3 Baltimore Orioles who surmounted expectations in April

After of month of ball, the Baltimore Orioles have shown us more than once that things are changing. With that comes a few players with big surprises.

April is over already, but the Baltimore Orioles are probably somewhat glad. Ending the month with a series win over the Red Sox needs to feel good, but it wasn’t all rainbows over the past month. They finished April with two series wins, the other coming from the Angels a few weeks back.

Within all of the mediocrity came a few players who stood out and has encouraged Birdland moving into the month of May and beyond, especially after starting the month with a massive win against their AL East foes. With that, here are three Orioles who really impressed in April.

Spenser Watkins

If the featured image didn’t give it away, let’s start there. Spenser Watkins has been on fire, and he has undoubtedly been the biggest surprise this season. The Orioles’ last man-up (when it comes to the starting rotation) has been more like their most trusted after four successful starts.

3 Baltimore Orioles who surmounted expectations in April

The phrase trust might be a bit much after where he came from last season. In 2021, Watkins went 2-7 with a horrendous 8.07 ERA. Not something to write home about for sure. Spenser may have gotten the initial bid for the fifth spot in the rotation because of familiarity with Hyde, but he has now made it his home.

Orioles nation is still waiting for him to get his first win of the 2022 campaign (as I’m sure Watkins is, too), but hosting a 2.55 ERA with eight strikeouts over four starts has been a breath of fresh air. With injuries happening all around the starting rotation, Spenser Watkins has started to flourish at just the right time.

Jorge Lopez

The 2021 season was a bit of a failed, elongated experiment for Jorge Lopez. Going 3-14 and posting a 6.07 ERA is nothing to be happy about, and something needed to change for both Lopez and Orioles skipper, Brandon Hyde.

Lopez notably came out in an interview stating about how he was incredibly nervous before games when he knew he would start, and that has to be where the inconsistencies and horrendous outings came from. That’s easy for any of us to say, but it’s honestly one of the most stressful positions in all of baseball, so it just makes sense.

Now that Hyde moved Lopez to the pen, and slid him into the closer role, things have changed dramatically. He now has a 2-1 record, four saves, and a 1.59 ERA so though the month of April. When certain trades took place right before the season seeing two Orioles relieves gone, that really solidified just where Lopez was going to be, and the trust that Hyde had in him.

3 Baltimore Orioles who surmounted expectations in April

Much like Spenser Watkins, the trust factor is a thing with Lopez. Do Orioles fans trust him? Does he trust himself? Does the rest of the team trust him? All valid questions to what seemed to be a once failing career in Baltimore. That plundering career has been awaken in April, and Jorge Lopez seems to have found a new calling; don’t call it a comeback!

The Baltimore Orioles have had some solid closers over the years, but none have ever stuck it out for very long. If he can keep it up and keep mutual respect between he and the club, he could turn into the O’s next great closer. For now, calling him the next Tippy Martinez, Lee Smith, or Gregg Olson might be a stretch, but with the fire he has coming off the mound, anything’s possible.