Orioles news: Strong showings from Tomoyuki Sugano, Gary Sanchez, and Bryan Baker

The first week of spring training has been an eventful one, seeing promising starts for some new faces for the Orioles. New Orioles Tomoyuki Sugano and Gary Sanchez had a strong start to the new year, in particular.

Sugano is one of the more anticipated newcomers as this will be his rookie season in Major League Baseball as a 35-year-old. With the changes to the Orioles rotation, many people are looking at Sugano to carry a hefty load in 2025.

Sugano looked strong in his first bullpen on Tuesday. His stuff was impressive to catcher Gary Sanchez who was tasked with the catching duties for the right-hander's bullpen. Sugano was not only directing pitches during his bullpen but also the location that he wanted Sanchez to set up on the plate. Sanchez seemed impressed by Sugano and his locations. If Sugano can build off of his first bullpen of the year the Orioles may have struck gold in the 35-year-old rookie.

Gary Sanchez was not only impressive behind the dish this past week, but in the batting cage as well. He and top prospect Coby Mayo made some noise at the plate in Sarasota. Sanchez fell behind 0-2 in a count to Bryan Baker during a live BP session before unloading on a pitch to deep left for his second home run of intra-squad play this spring. Sanchez was signed for his power and he is already proving that he is ready to provide that in the 2025 season.

Mayo had some powerful swings in batting practice on Thursday, including a long drive into left-center with a large crack of the bat. Mayo is the Orioles top prospect, who surfaced in the major leagues for a short period of time in 2024.

In August last season, Mayo made his major league debut and was with the team for the remainder of the year. The rookie hit under .100 during the 2024 season, leading him to need a strong spring to break through the Orioles deep infield. Mayo's exciting batting practice on Tuesday could lead to an exciting spring roster battle.

Sugano was not the only pitcher to show off his stuff on Tuesday, as reliever Bryan Baker was hitting the upper 90s in his live batting practice session. In an at-bat against Jordan Westburg, Baker blew a 98 mph fastball past the second baseman and followed that up by dropping 14 miles per hour on a changeup to strike out the All Star third baseman. Baker has spent the last three seasons between Baltimore and Norfolk and is looking to lock in a spot this spring with the major league club.

Although it has only been a short stint of spring training, the Orioles are preparing for a strong beginning. When the games begin on Saturday, the position and roster competitions will be at the forefront of the spring. The promising start by the new faces and young faces is shaping up to be an eventful battle this spring.