The challenges that have haunted the Baltimore Orioles since the beginning of the season are still the topic of discussion amongst fans.
The O’s starting rotation outside of Tomoyuki Sugano cannot string together quality starts, and the lineup is not providing run support.
At this point in the season, as taxed as the bullpen is, they are still providing quality innings, holding a 4.29 team ERA, which is good for 15th in Major League Baseball.
Reinforcements are coming to the team, as it has been reported that Zach Eflin and Andrew Kittredge will be joining the club soon. But how has the current structure of the bullpen looked over the last two weeks?
Let’s take a dive into this edition of Battery Bullpen Power Rankings.
1.) Félix Bautista
The Mountain is back on his throne as the top bullpen arm on the Orioles’ staff.
Since the last time we ranked, Félix Bautista has pitched three innings of zero-run, no-hit, no-walk baseball while accumulating four strikeouts. On the season, Bautista has pitched 10 innings, holding a 1.80 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP.
Although he is not seeing the flashy fastball numbers we are used to for the season, we have seen Bautista reach 99 mph a few times, which was his average fastball velocity in 2023.
Bautista is posting some of the best barrel rates of his career in 2025, including a weak contact percentage of 8.7% and a barrel percentage of 4.3%, both the best of his career. As he is tapping into his splitter more than normal due to his decreased fastball velocity, the batting average of that pitch is .067, which is a huge decrease from .122 in 2023.
Look for him to continue to rely on that splitter as his go-to pitch as he continues to strengthen and get back to his strong fastball form.
2.) Yennier Cano
It has seemed as if Yennier Cano has been given a small break over the last two weeks, only pitching 2.2 innings.
Over his last three innings, Cano has allowed four earned runs on five hits, two walks and three strikeouts. On the season, The Rock has pitched in 14 games, posting a 3.00 ERA and 1.25 WHIP.
To this point, Cano still holds one of the top walk rates in the league at 2.2% while also holding one of the top chase rates at 40.4%. One of the metrics that has really popped off the charts is that Cano has started to shy away from his sinker and rely more on his changeup this season.
In 2024, Cano threw his sinker at an impressive 50.4%, which has now dropped to a career-low 32.9%. It doesn’t make a lot of sense until you see how impressive his changeup has been.
On the season, Cano’s changeup has induced a whiff rate of 37.5% and a put-away rate of 26.7%, which are the top pitches at his disposal. The batting average on the changeup has been an alarming .364, but the pitch has been much better than the stats show, as his xBA is only .273.
3.) Bryan Baker
Besides one rough outing over the last two weeks, Bryan Baker has been solid.
Over 4.1 innings, Baker has allowed three earned runs on five hits, two walks and four strikeouts. On the season, The Out-Maker has posted a 2.40 ERA and 1.20 WHIP and has also already posted 17 strikeouts, which is on pace to be his career best.
Although Baker can really throw the ball with heat, what has been the most solid pitch for him this season is his changeup. The improvement to his change has been drastic, as we have seen his whiff rate and put-away rate respectively go from 20% and 14.3% in 2024 to 34.8% and 25.9% in 2025.
A huge contributor to this effectiveness is spin rate, which has seen a boost from 1,871 RPM in 2024 to 1,911 RPM in 2025. This has attributed to a vertical movement change of over two inches and a horizontal movement increase of 1.5 inches.
4.) Gregory Soto
Gregory Soto has had a small bounce-back after a rough stretch, as in the last 4.1 innings, he has allowed three earned runs on seven hits, a walk and six strikeouts. On the season, Soto has posted a 4.85 ERA and 1.62 WHIP through 14 games pitched.
Although the data doesn’t support it, Soto still holds a barrel percentage of 0%, which is wildly impressive. This is proof that although he is giving up contact, it is mostly weak contact.
Another nice metric to see for Soto is a walk rate of 8.9%, which is tied for the lowest of his career. If he can continue to limit contact and keep that walk rate down, it is hard to see how he shouldn’t be able to turn it around and be a strong piece in this O’s bullpen.
5.) Seranthony Domínguez
Seranthony Domínguez has finally had his fall from grace.
After a start to the season that had a 0.00 ERA, over his last three innings pitched, he has posted four earned runs on four hits, two walks and two punch outs. On the season, Domínguez has posted a 4.63 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP.
One metric that Domínguez has shined in is hard-hit percentage, which is 33.3% on the season, good for the top 15% of pitchers in the league. What is haunting him to start the season is his control.
After 11.2 innings this season, Domínguez holds a 17% walk rate, which is in the bottom of the league. That sort of problem of throwing strikes can be problematic as the season progresses.
I still believe Brandon Hyde views Domínguez as a back-of-the-bullpen guy at this stage of the season.
6.) Keegan Akin
Keegan Akin has truly ate some innings for the Birds over the last two weeks.
Through six innings of work, Akin posted two earned runs on four hits, two walks and nine strikeouts. Akin has posted 17 innings with a 3.18 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP and is quietly having the best season of his career.
One stat that is popping off the charts for Akin is his offspeed run. The pitch that has seen the greatest increase in movement is his changeup, seeing horizontal movement increases of two inches.
This movement can be best attributed to his spin rate increase of over 20 RPM to 2,059. This increase of movement has brought to his arsenal an increase of strikeouts and a whiff rate of 34.6%.
7.) Cionel Pérez
Cionel Pérez has slowly started to turn around his horrendous start to the season.
Over his last three innings pitched, Pérez has only allowed two earned runs on four hits and a walk while striking out nine. The increase to his strikeout column is crucial to his success and spot on this roster. On the season, Pérez has a 9.20 ERA and 2.32 WHIP.
Although Pérez holds one of the top barrel percentages in the league at 4.1%, he truly struggles to keep runners off base, as he has one of the worst walk rates in the league at 15.2%. These last two weeks, having only allowed one walk, is a vast improvement for him, as we need to see him stay on this trajectory to feel like he should belong in the bullpen.
8.) Colin Selby
Colin Selby has returned to the bullpen, as the Orioles had no choice but to designate right-hander Matt Bowman for assignment after 6.1 innings of seven-earned-run, 11-hit, one-walk and seven-strikeout baseball.
Selby has not been ideal either in his two appearances this year for the Birds, as he has allowed a 9.00 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. Look for Selby to be a stop gap until one of the reinforcements joins the Orioles over the next few weeks.
What do you think of our latest rankings? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, X, Bluesky and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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