With MLB Opening Day only 28 days away and spring training games starting up, baseball season is right around the corner. Over the next month, we will preview all 30 MLB teams for the 2020 season leading up to Opening Day on March 26th. Next up, the Baltimore Orioles 2020 preview. Check out the preview for the Atlanta Braves here.
The Baltimore Orioles finished with the second-worst record in baseball last season winning only 54 games in 2019. With Jose Iglesias being their only free-agent addition of note, the Orioles seem to be in for another tough year in the record department.
Jonathan Villar and Trey Mancini were the main bright spots in an offense that finished bottom ten in the league in many stats including home runs and OPS. With Villar now in Miami via a trade, Mancini will have to lead a lineup with very little help around him. Hanser Alberto hit .305 in his first season with the Orioles and will look to build on that success this season.
The pitching staff struggled similarly to the lineup, as John Means was the only competent starter on the roster after the trade of Andrew Cashner. Means finished 2nd in AL Rookie of the Year to Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez and will look to carry his success into 2020.
While the Orioles top three prospects of Adley Rutschman, Grayson Rodriguez, and DL Hall are not expected to make their debuts in 2020, the future is looking up for the Orioles. Ryan Mountcastle, Yusniel Diaz, and Austin Hays will be expected to contribute to the Orioles this season. Mountcastle should push the infamous Chris Davis for playing time at first base in 2020. This will appease all baseball fans of having to watch him try and find his former MVP candidate form.
A youth movement should be in full effect for the Orioles as they continue to replenish their farm system during this rebuild. That leaves little hope for this 2020 team, but with Trey Mancini and John Means showing promise, 2020 could be the beginning of the upswing for the Baltimore Orioles.
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