Baltimore Orioles: Five Things We Want To See In The 2020 Season

Notable pitching prospects could be joining the Baltimore Orioles rotation soon.

Just as someone in the outfield needs to step up next season, 2020 will be much more enjoyable to watch if we see some success from at least one starting pitching prospect who is expected to make their major league debut next year.

Fans have been waiting for Keegan Akin for a long time now and he appears to be poised for an early call-up, possibly even cracking the Opening Day roster (have to image service time comes into play here). LHP Bruce Zimmerman and RHP Dean Kremer also figure to be not far away from the majors after getting their first taste of Triple-A action last season.

Player development is now in capable hands after years of a barren land of minor league roster filler taking up space in the minor leagues. Prospects won’t be rushed and won’t make the majors until they are refined and ready. Zimmermann, Kremer, and Akin all appear to be nearing this stage.

It would be refreshing to see at least one of these arms experience some success in the big leagues in 2020. Kremer is the hot name in Birdland after a big 2019 in Double-A and a dominant stint in the Arizona Fall League. MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo even took note of Kremer and his impressive repertoire on Twitter. Akin is a workhorse who has real potential to log big innings in the backend of a major league rotation and as MASN’s Roch Kubatko recently pointed out, scouts believe Zimmermann could be a valuable reliever out of the pen.

If at least one can show out next season, it will give fans even more optimism about the direction player development is going and increase the anticipation for top pitching prospects like Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall to reach the bigs and witness their potential.