I have learned not to read too much into spring training stats so I will dismiss the first ugly starts for Ubaldo Jimenez and Miguel Gonzalez. However, I stayed positive last year with Bud Norris during his spring struggles and we all know how that story ended. The good news is, games are in full swing now and fans can see the roster Dan Duquette and company worked hard to put together this past winter.

INJURIES EARLY IN CAMP

Regardless of the sport, the number one goal for teams is to enter the regular season healthy. Through the first couple of weeks of spring training, the Orioles are already dealing with injuries. It appears Chris Tillman has avoided significant injury to his hip and should be returning to game action next week. This still gives the right-hander plenty of time to build up innings and be ready to rock when the season begins.

However, news is not so positive for Brian Matusz and Jimmy Paredes. The O’s don’t seem concerned that Matusz’s status for opening day is in jeopardy, but they are also not classifying his injury as day-to-day. Matusz has become an important piece to the bullpen with his ability to get left-handed hitters out and without any clear replacement, the Orioles better hope the lefty recovers quickly.

As for Paredes, the designated hitter/infielder/outfielder was going to have a difficult time making the opening day roster due to his inefficiencies in the field and his sprained wrist just makes his odds that much longer. If this lingers, the Orioles could place Paredes on the disabled list, similar to last season to keep him around in case another injury eventually occurs.

BUNDY & HARVEY APPEAR HEALTHY

GulfBird Photo/Craig Landefeld

I’m knocking on every piece of wood I have in my house as I type this one. The Orioles’ top pitching prospects made their spring training debuts on Wednesday, as they continue to look to prove they are over their injury-riddled pasts. Manager Buck Showalter mentioned Bundy’s velocity increasing every time he touches the mound and Harvey was clocked at 96 MPH yesterday. This is all positive news, but there’s still a long way to go before the young right-handers are back to potentially helping the big league rotation (or bullpen, as the case may be).

As we know, Bundy has to be on the roster this year and he remains one of the biggest keys to the season. Showalter can’t afford to “hide” another reliever like he did with Jason Garcia in 2015. The rotation will once again be filled with pitchers struggling to make it out of the sixth inning so the bullpen will be used often. If Bundy can be effective, it will go a long way in keeping the other bullpen arms fresh throughout the season.

CORNER OUTFIELD REMAINS A MYSTERY

I’m not going to put any stock in Hyun Soo Kim failing to collect a hit in his first three games, but it should be a reminder that no one knows how his game will transition to the big leagues. Teams have already shifted on him, something he never saw in Korea. He’s essentially a rookie and will go through struggles like every rookie does. This is just another reason why the Dexter Fowler situation impacts a lot of players. Showalter has already used Kim in the two hole, a situation that would never happen if Fowler had been locked up.

This brings us to the wild card of right field. Mark Trumbo has already misplayed a couple of balls out there, which is to be expected as he should never be a fielder, but the team is going to take a look at him because there aren’t a lot of options. We know what Nolan Reimold brings, and the team will take a long look at Rule V selection Joey Rickard, as well as Dariel Alvarez and L.J. Hoes.

Along with the starting pitching, this is the biggest storyline to follow throughout the month. The team recognizes this is an area they have to improve on and with all the money spent this offseason, it would be a shame for there to remain such a glaring weakness on the roster.