Baltimore Orioles' Best Newcomer Has Been Lone Bright Spot in Starting Rotation

It hasn’t been a good start to the season for the Baltimore Orioles, who ended the weekend with one of the worst losses in franchise history.

To begin the campaign, the Orioles have not been playing well. The starting rotation has been a mess and the lineup has underachieved.

Now, Baltimore finds themselves in a bit of trouble early on. The American League East is a challenging division and the Orioles have fallen behind early.

A lot of attention was on the decisions that Baltimore made this winter. With two key free agents in Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander, replacing that production was always going to be a challenge.

So far, the decisions made this winter have largely been ineffective, but one newcomer has been performing well.

Jake Rill of MLB.com recently wrote about the best newcomer for the Orioles being 35-year-old pitcher, Tomoyuki Sugano.

“Sugano may qualify as an MLB rookie, but he isn’t pitching like one. That’s because the 35-year-old Japanese right-hander was one of the most decorated hurlers in Nippon Professional Baseball before...”

Even though a lot of decisions made this winter haven’t worked out so far, the signing of Sugano has been a good one early on.

The veteran right-hander has been arguably the best starting pitcher on the staff, totaling a 2-1 record and a 3.43 ERA.

What has been shocking to see is his ability to succeed early on despite having just eight strikeouts in 21 innings pitched. The lack of strikeouts might end up becoming an issue for him, but the veteran has been able to find ways to get outs.

Despite being 35 years old, Sugano will actually qualify to be in the American Rookie of the Year conversation, but there is still a long way to go.

Furthermore, while he has performed well, the other veteran that was signed this winter to help replace Burnes has not.

So far, veteran Charlie Morton has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball, totaling a 10.89 ERA in five starts. The right-hander hasn’t logged a quality start yet this campaign, and it’s safe to say that he has been a bust early on.

The performance of Sugano has been encouraging, but the Orioles need more from other starters. With Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez still on the injured list for the foreseeable future, the starting rotation is lacking top-end talent.

With the struggles early on, it’s fortunate that Sugano has pitched well coming from Japan, but with a FIP of 5.60, there could be some regression coming.

While the 35-year-old has been the best newcomer so far, the offseason has looked like a failure for Baltimore to begin the season.