Orioles fans should be excited following MLB's early power rankings

It may be under a month before pitchers and catchers report to spring training but the first power rankings of 2025, from MLB.com, are here. Baltimore fans have a lot of optimism following the disappointing defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Royals in the 2024 Wild Card Series.

The Orioles debut at number seven on the first rankings of the year. Baltimore began the offseason at number six in the rankings at the beginning of the offseason. The Orioles only dropped one spot following the loss of their ace Corbin Burnes, who signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier in the offseason.

This stems from the damage control around the starting rotation that General Manager Mike Elias and his staff performed to fill the hole left by the right hander. The O's added RHP Tomoyuki Sugano in December and followed up with adding Charlie Morton after the calendar flipped.

The Orioles off-season additions have so far kept them inside the top-10 in MLB's power rankings

Sugano played twelve seasons in Japan before making the jump to Major League Baseball this year. In his twelve seasons in NPB, Sugano posted a 2.45 ERA while accumulating 1,596 strikeouts. Sugano is a decorated pitcher in NPB, winning three Central League MVP's, two Sawamura Awards, and winning the Japanese Triple Crown in 2018. He's expected to join Baltimore's rotation this season.

The addition of former World Series Champion Charlie Morton came with mixed reviews. Morton, 41, is coming off of a subpar season with the Braves and believes he still has more to give. Morton's value is in his consistent availability, logging 30 or more starts in six of the last seven seasons, with the outlier being the COVID-shortened 2020. Coming in with a prove-it attitude to the new season, a change of scenery might be what the veteran righty will need to return to the form that helped push Atlanta over the top in 2021.

Baltimore is primed to make another postseason this year, as their core of Mullins, Rutschman, and Henderson remain intact. Joining the ranks in 2025 is former division foe, Tyler O'Neill. O'Neill is joining the fold as the supposed replacement of Anthony Santander, who has yet to secure a long term contract this offseason. O'Neill won two Gold Gloves as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals and received MVP votes in 2021. But the outfielder was signed less for his glove and more for his bat, after topping the 30 home run mark in 2024 as a member of the Boston Red Sox.

Baltimore's offseason may not have been as aggressive as fans would have liked to see, but they are playing it smart with the additions to support the foundation that has been built from many years of disappointment and high draft picks. The Orioles are looking to make their third straight postseason appearance and the rotation is still projected to be the weakness. It is always hard to replace an ace of Burnes' caliber but if the Orioles want to climb the power rankings it will start with the performance of their pitching staff.

There is still time for the Orioles to make one last splash, but the clock is ticking and if the Orioles want to get started right, it will depend on the offensive performance of their young stars. The offense supporting the staff in the early going will build some confidence and potentially allow them to be in a position to pursue a blockbuster move at the trade deadline later this summer.