Baltimore Orioles Roundtable: Bold Predictions, Expectations, And More

Will the Baltimore Orioles win more or less than 57 games in 2020?

Contributor Ari Ezra- I am going to take the under that the O’s won’t reach the 57 win mark. I don’t see the O’s besting their 2019 season total of 54 wins because the team is still in rebuild mode. The Orioles do not look a lot different from last season. The pitching staff will need to improve, with starters having more quality appearances. The top half of the lineup is actually not bad on paper. The Orioles will have the capability to arrange some solid contact hitters in Austin Hays, Trey Mancini, Hanser Alberto, and Jose Iglesias. My biggest concern is that every other team in the AL East got bigger and better. The Orioles went 2-17 against the Yankees alone last season. With their big bats and Gerrit Cole alone, I could see a 2020 record that replicates last season.

Contributor Ben Schneider- This is a really tough question to answer because 57 wins is exactly the borderline this season.  Last year’s 59.5 was definitely generous and easy to bet the under on, but the 2020 Orioles should theoretically be better than the 54 wins in 2019, even after trading away Dylan Bundy and Jonathan Villar.  In my five-year outlook, I said the Orioles would win 58 this season and I am going to stick with that.  I believe in the rookies succeeding this year.

Contributor Chuck Boemmel- I’m going to go with the over, say 59 wins.  While there have been some tweaks to the roster (Jose Iglesias and Kohl Stewart), it looks like the roster will be essentially what we had in 2019.  2020’s record may very well hinge on who emerges as the fourth and fifth starters on the pitching staff.

Contributor Jesse Morrison-  I think the Orioles will get more than the 57 wins USA Today projected. With John Means having a full season under his belt, he should improve. I think Trey Mancini could have an even better year this season than in 2019. With complimentary hitters in Hanser Alberto and Renato Nunez, I could see the Orioles going 65-97. The bullpen and the rest of the staff after Means scare me too much for me to go any higher than 65 wins.

Site Expert Nick Stevens- Maybe it’s the smell of fresh grass or the sounds of mits popping in spring bullpens, but I’m taking the over. We’re going to see some top prospects like Mountcastle and Akin come up, there’s also a long list of young players and Rule 5 picks who are out to prove themselves. This team is far from a .500 club, but they will be better than last season.

Contributor Ryan Beckwith- I want to stay optimistic so I’ll take the over, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they lose 100 games again because they’re making substantial progress with player infrastructure at the lower levels yet the major league roster remains thin.