Who’s Hot, Who’s Not: Apr 22nd-28th

It was a subpar week for the Baltimore Orioles as they took on two teams well below .500 in the Los Angeles Angels and the Oakland Athletics. The O’s went 3-3 this week, including a series loss at home to an A’s team that has looked better than many expected. Despite the A’s overachieving to begin the season, this was a series that the Orioles were hoping to take advantage of before beginning a massive 4-game series against the New York Yankees, who currently hold a 1-game lead over the Orioles in the AL East.

With a week as disappointing as this one, there are certainly some guys that could have performed better. However, there were still many moments to be excited about this week as we saw some stellar pitching performances and many more home runs for the team that leads the entire Major Leagues in that category. Let’s take a look at this week’s who’s hot and who’s not:

Batting

Who’s Hot: Gunnar Henderson

The 2023 AL Rookie of Year continued to prove why he is one of the best players in all of baseball. Gunnar Henderson demonstrated that he is a true 5-tool player and, despite being just 22 years old, has shown that he can contend for MVP.

In a week that saw Adley Rutschman get his bat going, it was Henderson who stole the show for the O’s. His best performance of the week came on Wednesday night against the Angels when he reached base 5 times and drove in 3. Henderson did go 0-5 two times this week, however his performance in the other four games defends all calls by fans to sign Henderson to a long-term extension.

Weekly Stats: .320 Avg / 3 HR / 7 RBI / 0 BB / 6 K / 1 2B / 1 3B / 20 Total Bases / 2 SB

Who’s Not: Jordan Westburg

Coming off of a hot week himself, Jordan Westburg cooled off a bit this week. Does this mean there is area for concern? Absolutely not. However, I don’t think it is a coincidence that the Orioles went 5-1 last week when Westburg was on fire, and this week going 3-3 when he struggled a bit. I think Westburg is sneakily one of the most important pieces on this team, both offensively and defensively.

Westburg will be a crucial part of this team’s season and beyond. If the Orioles are to make a deep playoff push, I do think Westburg will be a big part of it. He has been consistent and reliable this year. This week, we saw his bat begin to cool off, and we also saw him miss just his second game of the year on Sunday with a stomach virus. It is unknown when this virus started and if this could have impacted his performance at all throughout the week. Once he recovers from his illness and gets back into the lineup, I suspect he will get back to hitting the ball well. Look for Westburg to play a big factor in the upcoming series against the Yankees.

Weekly Stats:.200 Avg / 0 HR / 1 RBI / 1 BB / 3 K / 1 2B / 0 3B / 4 Total Bases / 1 SB

Pitching

Who’s Hot: Cole Irvin

Cole Irvin came into this season with a question mark surrounding him. He started pitching better in the second half of the 2023 season, however, many were left wondering what his role would be with the club coming into this season. With Kyle Bradish and John Means nearing returns to the Orioles rotation, that question mark is only growing in stature. With that being said, if Irvin can continue pitching the way he has been recently, there is no doubt he will have a role in some form on this team.

Irvin’s success started last week when he threw 6.2 shutout innings against a hot Kansas City Royals team, helping lead the Orioles to a victory. He then followed up that performance with an even better one against his former team, the Oakland A’s. He gave the O’s 7 shutout innings while only allowing 4 hits and striking out 5 en route to another victory. If Bradish makes his return against the Yankees, it will likely be on the day Irvin is expected to start. However, if Irvin can continue to prove himself as he has recently, he could see some additional starts or, more realistically, a bullpen spot with his name written on it.

Weekly Stats: 7 IP / 4 H / 0 BB / 0.00 ERA / 5 K / 1-0

Who’s Not: Craig Kimbrel

If you read last week’s article, you will know that Craig Kimbrel was one of the hottest Orioles players coming into the week. Unfortunately, his luck changed as we saw Kimbrel blow two saves in consecutive appearances against the Athletics, both resulting in losses for the team. We often talk about how it is nearly impossible to replace a guy like Felix Bautista, and this is why. Back-to-back blown saves is something we have not seen before from Bautista, and unfortunately, it is now the reality of the situation the O’s are in.

I cannot fail to mention that Kimbrel did record 2 saves in the Angels series to begin the week. However, someone of his pedigree is expected to perform at a higher level than what we saw the past two outings. It appeared that Kimbrel had no control of any of his pitches this week, resulting in 6 walks allowed in just 2.1 innings pitched. Kimbrel also failed to record an out Sunday against the A’s before being removed with back soreness. If there was any big area of concern for the Orioles this season so far, it has to be the bullpen. Seeing Kimbrel perform poorly, and even get injured, should elevate this level of concern. If the Orioles are to remain competitive and make a deep run this season, they need to sure up the bullpen, particularly on the back end. Losing games to sub .500 teams consistently due to blown saves will not help the Orioles reach their goals for the season. Although I do not want to pull any fire alarms just yet, this is something to certainly keep an eye on. I would not be surprised if we see the Orioles make a move for another relief pitcher as we get closer to the trade deadline.

Weekly Stats: 2.1 IP / 5 H / 6 BB / 12.80 ERA / 3 K / 0-1 / 2 Saves / 2 Blown Saves