The 2025 spring training period has officially come to an end, and regular season baseball is just a day away.
There’s a lot of excitement and optimism when it comes to the 2025 Baltimore Orioles, who are coming off a season in which they won 91 games and clinched a postseason appearance for a second straight season.
The Baltimore Battery staff has accumulated their 2025 season predictions in three categories: Best pitcher, Most Valuable Oriole and overall team record. Each member of our crew will give their prediction for each category and explain why they chose what they did.
Without further ado, let’s get started with who our staff thinks will be the best pitcher on the O’s staff this season.
2025 BEST OVERALL PITCHER
Stephen Heckman: Grayson Rodriguez
Though injured at this time, I think Rodriguez returns and seizes the ace position by the horns. He single-handedly prevented or stopped losing streaks on eight occasions, had 11 quality starts last season and allowed three runs or fewer 15 times. I expect he will take the next step and improve on his growth from last year to be the O’s best pitcher for the year.
Justin Sutphin: Zach Eflin
With all the injuries to the pitching staff, this one is almost a default. However, Zach Eflin is a veteran, and he knows his way around the mound. The crafty righty pitched to a 2.60 ERA in nine starts with the O’s last year, including a 1.8 bWAR, which doubled his 0.9 with the Tampa Bay Rays in the first half. I expect to see a whole season of that quality this year.
Zack Bucklew: Cade Povich
Cade Povich ended the 2024 season on such a high note by posting a 2.60 ERA in his final five starts. He is also entering the season with not as high expectations as the fifth starter of this rotation. I think 2025 is the year we see Povich show how true of a weapon he can be moving forward, especially if he looks like he did during spring training.
RJ Diliberto: Tomoyuki Sugano
I have my concerns about the Orioles pitching staff. I would have 100% had Grayson Rodriguez in this spot, but with the uncertainty he’s facing right now, I’m going to leave him off of this. Sugano may have zero MLB experience, but he does have plenty of baseball experience. His ability to get outs was on full display this spring, posting a 3.00 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. The track record of Japanese pitchers coming to MLB has also been quite good as of late, so I think Sugano will be a pleasant surprise for Birdland.
Nick Forbush: Tomoyuki Sugano
Sugano was pretty dominant in spring training, pitching 15 innings with a 3.00 ERA, 15 strikeouts, and a 1.07 WHIP. I see him starting at the back end of the rotation but ultimately ending the season as one of the most reliable starters, likely to log 200 innings. He’s just that good. Be sure to check out my previous article for more on this Japanese phenom to see what makes him so dynamic.
Matthew Farr: Zach Eflin
Zach Eflin pitched well for two separate teams in 2024. Over 165.1 innings of work, he punched out 124 batters and had a respectable 3.59 ERA. Once he was traded to the O’s, we saw him dial it in even more. He was arguably the best starter the team had after the trade deadline.
2024 MOST VALUABLE ORIOLE
Stephen Heckman: Jordan Westburg
Westburg isn’t the sexy choice by any means, which is why this suits him perfectly. He has always been seen behind Gunnar Henderson. Now with Jackson Holliday as the next big star, Westburg will prove his value to the team. The Orioles fell out of first place when Westburg was placed on the IL, and their runs per game dropped during his absence. Westy proved his value under the radar last year, and this year, I expect him to be the key component to this offense.
Justin Sutphin: Félix Bautista
Last season proved many things, but maybe nothing more than how important a shut-down closer is. Luckily, the Birds have one coming back. Félix Bautista was touching 98 mph once again in spring training and made his way onto the Opening Day roster. From day one, we will be back to Mountain Time in the ninth, which will help the team overall from the way the back-end of the bullpen can be implemented, the confidence he brings and the assistance he will provide Brandon Hyde in how he manages arms.
Zack Bucklew: Jordan Westburg
The MVO, hence the name, is an honor that should go to the most valuable player on the team, and Jordan Westburg is an extremely valuable asset to the Orioles. In 107 games, Westburg had a .793 OPS and 110 hits. Imagine what he could do in a fully healthy season, especially with Waltimore moving in. Expect a big year from the All-Star infielder.
RJ Diliberto: Gunnar Henderson
Sometimes, you just have to keep it simple. Henderson posted an 8.0 fWAR, 155 wRC+, 37-home-run season in 2024, establishing himself as one of the best young talents the game has to offer. With another year under his belt, I expect Gunnar to once again flirt with MVP consideration, as long as he’s healthy.
Nick Forbush: Colton Cowser
Last season marked Cowser’s first real shot in the big leagues, and he didn’t disappoint. He posted a .242 batting average and a .321 OBP, hitting 24 home runs, driving in 69 RBIs and totaling 121 hits. These numbers earned him a second-place finish in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. With a red-hot spring training under his belt, I expect Cowser to make a significant leap in his sophomore season.
Matthew Farr: Adley Rutschman
Adley Rutschman played in 16 games this spring, and he looked more confident than ever. I would expect to see the spring breakout from Adley continue into the start of the 2025 campaign. I think we all could agree that he got banged up at some point last year, and he continued to play through it. But this spring, he recorded a .357 batting average while knocking out three homers and tallying eight RBIs. Rutschman looks like he’s out for blood in 2025.
2024 ORIOLES RECORD
Stephen Heckman: 95-67
The Orioles probably lead the league with so many unknowns starting the season. Will Tomoyuki Sugano transition to the majors well? Will Charlie Morton defy Father Time? Is Jackson Holliday the next big star? Will Tyler O’Neill stay healthy? Will Grayson Rodriguez be healthy this year? With breakout candidates Jordan Westburg and Heston Kjerstad, the offense will be one of the tops in the league, partnered with a top 10 bullpen. I do believe the starting rotation will be the key to it all, and when Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells return, the Birds will pull away and take the East, securing a first-round bye. The 10-game postseason losing streak ends this year.
Justin Sutphin: 90-72
I’m really not sure what to expect with this pitching staff as a whole coming into this year. The offense will be high-powered. The reconstruction of Waltimore will certainly help generate even more offense, and the O’s will win a lot of ball games from their bags. However, those 90 wins rely heavily on the production of Zach Eflin, Tomoyuki Sugano and Grayson Rodriguez upon his return. That number could certainly swing in the negative direction if those three arms struggle atop the rotation.
Zack Bucklew: 93-69
I think 93 wins is a good number for the O’s record for the main reason being that this team is good to win games at a solid pace, but with injuries to the roster, it gets a bit scary. Losing players like Andrew Kittredge in the bullpen hurts and seeing early injuries to both Gunnar Henderson and Grayson Rodriguez doesn’t help. This team can 100% win 100 games this year. They have the roster for it, but 93 is a spot where I feel comfortable to say that it’s going to happen.
RJ Diliberto: 92-70
Orioles GM Mike Elias will have to address the pitching at some point, but the Birds have enough young talent to overcome that, at least in the regular season. They’ve seen 90+ wins in each of the last two seasons, and I expect that to continue this year.
Nick Forbush: 88-74
Unfortunately, I don’t believe this team has done enough to make a deep World Series run just yet. The lineup is absolutely dynamic and will be among the best in MLB. However, the lack of top-tier arms in the rotation, combined with injuries that have decimated the starting staff, remains a significant concern. If the Orioles can stay competitive until the returns of Grayson Rodriguez, Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells and Andrew Kittredge, and remain at the top of the division by the trade deadline, look for Baltimore to pursue an ace and position themselves for a deep postseason run in 2025.
Matthew Farr: 91-71
Their offense can keep the O’s in almost any game, but their starting rotation does concern me. I believe it will be a three-way battle for the AL East crown between New York, Boston and Baltimore.
What do you think of our staff’s predictions for the Orioles 2025 season? What are your predictions? 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!
Represent The Baltimore Battery and show off your fandom with our official merchandise! Reasonably-priced attire made just for you! Visit our official shop site by clicking here!
THE BALTIMORE BATTERY 
Leave a comment