Baltimore lost its home run leader when Anthony Santander signed with Toronto, but the roster is filled with players capable of upping their power production this season.
The Orioles have 44 home runs to replace with Anthony Santander leaving for Toronto, but Baltimore’s lineup is filled with players capable of increasing their power supply. It only takes one swing of the bat to remind everyone of the potential.
Ryan Mountcastle sent a three-run homer the opposite way yesterday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field. The 2025 home of the Rays qualifies as a hitters park, but Mountcastle will take every blast he can get after dealing with the left field wall at Camden Yards.
The Orioles moved the wall back in this season, and Mike Elias expects a few more balls to exit the park. Mountcastle should improve on his total of 13 long balls over 124 games in 2024, but he’s hardly the only player with 20+ homer potential.
Santander, Gunnar Henderson (37), and Colton Cowser (24) were the only three players to surpass 20 long balls in 2024, but the Birds have power hitters at almost every position. Henderson feels like a lock for at least 30 dingers if he stays healthy, and Cowser should lead a young group of players capable of upping their production.
Cowser provided a clear template for players like Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad and Coby Mayo. The Milk Man went 7-for-61 in his first taste of the majors and failed to leave the ballpark in 2023. He broke camp with the club a year later and never looked back on his way to 24 dingers and an AL Outstanding Rookie award from his peers.
Kjerstad, similar to 20-year-old phenom Samuel Basallo, resembled a big-league power hitter before making his debut. He combined for 20 long balls between Norfolk and Baltimore last season, and he’ll have every opportunity to punish major league pitchers this season.
Mayo went deep 25 times in the minors last season. He may not receive the playing time to eclipse 20 homers this season, but he’s conquered every minor league park available.
Holliday arrived in Sarasota looking bigger, faster and stronger. Normally, any 21-year-old player would elicit the cliché of doubles eventually turning into homers, but Holliday is not the average 21-year-old player. The phenom ripped four home runs in a six game stretch after returning to the majors last season.
The list doesn’t stop there. Adley Rutschman managed 19 jacks despite a brutal second half of the season. The 27-year-old has tagged the ball this spring, and he looks ready to return to All-Star form.
Jordan Westburg launched 18 homers in only 107 games, and Tyler O’Neill looks like a cartoon character that just overdosed on spinach. O’Neill produced 31 homers last season for Boston.
Cedric Mullins may never duplicate his 30/30 totals from 2021, but the 30-year-old is entering a contract season after leaving the yard 18 times in 2024. Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Urías both tallied double digit dingers last season, and stranger things have happened than either player approaching the 20-homer mark this year.
It’s not exactly breaking news that the Orioles should hit a bunch of home runs, but how often does a team lose its best power hitter and then take a step forward? Baltimore finished two homers shy of the league lead with 235 homers last year. With several players due to take a step forward, how many long balls could be in (or out) of play in 2025?
The Yankees led the league with 237 bombs, but 58 of those came from Aaron Judge. Only three Yankees tallied more than 15 home runs in 2024. Juan Soto (41) is no longer with the organization, and Giancarlo Stanton (27) is battling issues with both elbows.
The Orioles may not have one player that can go swing-for-swing with Judge, but the Birds have nine guys that can go homer-to-homer with any lineup.
The Birds’ bats went quite down the stretch and into the postseason. Nobody is advocating for a three true outcomes approach, but few teams have this many players capable of changing the game at any given moment.