An unlikely breakout has buoyed the Orioles' rotation after a sluggish start to the season

It's no secret that the Baltimore Orioles have a tough hill to climb if they wish to remain serious playoff contenders come October, especially after their rough start. But with several key arms currently on the IL, the team's starting rotation has seen its fair share of struggles. However, Brandon Young has been a pleasant surprise for the Orioles, becoming a reliable anchor in the rotation. He has managed to keep the team in nearly every game he's pitched, and he's even played a large role in keeping their postseason dreams alive.

Has Young launched himself into consideration for a certain pitching award that shares his surname? Not at all. But staggering numbers are not what make his performance impressive. Young has stepped up when the Orioles desperately needed a helping hand. He has also provided a decent amount of length in his last two outings, pitching into the 7th inning each time. But perhaps most importantly, in his eight starts in 2026, Baltimore is 7-1.

Brandon Young is offering a helping hand to a battered pitching staff

While a pitcher's record is no longer as vital a statistic as it once was, contributing to your team's overall success will always be a valued characteristic. With Young, the Orioles have found a guy who seemingly flies in the face of reason. After being shelled in 2025, the former undrafted free agent didn't appear to have a future with the team. Putting up a -0.7 WAR season will usually do that.

But with a number of pitchers currently on the IL and a staff that has surrendered the fifth most earned runs in all of baseball, the Orioles haven't had much of a choice but to rely on Young. And they likely couldn't be any happier.

In the offseason, the Orioles' front office thought they had made a handful of strong moves that would bolster the staff and put them in prime position to compete with the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays. But as we enter into June, those acquisitions haven't quite delivered the results they were hoping.

At the time, the signing of Chris Bassitt was seen as a very solid pickup. After all, the veteran pitcher has been good everywhere he's pitched in his career. He just hasn't figured things out in Baltimore through his first 11 starts. The same can be said of Shane Baz. After dealing four prospects in exchange for the former first-round draft pick, the Orioles envisioned Baz as a future ace of the staff. So far, he's been a bit of a mixed bag, though he has appeared to turn things around across his last three starts.

Young is succeeding despite some concerning under the hood numbers

If you take a closer look at his underlying metrics, Young has been painfully average. In fact, the numbers suggest that he is likely over-performing. The tall righty only boasts a K/9 of 6.9, and his 1.372 WHIP indicates that he has had his struggles keeping runners off the basepaths. If you went and took a peek at his Baseball Savant page, you would see a lot of blue on your screen.

Although he's limiting hitters to just a .125 batting average off his fastball through his first eight starts, Young's secondary pitches are proving to be less effective. He has surrendered 23 combined hits off his split-finger and sinker. In fact, batters are slugging .536 off his sinker.

Yet despite the metrics, Young has managed to skirt around disaster. With the Orioles' pitching staff inundated with injuries, the team has been bailed out by Young's breakout start. Whether you attribute his success to pure luck or the artful skill of bending but not breaking, Young has given the team everything it could possibly ask for while they mend their injuries. With Trevor Rogers continuing to struggle, Young might just find himself as an indispensable player moving forward.

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