Baltimore Orioles: The Worst Pitching Staffs Of The Decade

1 of 4

BALTIMORE, MD – APRIL 20: Dan Straily #53 of the Baltimore Orioles looks on after giving up solo home run to Willians Astudillo #64 of the Minnesota Twins in the first inning during game one of a doubleheader baseball game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 20, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Baltimore Orioles starting pitchers didn’t have much success last decade.

With another decade behind us, blogs and websites everywhere are putting together all kinds of fun All-Decade lists from top moments to best seasons and just about anything else you can think of. As much fun as they are to read, especially during the winter months of no baseball and zero offseason activity from the Baltimore Orioles, they are even more fun to put together as you look back at many of the more memorable moments of recent memory.

We have already put together our Orioles All-Decade Team (read here) and we have looked at the top pitchers of the decade (here), while Joe Trezza over at MLB.com has put together a number of All-Decade type lists, including the top ten home runs of the decade.

Most of these pieces have focused on the positives, but let’s switch things up a bit. The Orioles put up five seasons of .500 or better baseball over the last ten years, which included three trips to the playoffs, but one thing that haunted all of these teams was the pitching.

According to Fangraphs’ Wins Above Replacement, Baltimore Orioles starting pitchers were worth 10.0 fWAR in 2016, the best performance of the decade. For context, a 10.0 fWAR season in 2019 would have put the Orioles as the 19th best starting group in the majors, just behind the San Diego Padres.

One may assume that Orioles starters in 2019 put up the worst performance of the decade, but they definitely had some competition. Let’s take a look at the three worst seasons for starting pitchers in Baltimore since 2010 (these numbers do not include any work out of the bullpen, only games started). Did 2019 take the top spot?

BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 06: Dylan Bundy #37 of the Baltimore Orioles walks off the field after being pulled during the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 6, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /

The 2019 season wasn’t the worst we’ve seen from Baltimore Orioles starters.

Believe it or not, per Fangraphs WAR, the 2019 Orioles saw 5.1 fWAR of value from their starters in 2019, which comes in third on our list.

Starters went a combined 36-76 with a 5.57 ERA and team-worst 5.72 FIP, 2.04 HR/9 IP, in 789 innings pitched, the fewest number of innings thrown by Orioles starters last decade. They were the only staff to produce a groundball rate lower than 40%, finishing at 38% on the season. Not surprising for the league’s worst pitching staff which allowed a record number of home runs in 2019.

Dylan Bundy led the way with 161 IP, with rookie LHP John Means being the only other starter to surpass 100 IP (155). Gabriel Ynoa was the third pitcher to top 100 innings, but he made just 13 starts and saw much of his work out of the bullpen.

Oddly enough, Means and his 12 wins and 3.60 ERA both led the team and earned himself a trip to the 2019 All-Star game, not bad considering he was contemplating walking away from the game before the season started.

It was a long season that saw the Orioles trod out guys like Tom Eshelman, Ty Blach, Chandler Shepherd, and even Sean Gilmartin for one start. Erasing the 2019 season from memory may not be a terrible idea. While 2020 likely won’t be much better, at least we will, hopefully, get to see a number of highly-anticipated prospects make their major league debuts next season.

Starting pitchers won just 28 games for the 2018 Baltimore Orioles.

Going a combined 28-84 with a 5.48 ERA, Orioles starters were worth just 4.5 fWAR in 2018, the second-worst performance of the decade.

Again, Dylan Bundy led the way with 171.2 innings and struck out nearly 10/9 IP, but he allowed a league-leading 41 home runs, allowed nearly 3 BB/9 IP, and finished the year with an 8-16 record and 5.45 ERA.

Andrew Cashner and Alex Cobb followed up with the second and third most starts and innings pitched, combining for a 9-30 record and just 201 strikeouts in more than 300 IP. Kevin Gausman was having the most success of the bunch with a 5-8 record and 4.43 ERA before he was traded to the Atlanta Braves during the great purge of 2018.

It’s also hard to believe that we saw seven starts from RHP Chris Tillman in 2018 (1-5, 10.46 ERA), in what would be the final outings of his Orioles career (although he is looking to make a comeback in 2020 after not pitching in 2019).

Overall, opponents hit .281 against Orioles starters in 2018, a number only one unit was able to surpass during the 2010s. That unit would be led by a man named Jeremy Guthrie and it tops our list of the worst starting pitching units of the Baltimore Orioles from 2010-2019.

BALTIMORE, MD – JULY 20: Manager Buck Showalter #26 (L) talks with pitcher Jeremy Guthrie #46 of the Baltimore Orioles in the dugout against the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 20, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

The 2011 starting rotation produced a few really good pitchers, just not during their time with the Baltimore Orioles.

The 2011 Orioles finished with a record of 69-93, finishing in last place in the American League East, but at least we got to watch Vladimir Guerrero swing a bat in an Orioles uniform for 145 games, the final games of his major league Hall of Fame career.

As for the starting rotation, Orioles pitchers were worth a team-worst 3.6 fWAR in 2011, putting them atop the list of worst starting pitching performances this decade in Birdland.

A then 32-year-old Jeremy Guthrie led the way with 208 innings pitched, finishing with a 9-17 record and a 4.33 ERA. It was the second time he led the majors with 17 losses since joining the Orioles in 2007. Filling out that rotation was Jake Arrieta (10-8, 5.05 ERA, 22 starts), Zack Britton (11-11, 4.61 ERA, 28 starts), and Alfredo Simon (4-9, 4.90 ERA, 16 starts).

More from Birds Watcher

A 23-year-old Chris Tillman and 24-year-old Brian Matusz also combined for 25 starts, going 4-14 with a 7.85 ERA.

Guthrie would go on to find some success with the Royals before calling it a career, while you already know what happened to Arrieta and Britton. At least in Britton’s case, he did produce some of the more dominant seasons out of the bullpen in Orioles history before being traded to the New York Yankees.

Starters went a combined 46-72 with a 5.39 ERA, racking up just 5.96 K/9IP while walking 3.36/9 IP. Their .284 average against and 1.52 WHIP are both the worst numbers from any Orioles starting unit last decade.

Next. Top 5 Orioles Pitchers Of The Decade. dark

Will the 2020 starting unit crack this list or will year two under Mike Elias and his staff produce better results with minimal talent? Stay tuned!

Home / Orioles History

Baltimore Orioles starting pitchers didn’t have much success last decade.

The 2019 season wasn’t the worst we’ve seen from Baltimore Orioles starters.

Starting pitchers won just 28 games for the 2018 Baltimore Orioles.

The 2011 starting rotation produced a few really good pitchers, just not during their time with the Baltimore Orioles.

More from Birds Watcher

Schedule