A lot has happened since the mid-season edition of The Great, The Good and The Ugly.
The Birds came out of the All-Star Break and fell flat, traded away nine players for a haul of prospects and have gone into giving opportunities to players who are going to get their shots to prove their value to the team moving forward.
This past week, the Birds played the first place Chicago Cubs, and the series was a tight one, but unfortunately, the Orioles dropped the set. The series loss also failed to let the Birds win three straight series for the first time this season.
They followed the Cubs series by traveling to Philadelphia, and outside of the final game, were out-classed by the Phillies in every aspect of the game in dropping the series and finishing the week 2-4.
However, the Orioles have now gone 22 straight series without being swept as they return home to start a weekend set against the Athletics.
Before that series gets underway, let’s take a look at who stood out this past week in the latest edition of The Great, The Good and The Ugly.
The Great: Trevor Rogers
Trevor Rogers is becoming another Kyle Bradish in the making as he continues to impress with each outing he has.
Covering two starts this past week, Rogers took a complete game loss, allowing just one run against the Cubs, and followed that up by going six innings with one run against the Phillies.
Rogers has reeled off six straight quality starts and totaled nine on the season. He has allowed three runs only once in a game and has pitched at least six innings in eight of his 10 games for the year.
This past week, Rogers totaled 14 innings of work, allowing just two earned runs (1.29 ERA) while striking out 14 and walking just two batters.
Rogers is now 5-2 through 10 games, totaling 62.1 innings of work with a 1.44 ERA and 0.83 WHIP. He has totaled 54 strikeouts to just 15 walks.
The crafty left-hander is on pace to set career-highs in most categories this season and is setting himself up to be the second or third piece in the Orioles’ rotation next season.
The Good: Adley Rutschman
Here’s a name we haven’t seen in quite some time in this series, and it’s one that is starting to turn things around back into the player we all remember.
Adley Rutschman has been on fire since returning from IL, and his offense has been back on par since his slump that started in the second half of last season.
Since August began, Rutschman has reached base via a hit in every game, slashing .318/.375/.500/.875. Of his seven hits, four have gone for extra bases (all doubles), while he has walked twice and struck out only once.
Rutschman has hit safely in eight of the nine games since his return and amassed seven extra-base knocks from his 11 total hits during that time. It definitely seems like Rutschman is turning the corner, which is a big deal for the team going forward.
The former first overall pick and top prospect is now slashing .238/.322/.390/.712 on the season with eight home runs and 25 RBIs. He has 50 strikeouts to his name and has walked 34 times while scoring 36 runs.
If Rutschman can return to form, it will be a good springboard into next season and a great leadership quality for the team to build upon as the season winds down.
The Ugly: Grayson Rodriguez
There is no other way to put this other than a giant disappointment.
Expected to be a big part of the rotation this season, Grayson Rodriguez was a factor in why the Orioles didn’t pursue a big-name starter and used plug-ins like Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano to help bridge the back-end of the rotation until Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells returned.
Now, Orioles GM Mike Elias has egg on his face, Birdland has a sour taste in its mouth and the season suffered with the loss of Rodriguez.
To make matters worse, it was just announced that Rodriguez would undergo elbow debridement surgery to remove bone chips and miss the entirety of the 2025 season.
After finishing 2023 with a 2.58 ERA over his final 13 starts, Rodriguez would follow that up with a 3.86 ERA over 20 starts in 2024 with 130 strikeouts over 116.2 innings.
The only good news about Rodriguez having the surgery is that he will be 26 next April, meaning he still is outside of his prime and will be at an age where he can still be a big part of the future.
Will he get back on the right track, or will injuries derail a once promising big league career?
The Orioles will return to Baltimore to welcome the Athletics, who seem to always play the O’s well. The Birds will then welcome the Seattle Mariners before heading out on the road once again.
Will Trevor Rogers continue his breakout? Can Adley Rutschman continue his turn-around? What happens now that Rodriguez is lost for the year and Bradish and Wells are still rehabbing?
We will find out what next week brings as The Great, The Good and The Ugly continues to roll.
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