Thing have gone just about as well as could have been hoped since the All-Star break for your alone-in-first-place Baltimore Orioles. They came out of the gates strong with a sweep of the visiting Miami Marlins, and although they dropped two of three to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Tampa Bay Rays were simultaneously suffering a sweep at the hands of the Rangers. Throw in a game one win last night at the Trop, and the Birds are 5-2 since vacation, and, as mentioned, the standings are very pretty:
The @Orioles turn the 4-6-3 and take over sole possession of first in the division after the All-Star break for the first time since 2016!
(MLB x @HankookTireUSA) pic.twitter.com/lLXrAvjTrX
— MLB (@MLB) July 21, 2023
Let’s take a look at who’s contributed to the latest surge, and who needs to pick it up for the next one…
Three Up
Gunnar Henderson
Leading the team in plate appearances over the past seven games, Gunnar Henderson took advantage of them, reinserting himself into the AL Rookie of the Year conversation with authority. Gunnar hit .250/.345/.708 (172 wRC+) with a double, two triples, four RBI, seven runs scored, and four walks to only three strikeouts. Henderson has been getting himself noticed nationally with plays like this:
Unbelievably heads up play from Gunnar Henderson turning this into a triple! pic.twitter.com/OnY3yzQqQv
— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) July 20, 2023
For the season, Gunnar is hitting .247/.342/.476 with 15 home runs, 41 RBI, 50 runs scored, his wRC+ of 126 is second on the team to only Anthony Santander, and it’s safe to say his early-season struggles are well in the rear view. His 2.3 fWAR is second on the team behind Adley Rutschman, and among AL Rookies, is third, behind Texas’ Josh Jung (2.5), and Tampa’s Luke Raley (2.8).
We’re all very much enjoying the Gunn Show lately.
Adley Rutschman
Doesn’t it just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside when Gunnar and Adley populate our UP for the week? Adley hit .292/.320/.542 (135 wRC+) over 25 PA since his impressive Home Run Derby performance, showing that, no, it didn’t “ruin his swing.” He had three doubles, homered in Monday’s loss to the Dodgers, and has at least one hit in all six games in which he’s played in the second half.
Adley has matched his HR (13) and RBI (42) totals from his rookie campaign in 22 fewer games and 62 fewer plate appearances. His fWAR pace doesn’t reflect this (5.3 in 2022 vs. 2.4 so far in 2023), and it seems that FanGraphs nor Baseball-Reference are grading his defense nearly as high here this season. He just had his first passed ball the other night, so maybe someone else can chime in on what the problem seems to be.
As far as most of Birdland is concerned, “no, it’s the children who are wrong.”
Felix Bautista
After giving up the American League’s lead on a home run in the All-Star Game, some O’s fans wondered how Felix Bautista would be affected. Short answer: he wasn’t.
Bautista has been his usual self since the break, pitching 5.0 innings while allowing a single hit, striking out eight with no walks, and earning three saves as well as last night’s win. The Mountain’s ERA is now at a season-low 0.96, he leads O’s pitchers in fWAR (2.3), has a 17.3 K/9 and 3.64 BB/9 through 47 IP, and boasts a 1.58 FIP and 1.71 xFIP. It’s time he starts getting mentioned in the AL Cy Young conversation.
Honorable Mentions: Anthony Santander, Adam Frazier, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Urias, Kyle Bradish, Danny Coulombe
Three Down
Austin Hays
Since making his first ever All-Star appearance (which ended up being a start thanks to some injuries), Austin Hays has had a rough go of things. In 27 PA this week, he hit just .154/.148/.192, for a wRC+ of -18. He had only four hits (three singles and a double), didn’t walk, struck out seven times, and his season OPS is now down to .811, the lowest it’s been since mid-May.
Even with his recent slump, Hays’ season numbers are still very good: .300/.338/.473 (123 wRC+), and 1.8 fWAR. It’s good to see Austin Hays on a first-place team. I look forward to watching him play in a pennant race.
Colton Cowser
Speaking of struggling outfielders who need to pick things up now that Cedric Mullins is out indefinitely (ugh), it hasn’t been the most glorious start to an MLB career for Colton Cowser. He picked up a hit and the game-winning RBI on a two-strike sacrifice fly last night, so hopefully that gets him going a bit, but so far it hasn’t been pretty.
Cowser hit .071/.263/.071 this week (wRC+ of 17), going 1-for-14 with three walks and three strikeouts. Cowser seems to be running into a similar problem as his buddy Gunnar Henderson earlier this year.
Hope Gunnar can give his buddy Colton some friendly advice about their shared early-career problem. Namely, "I am confident that's a ball, so I'm not swinging. No, I don't care what the situation is."
Sometimes you gotta protect. GH seems to have learned. CC will too.
— Eutaw Street Report (@EutawStReport) July 19, 2023
Colton also seems a bit timid in the field, hesitating or taking overly cautious routes to balls that look to be catchable. With Mullins down, the team will need Cowser to have confidence in his abilities and pick things up a bit.
Tyler Wells
Tyler Wells was perhaps the Birds’ most reliable starter in the first half, turning in quality start after quality start and remaining among the league leaders in WHIP, despite having issues keeping the ball in the ballpark. He’d managed to avoid letting the long ball hurt him too much by allowing mostly solo shots. That luck ran out on his first start after the break, Tuesday against LA. He went just two innings, allowing five earned runs (all in the second) on six hits and two walks, including a three-run home run to Jason Heyward.
That was the ugliest game of the year for the Orioles all around, so we’re fine chalking it up to the extended rest and flushing it. The team has won two straight since, and hopefully Wells can bounce back similarly in his next start, Sunday in Tampa.
