The biggest development of 2023 will be…

[Frobby]

Last year there were a ton of big developments that improved the future outlook for this team, but in my mind, there was a clear no. 1: the development of Gunnar Henderson from a nice top 100 prospect into the top prospect in baseball.   I don’t think many of us saw that coming, and to me, it had a pretty seismic impact on our future.   Adley was a given, but Gunnar gives us a second huge pillar around which to build a lineup.  

For me, going into the season, this year is mostly about Grayson Rodriguez.   Simply put, if he’s looking like a guy who’ll be a true no. 1 starter, the job of building a rotation becomes so much easier.   But if he’s looking more like a 2/3, then it’s way harder.   We all have high expectations for him, but just how high he can climb will say the most about the next half-decade than anything else we see this year, IMO.

What are your nominees for the biggest development last year and this one?

 

[interloper]

I agree it's mostly about Grayson. However, I want to caution folks that it can take a year or three for a guy to really settle into being a great SP at the ML level. Let's be patient if he's not instantly blowing dudes away up here, because he probably won't be. Or, at least I expect him to sort of do what Bradish did - have some rough outings, have some absolute stunners. Hopefully, his floor is higher than Bradish's was. I would expect that to be the case for sure. 

Anyway, I think my answer is Holliday. I think he's going to get to AA this season and be the next #1 prospect in the game this time next year. 

My 1a is Kjerstad reemerging as a top prospect and ML callup threat in September. I feel like we're going to be looking at Kjerstad and Cowser and trying to decide which type of player benefits the team most - a big power COF guy or a more versatile OBP-centric guy. And one of them will get the call. Probably Cowser, but we'll be giving more thought to Kjerstad than we anticipated. 

Edited February 8, 2023 by interloper

[waroriole]

DL Hall. He has the same ability to leap up the charts as Gunnar. The talent and arm is all there. It’s just a matter of refining his command. 

[emmett16]

Gunnar was other worldly, but I'd say Norby is a close second.  We might have a future All Star in our minors that we aren't even fawning over....yet.  

I think Mayo is the biggest wild card in the system.  He has the biggest upside and therefore, if he clicks on all cylinders, we will have a monster on our hands.  

[RZNJ]

I’m not getting my hopes up on Grayson.  I’m not expecting greatness.  For me the rotation will hopefully be strong 1-5 but with no true ace.

The biggest development will be determining if Bradish, Kremer, Mateo, and Felix Bautista can build off of what they did last year.   I think Bautista is, psychologically, the most important player on the team.

[Ohfan67]

11 minutes ago, waroriole said:

DL Hall. He has the same ability to leap up the charts as Gunnar. The talent and arm is all there. It’s just a matter of refining his command. 

I agree. How Grayson does is an obvious biggie, but if Hall can develop into a frontline starting pitcher, then that is more like the Gunner explosion in terms of having another in-house impact player or "pillar" as Frobby called Gunner. 

 

Really looking forward to the season as there are so many exciting major and minor league players to follow. 

[oriole]

I think Rodriguez is the obvious answer here. Everyone else will hopefully be supplemental players to the big prospects…Rutschman, Henderson, and Rodriguez.

I think Hall is a guy that will be really important this year. He is pretty much ready and what’s expected out of him is varied. He could be a top of the rotation starter or he could be a bullpen clean up guy. Either one wouldn’t surprise me whatsoever but obviously if he can be even a middle of the rotation guy then it takes a lot of pressure off everyone else.

Edited February 8, 2023 by oriole

[Spy Fox]

I think the biggest development will be IF Elias flips the switch and starts 1) trading prospects for top talent, and/or 2) spending money for top talent in the first half of the 2023/4 offseason. 

If the next 12 months really do start to see "liftoff" type moves, that is the biggest development in making the Orioles consistent contenders for the rest of the 2020s. If those moves don't start happening, it stays more of a tightrope walk. 

[Can_of_corn]

I'll bring the doom and the gloom.

The biggest development in 2023 will be the pitching taking a step backward and becoming an obvious roadblock toward the O's becoming contenders.

[Frobby]

27 minutes ago, interloper said:

I agree it's mostly about Grayson. However, I want to caution folks that it can take a year or three for a guy to really settle into being a great SP at the ML level. Let's be patient if he's not instantly blowing dudes away up here, because he probably won't be. 

I agree, which is why I phrased this as him “looking like a guy who’ll be a true no. 1 starter,” rather than saying  he would already be one.   

[Aristotelian]

Grayson is a good pick. When was the last time we had a true Ace? If he can become that guy, along with Adley and Gunnar, that is a very strong core to build around. If he can raise his floor from above average MLB starter to perennial Cy Young candidate, that would be pretty huge. 

Cowser has slipped in a lot of rankings. If he can bounce back he might be a bit of a sleeper pick. 

[Just Regular]

I think Kjerstad rates a Page 1 mention.     Its probably too tough for a hitter to not hit for a big chunk of his early 20's, but if he can get back to who Elias thought he was, he could ease the pain of the lineup for the Jose Abreu type anchor a lot of us had as an offseason priority.

If the magic dust falls on Basallo like Gunnar, has the Organization ever had a player like that?    Just going from memory, Schoop, Eduardo and Ponson feel like the best IFA's the org has grown.

[Ridgway22]

52 minutes ago, waroriole said:

DL Hall. He has the same ability to leap up the charts as Gunnar. The talent and arm is all there. It’s just a matter of refining his command. 

This is an excellent point. If DL can establish himself in the rotation, and GRod meets expectations, 40% of our rotation just became "pillars". And these two are replacing the #4 and #5 guys. I think this would be a huge development in our outlook for '23 and beyond.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

Gunnar Henderson has a ROY season that blows away all expectations and it contributes to the Orioles winning 90 or more games.

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

Gunnar Henderson has a ROY season that blows away all expectations and it contributes to the Orioles winning 90 or more games.

If Gunnar blows away all expectations he wins the MVP.

Some folks have very high expectations.