Steve Davis: Orioles' Rotation Concerns
Opening Day is a week from Monday. Last year, the Orioles had one of the worst rotations in the league. As of Friday, of the 5 guys expected to be in the rotation, Kevin Gausman has the best ERA at 4.5, and, he's hurt right now and questionable to be ready for the start of the year. After that, you need a calculator to count this high. Tillman ERA of 8, Jimenez 9.5, Gonzales 12.5, Gallardo 16.6.
Now, keep those in perspective because spring ERA's can get skewed because pitchers throw so few innings that one bad outing blows up their ERA for the whole spring. That said, none of the 5 guys have pitched particularly well, although Jimenez has had good outings in minor league games. The rotation was the Orioles biggest area of concern in the off-season, and based on what we have seen so far, there isn't any indication things have drastically improved.
Buck was on the Hot Stove Show and seemed to agree that things are a little sketchy right now, pointing out a lot of bodies isn't necessarily the same as depth, which essentially means quantity doesn't mean quality.
Look, it's early, so things can change, but it sure would have been nice if the early signs were better than they are.