Milestones that the Baltimore Orioles players could reach in 2022
This Baltimore Orioles team is extremely young, but there are still a few milestones that could be hit before the closeout of the 2022 campaign.
Milestones and history are nothing new to the Baltimore Orioles. From Frank, Brooks, Earl, Eddie, Cal, and so many more, the O’s are rich in narrative. Although this team might be one of the youngest on record, they do have a few storylines to keep track of over the 2022 campaign.
For starters, let’s dig into the Baltimore Orioles’ most resident player and one who is climbing the homerun ladder in the O’s history books. Currently, the Orioles’ HR leaders go like this: #5 Adam Jones, #4 Brooks Robinson, #3 Boog Powell, #2 Eddie Murray, and #1 Cal Ripken Jr.
Trey Mancini Home Run Milestone
Current Baltimore Orioles HRs: 110
Projected HRs in 2022: 20, 127 Career
Boom Boom Trey currently is sitting at #25 overall on the Baltimore Orioles Home Run leaderboard, seven behind Matt Wieters and ten behind B.J. Surhoff. If Trey can get to 20 homers on the year, that will take him up to #18 on the list and just passing Orioles great Paul Blair.
Milestones that the Baltimore Orioles players could reach in 2022
In his four full seasons of playing in the big leagues, Mancini has averaged 26 home runs a season. Even though he has been smacking the cover off of the ball, Trey is behind the curve as far as homers go. The jury is still out on whether or not he will be in Charm City next year, but this is quite the feat, considering he has only played four full seasons in the bigs.
Remember when we mentioned that this Baltimore Orioles team is extremely young? For example, when you search among top leaders in the history books, Trey Mancini is the only player on the current roster that can be found among the Orioles’ overall leaders in anything.
Keeping that in mind, let’s transition to some more obtainable goals for this Baltimore Orioles team. When looking at this crop of pitchers it somewhat feels like pitcher by committee, until certain players either find their groove or get called up from the minors.
Jorge Lopez Single-Season Saves Milestone
Current Baltimore Orioles Saves in 2022: 6
Projected Saves in 2022: 22
Jorge Lopez doesn’t always pop off the Orioles roster as someone whom you automatically trust, but he has been there to close the door on more than a few tough scenarios for the Baltimore Orioles. As Brandon Hyde circulates between Lopez and Felix Bautista in save situations, these stats could rise, or lower by the end of the campaign.
Milestones that the Baltimore Orioles players could reach in 2022
It doesn’t help, that Lopez isn’t what you would say as the typical closer. So far in 2022, he has pitched in 17 games and only eight of them have been save opportunities. With two blown saves in the book, you can do the math to know that he has six on the season. Through 48 games, that isn’t a record-breaking stat. However, saves are a weird stat as they can fluctuate all season long.
If Lopez can get to our projected saves count of 22, he will be surrounded by some pretty remember-able Orioles. That stat would give him the 25th best season as a closer in O’s history, and tie him with Kevin Gregg, Jorge Julio, Armando Benitez, and Stu Miller. If things go well, and Lopez can find his groove, then we might be talking about Gregg Olson-type numbers.
Although having a closer rank back into the top of Baltimore Orioles lure would be an amazing accomplishment, this next one is something that we haven’t seen in Charm City in quite some time. In fact, the last time we saw this stat so high was in 2006 and 2007.
Speed isn’t something that the Baltimore Orioles might have been known for in the past two decades, but it is in fact something that they built this organization off of. The next milestone is just that, speed, and this player could be on pace for a breakout season, and one for the history books for the Baltimore Orioles.
Jorge Mateo Single-Season Stolen Bases Milestone
Current Baltimore Orioles Stolen Bases in 2022: 13
Projected Stolen Bases in 2022: 50
In 2006, Corey Patterson stole 45 bases, and in 2007 Brian Roberts stole 50 bags. Currently, Jorge Mateo is on that pace, but if things keep heating up as the season progresses, he could be in line for more than 50 SBs by the end of the year. We all knew his swiftness was electric, but this has been quite the performance so far in 2022.
Milestones that the Baltimore Orioles players could reach in 2022
Mateo currently leads the team with Cedric Mullins right on his tail. In fact, both Mullens and Mateo could end the season in the top-10 of the Baltimore Orioles’ all-time best seasons, but Mateo has done it in fewer games, which makes his SB rate even higher, and more impressive.
Some honorable mentions to keep an eye on will be Austin Hays and with total bases and Anthony Santander and his wild walks percentage. It’s not always something we tend to track throughout the season, but these are a fun way to make the dog days of summer go by.
With such a historic franchise as the O’s, this year could be one for the history books, especially after taking a few seasons off of even coming close in most of these categories. Who knows, as someone else might take fire and jump up the rankings as well.