen running thin.
Anthony Santander
A large part of the Orioles’ success this season and last has been the breakout for Tony at the plate.
He’s well on his way to a 30-homer/40-double season with an OPS over .800. He also seeks to homer every time this team needs a spark and has even mustered some decent defense in right field.
Much like Adley, his slump last week really hurt the offense during their skid. He seems to be starting to heat up again, which is massive for the O’s. The AL is full of talented pitching staffs, and if Tony isn’t hitting for the power he’s shown this year, the Orioles could find themselves exiting a lot sooner than we’d expect.
Dean Kremer
I saved Dean for last for a reason. I think he is the single most important piece to how the Orioles postseason run goes.
We know the O’s will get strong outings from Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez, but in any playoff series, they are going to need a third starter, and Kremer is very likely going to be that guy. At times, he can be prone to the long ball, but his September ERA sits at just 3.86, which is a very comforting sign.
We don’t need excellence from Kremer, but if he can give five or six innings of two-run ball, the Orioles become much more dangerous.
The depth the Orioles have gives them the luxury of a different guy doing damage every single night, which also makes this list especially tough to make. But based on what we’ve seen this season, these five players being at their very best come October is imperative to the deep postseason run we know this team is capable of doing.
Do you agree with the players selected? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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