Orioles Manager Offers Bizarre Take on What Matters Most When He Analyzes Performance

The Baltimore Orioles' pitching staff, mainly their starting rotation, has taken a lot of heat for their performance during the 2025 MLB regular season, and rightfully so.

There are only two starters, Tomoyuki Sugano and Zach Eflin, who have positive WAR numbers midway through May. The strategy they used to fill out their rotation this offseason was criticized at the time, and things have actually gone worse than most people predicted they would.

Charlie Morton leads the MLB with seven losses, and the Orioles are 0-11 in the games he even steps on the mound. Kyle Gibson has been shelled in his three starts to the tune of a 13.11 ERA, serving up seven home runs in 11.2 innings.

While the pitching staff has struggled, it is far from the only reason the team has a 15-26 record entering play on May 15.

Their lineup has also fallen woefully short of expectations.

Seven of the 18 players who have taken at-bats for the team this year have an OPS+ in triple digits.

Not among that group are outfielders Heston Kjerstad, the former top prospect who has not lived up to the billing yet, and their biggest splash in free agency, Tyler O’Neill, who has already spent time on the injured list.

New backup catcher Gary Sanchez is 3-for-30 on the season, outfielders Dylan Carlson and Ramon Laureano are 0-for-15 and 15-for-76, respectively.

What Does Brandon Hyde Look at Analyzing the Orioles Offense?

Whiffing on so many offseason additions will set back any team.

But the approach that manager Brandon Hyde takes to analyzing offensive production and making lineup decisions could also be hurting the team.

He was asked about what numbers he pays closest attention to and the answer will surprise a lot of people.

“Definitely not exit velocity. Looking at competitiveness of at-bats, the ability to swing at strikes. … I don't look at how hard we're hitting balls or anything like that. Think that that's great and sexy. But for me, it's not winning baseball,” Hyde said, via Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun on X.