Who’s most deserving of team hardware over the first half of the season? We list our picks here.
Every year, Jayson Stark of The Athletic hands out his own midseason awards and, sorry to say, the Orioles representation on that list is even skimpier than at the All-Star Game. But that doesn’t mean we can’t throw our own team-wide party!
It’s been a season of ups and downs—more downs than ups, to be honest—but let’s zoom in on several performances of note, including some superlative ones. So, without further ado, our Orioles midseason awards!
Orioles MVP of the half-year: Gunnar Henderson
Ugh, are we really gonna give this to Gunnar Henderson again? The 24-year-old won the club’s award for Most Valuable Oriole in 2023 and again in 2024, the first repeat winner since Adam Jones in 2011-12. There’s surely a case to be made for Ryan O’Hearn, the Orioles’ lone 2025 All-Star, in a breakout season that’s seen him hit .286 with an .840 OPS after nearly hanging up his cleats in 2023.
But the studly Gunnar deserves it. He’s the team leader in runs, hits, doubles, triples, and he started the season on the IL. And he plays shortstop. And he’s 24. ‘Nuff said.
Here’s what would happen if we spread Gunnar’s first-half numbers over 162 games:
.280/.348/.803 slash line
20 home runs
172 hits
90 runs scored
57 RBIs
57 extra-base hits
127 OPS+
Actually, what’s surprising about this is how absent his power has been, and that he’s still leading this team in doubles! By his own standards, this has been a down season for power, compared to 2023, when he hit 28 homers, and 2024, a massive 37. My guess is the oblique injury held him back, but he seems to be finding his stroke again.
The Orioles probably have no position player who can so single-handedly impact a game as their left-handed-hitting shortstop. Like he did on July 10, with a pinch-hit home run that turned a certain L into a rollicking W.
Put simply, Gunnar is a stud.
Other candidates: Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano, Trevor Rogers
Orioles LVP of the half-year: Heston Kjerstad
Look, I don’t like this any more than you do. But in terms of negative play, this isn’t a close call, either.
The star-crossed outfielder has had some lousy luck since becoming the Orioles’ first-round selection in 2020: myocarditis, missing key developmental time during the COVID year, then getting beaned in the head by the Yankees’ Clay Holmes last July and missing much of the rest of the season.
It wasn’t the greatest vote of confidence in him that the Orioles signed a passel of outfielders this past winter in Tyler O’Neill, Ramón Laureano, Dylan Carlson, and Daz Cameron. But it’s not like the Orioles haven’t given him any playing time this season, either. Kjerstad appeared in 54 games in the first half, and didn’t exactly shine, posting a .192 average, including a .159 mark in the month of May, with a lousy .327 slugging and .566 OPS.
Yes, Kjerstad was a close-to-passable hitter at home: Oriole Park’s dimensions helped the lefty, where he hit .232 and OPS’d .772, as opposed to a .403 OPS on the road. But overall, a below-average 60 OPS+ with a 27% strikeout rate, a 3.6% walk rate, and just four home runs in half a season is not what you need from a corner outfielder known for his power. Statcast is absolutely brutal on his defense, too, ranking him 361st of 367 players with -8 runs saved.
I’m not saying the ship has sailed. Perhaps, if the Orioles move some position players at the trade deadline, Kjerstad will get his chance to salvage his season and, I suppose, his career. I’m just saying that this was the year “Silent J” was supposed to break out and for the first half of the season, well, we didn’t see it.
Other candidates: Tyler O’Neill, Maverick Handley, Cionel Pérez
Orioles Cy Young of the half-year: Félix Bautista
Look, we really could reward someone in the starting rotation, which has put up some dazzling performances now and then. There’s Dean Kremer and his four shutout appearances of five-plus innings this spring. Or the 18-season veteran Charlie Morton turning around his season on a dime, from a 9.45 ERA in April to a 2.38 mark in July. Or lefty Trevor Rogers, panned as one of the worst trades in the Mike Elias era, posting an out-of-nowhere 1.53 ERA in six starts.
But let’s keep it simple and just recognize greatness when it appears in front of us. That’s true of Félix Bautista, aka “The Mountain,” who recovered from elbow reconstruction surgery in Fall 2023 to man the back of the bullpen once again this spring. And he’s done it with aplomb.
Is he fully back to his best self? No, but perhaps that makes his 2.41 ERA, 18 saves and 48 strikeouts in 33 innings even more impressive. Not to mention a 163 ERA+, speaking to a 63% superiority over the average reliever.
There aren’t many relievers like The Mountain. Hitters have an expected .163 average against him (100th percentile among all MLB pitchers). They whiff at a 35.4% rate (96th percentile). His average fastball velocity is down two miles an hour from 2023 and hitters are still batting .153 against it (a +2 run value). His splitter is already back to being one of the great pitches in the league, with a ludicrous 52.4% whiff rate.
One final reason to endorse this pick: Craig Kimbrel. Think of last season, and how you held your breath when the 36-year-old right-hander would come out to pitch the ninth. Do you remember how Kimbrel had a 22.09 ERA in his last four appearances for the Orioles, with a loss and two blown saves?
When Félix Bautista comes out with a lead, the game is over. He gives Birdland immense peace of mind. That’s worth feeling grateful for.
Other candidates: Dean Kremer, Trevor Rogers, Charlie Morton
Orioles Cy Yuk of the half-year: Zach Eflin
Hear me out. There have been way worse pitchers to take the mound for the Orioles this year: Cody Poteet (16.88 ERA in 2.2 IP), Chayce McDermott (8.22 ERA in 7.2 IP), Kyle Gibson (16.78 ERA in 12.1 IP), or Cionel Pérez (8.31 ERA in 21.2 IP) all come to mind. But I didn’t want to pick on prospects getting a cup of coffee, the over-the-hill Gibson, who simply had nothing left in the tank (and just announced his retirement), or Pérez, now in Triple-A, whose magic from a couple seasons ago seems to have run out.
And to be clear, I think Zach Eflin is, and will return to being, a very good pitcher. I’m just saying he’s been bad this year, and in an highly impactful way. He’s got a 5.95 ERA, his second-worst in ten seasons. His 1.435 WHIP is indeed his career-worst. Opponents are hitting .310 and OPS’ing .911 against him, two numbers that speak for themselves (they’re also career-worsts for him).
His fastball is averaging a career-low 91.9 MPH, and is worth -6 runs. Even more apparent, his breaking stuff is getting blasted to the heavens, with a shocking -13 run value.
I know Eflin isn’t fully healthy. He’s had a lat strain and back discomfort in just this spring. And to repeat, I know he will be good again. But the Orioles starting rotation has been a hospital ward, and Eflin’s regression this year has been another telling symptom.
Other candidates: Kyle Gibson, Cionel Pérez, Chayce McDermott, Brandon Young
Orioles rookie of the half-year: Tomoyuki Sugano
He’s got two things against him: he’s 35, and he posted a dreadful 8.84 ERA over his last month. But if Tomoyuki Sugano can rest and recover the form he showed this spring, this will be a cool story.
This was a curious signing when the Orioles made it back in the winter. Sugano is not the high-profile NPB pitcher that Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Kodai Senga are. But the one-year, $13 million deal seemed a smart way to add rotation depth.
In some ways, “Tommy Sugar” is showing what Orioles scouts were looking for when they inked this deal. He’s not a high-octane pitcher, but rather a finesse one. And indeed, his 5.2% walk rate is in the top 90th percentile of all pitchers, and his offspeed offerings (the splitter, sweeper and cutter) are all plus pitches, especially the split-finger (+4 Run Value).
His value has to be considered, too, in terms of all the starter injuries around him. Despite showing signs of fatigue edging into summer, Sugano has given this team 18 starts, nothing to sneeze at.
Other candidates: Coby Mayo, Grant Wolfram
Biggest Surprise: Ramón Laureano
Quick, name the current team leader in slugging!
Did you guess it was Ramón Laureano (.517)? No, I wouldn’t have either.
Let’s be honest: none of us were that excited by this offseason signing. Sure, the longtime Athletic had a full reel of dazzling defensive highlights in the outfield, but he hit a combined .211 for Oakland in his last season-plus there, and had also been DFA’d-slash-nontendered three times in the last two years.
But the 31-year-old righty outfielder is enjoying a renaissance this year. In 68 games, he’s posted a .284 average with eleven home runs and a team-best .867 OPS. In fairness, Laureano hasn’t hit like this since his career-best 2019, when he posted a very-similar .288 average and .860 OPS in 123 games, and likely won’t continue it for a full 162 games. But that’s OK.
He’s electric to watch in the outfield (do you remember the way Mark Trumbo used to be play right field?). His defense grades out positively, with an estimated 20 runs saved over a full season, but he’s also always giving you highlight-reel plays like this one:
Another surprising stat? According to Baseball Reference, Laureano has been worth 2.5 bWAR to this team, inches away from Gunnar Henderson (2.7 bWAR). After those two, no other Oriole is close to contributing this much simultaneously on offense and defense.
Whether Laureano’s brilliant run expires in the second half, it shouldn’t change the fact that he’s been an out-of-nowhere success for this team.
Other candidates: Trevor Rogers, Seranthony Domínguez
What do you think of this list, Birdland? Weigh in in the comments below.