Our shiny new ace takes the hill to kick off what should be an exciting 2024 campaign.
The weather may be dreary in Baltimore today, but that won’t be enough to dampen one of the most exciting Opening Days in Orioles history.
This team enters 2024 with legitimate World Series ambitions. They won 101 games last season, and since then have added an ace in Corbin Burnes and the franchise has been sold to an ownership group that is expected to have deeper pockets than the outgoing Angelos family.
But it’s not just the immediate season that’s promising. The Orioles are set up to have a bright future as well. The big league duo of Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson are yet to even hit arbitration. They should be in Baltimore for quite a while longer. And the top prospect in baseball, Jackson Holliday, won’t even make his debut for at least a few weeks. Mike Elias has position the Birds to be a problem in the American League for years to come.
Burnes’ presence does put the onus on the season at hand though. The 29-year-old is entering his final season of arbitration, which means he will go to free agency this winter. There is little hope that the Orioles could pen him to a long-term deal before that happens, and although the David Rubenstein-led ownership group has the money to lock him up, it probably won’t happen. So, the team needs to capitalize on the 162 games they do have him in uniform.
That mission starts today. The Orioles have an AL East title to defend, an American League pennant to chase, and there is no reason that they can’t just go ahead and win the big “piece of metal” at the end of the season.
Orioles lineup
- Gunnar Henderson, SS
- Adley Rutschman, C
- Ryan Mountcastle, 1B
- Anthony Santander, RF
- Austin Hays, LF
- Jordan Westburg, DH
- Cedric Mullins, CF
- Ramón Urías, 3B
- Jorge Mateo, 2B
RHP Corbin Burnes
The fact that the Orioles are facing a left-handed starter to begin the season could mask what will actually be their daily lineup moving forward. Henderson and Mullins are the only full-time lefties to start as Brandon Hyde goes right-handed heavy. Westburg, Urías, and Mateo are all in the lineup. That leaves Colton Cowser, Tony Kemp, and Ryan O’Hearn as the bench options alongside backup catcher James McCann.
Angels lineup
- Anthony Rendon, 3B
- Aaron Hicks, RF
- Mike Trout, CF
- Taylor Ward, LF
- Brandon Drury, 2B
- Nolan Schanuel, 1B
- Miguel Sanó, DH
- Logan O’Hoppe, C
- Zach Neto, SS
LHP Patrick Sandoval
The lack of Shohei Ohtani certainly makes this lineup less threatening, and even with him they were only an average run-scoring team in 2023. Old friend Aaron Hicks plugs right into the middle of the order. He revitalized his career in Baltimore last summer, and followed it up with a big spring. Sanó is back in the majors for the first time since 2022, when he went 5-for-60 with the Twins. A healthy Trout is the key for them. He played in just 82 games last year, hasn’t really played a full season since 2019, and has not eclipsed 140 games since 2016.