Baltimore Orioles 2023 Season Preview

By: Christopher Gardner

Headline Photo Credit: USA Today

Despite finishing 4th in the AL east in 2022 and having the worst record in baseball in 2021, the Baltimore orioles are eager in 2023 to prove their worth and compete with some of the best teams in baseball. While the Orioles ultimately fell short of their goal of making the postseason in 2022, at one point in the season they were considered one of the hottest teams in the league, which consisted of a 10-game winning streak in July of last season. One of the leading contributors to this hot streak along with an improved season following 2021’s disappointing result, is the Orioles’ incredible farm system which has included many of the hottest prospects in baseball who got called up to the majors last season. One of these prospects includes AdleyRuschman, who was the top-rated catching prospect in all of baseball before being called up to the Orioles. Ruschman did not hesitate to contribute by producing 13 Home runs and 45 RBI’S in 113 Games played for the O’s. The former Oregon State man also tallied a .254 batting average, which ranked 5th best on the team.

​The production from the young talent in Baltimore’s farm system doesn’t end with Ruschman, with the Orioles also calling up another one of their highly touted prospects, 3B Gunnar Henderson. The 21-year-old from Montgomery, AL was called up on August 31 of this past year, just in time to prove to Birdland that he was worthy of the hype. In just 34 games, Henderson posted 4 home runs along with 18 RBIs while posting a .259 average in his rookie season.

​The Orioles also have many returning key MLB players coming back in 2023 Cedrick Mullins, Ryan Mountcastle, John Means & Austin Hays. The Orioles look for these players to continue to set the tone for the season and mentor the many young players the Orioles have on their roster in hopes of making the postseason in 2023 for the first time since 2016 when they lost in the AL wild card against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles will look to expect big contributions from their offseason acquisitions that complement their rosters such as the signings of SP Kyle Gibson, RP Mychal Givens, and C James McCann, who was traded from the Mets this offseason. Despite having the lowest payroll in the entire MLB, the Orioles have shown this offseason that they are not afraid to go and acquire players in an attempt to make a postseason run. The Orioles kick off their season with their first spring training game on February 25 against the Minnesota Twins at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida.