Orioles' starting lineup getting early hype that may be too soon but justified

In The Athletic's recent article ranking all 30 offensive lineups in baseball, the Baltimore Orioles came in third, behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees. Last season, the Orioles were in the bottom half of the league in most offensive stats. They were 20th in wRC+, 22nd in wOBA, 23rd in offensive WAR, 24th in batting average, on-base percentage, and runs. Going from that to a top-three offense in baseball would be a major leap, but the Orioles are well-positioned to do just that.

There are several reasons to believe in this Orioles offense. The first is that in the two seasons before the Orioles' disastrous 2025 season, they were in the top five of many of the previously mentioned stats, so rather than a leap from being bad to being good, it could be considered more of a return to form.

Improved health and a lineup reinforced with veterans will lead to a much better outcome for the Orioles' offense in 2026

Part of this return to form would be getting better luck on the injury front. You never want to use injuries as an excuse for poor play, but the Orioles' lineup was particularly afflicted with injuries last season. They had just two position players reach the 100-game mark. That is an absurd stat. In their own division, the Yankees, Blue Jays, and Rays each had nine players reach 100 games, and the Red Sox had 6. Nobody in the entire league came close to the Orioles' mark of two.

With early injuries to Jordan Westburg and Jackson Holliday already causing them to miss time the Orioles won't go through 2026 unscathed but having their projected starters be healthy for more than half the games this season is a low bar to clear to the point where if they don't they'll have to start looking for some sort of San Francisco 49ers electrical substation type explanation.

Besides improved health as a reason for optimism, there are also the new faces on this year's Orioles team, Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward. Alonso and Ward bring two things to the Orioles lineup that they were missing last year. Home run power (Alonso and Ward both hit more than twice as many homers last season as anyone on the Orioles) and a veteran presence to help the Orioles young core work through slumps and provide a perspective that's different from what all the Orioles players learned coming up through the Orioles system.

Better injury luck combined with the additions the Orioles made this offseason should make this Orioles lineup one of the most elite position units in all of baseball, well worthy of the preseason hype they've gotten so far.