Baltimore Orioles: Superlative Winners Bring Hope And Excitement

ANAHEIM, CA - JULY 26: Anthony Santander #25, Stevie Wilkerson #12 and Trey Mancini #16 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrate after the final out in the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 26, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - JULY 26: Anthony Santander #25, Stevie Wilkerson #12 and Trey Mancini #16 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrate after the final out in the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 26, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – MARCH 07: Pitcher Dean Kremer of Israel throws in the bottom of the ninth inning during the World Baseball Classic Pool A Game Two between Israel and Chinese Taipei at Gocheok Sky Dome on March 7, 2017 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) /

Who will be the Baltimore Orioles 2020 version of John Means or Hanser Alberto?

“Most Likely to Surprise In 2020”- RHP Dean Kremer

We already noted the rise of John Means in 2019, but he wasn’t the only Oriole to come out of nowhere and completely surprise us. No one could have seen Hanser Alberto’s season coming and Anthony Santander’s rise was a pleasant sight as the former Rule 5 pick is now a favorite to start in a corner outfield spot in 2020.

Who emerges in 2020? We recently wrote about Rio Ruiz and his potential to break out next season, but we’re going to take this award in a different direction. The Most Likely To Surprise In 2020 superlative goes to RHP Dean Kremer.

Kremer is the hot prospect name in Birdland at the moment, and for good reason. Since coming over at the 2018 trade deadline in the Manny Machado trade, Kremer has racked up 175 strikeouts in 159 innings and dominated his way through the Eastern League with the Double-A Bowie Baysox.

He’s now out west in the Arizona Fall League where I’ll give you one guess as to what he’s up to….yep, lots of strikeouts. Kremer has allowed just two runs in 14 innings and struck out 17 while allowing six hits and four walks. Take AFL numbers for what you will, but that’s pretty impressive.

Kremer is Rule 5 eligible this offseason and will surely be placed on the 40-man roster in the coming weeks. After getting a taste of Triple-A baseball at the end of 2019, expect to see him start 2020 back at Harbor Park with the Norfolk Tides, but don’t be surprised to see him up in the big leagues soon after the All-Star break.