Orioles Overlooked Veteran Pitcher Bright Spot in Otherwise Dismal Season

This has turned into a lost season for the Baltimore Orioles and there is more than enough blame to go around.

Manager Brandon Hyde got the axe last month. General manager Mike Elias’ offseason moves have been dissected since he fired Hyde and he has things to answer for beyond this season. The lineup has underperformed, for the most part. The pitching staff has had its share of injuries, and, at times, it feels like the staff is throwing batting practice to opponents.

The Orioles went 8-18 in May. At one point Baltimore lost eight games in a row, including an entire series to their DMV rival, the Washington Nationals.

It’s been a brutal two months. There aren’t many bright spots, especially on the pitching staff.

Those offseason moves that Elias made? Most haven’t worked. But one has — Tomoyuki Sugano.

But even Sugano — who was a decade-long veteran for the Yomiuri Giants in the NPB and won the Sawamura Award twice — was not the Orioles’ best pitcher in May.

No, that was Dean Kremer

Dean Kremer’s Impressive May

Amid all the losing and finger-pointing, Kremer, the 29-year-old right-hander from Stockton, Calif, was a light for the Orioles in May.

He made six starts in the month, three of which were quality starts. He led the team with a 3-1 record and pitched 36.1 innings. He gave up 11 earned runs and three home runs. But, he struck out 31 and walked 10 for a 7.7 K/9 rate. Plus, he had a 2.72 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. No pitcher, starter or reliever, had a better ERA for the month than Kremer.

His numbers last month showed improved based on his season. Through 12 starts he is 5-5 with a 4.70 ERA, with 51 strikeouts and 18 walks in 67 innings. He also has a 1.39 WHIP. So, he showed improvement across the board. All three of his quality starts for the season were in May.

Kremer wasn’t drafted by Baltimore. The Los Angeles Dodgers selected him in the 14th round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of UNLV. He ended up in Baltimore in the Manny Machado trade, and since his arrival in the Majors in 2020 he’s delivered whatever the O’s need.

For his career he is 35-35 with a 4.33 ERA in 107 games (106 starts) with 487 strikeouts and 195 walks. He had a career-best 13-5 record in 2023 when the Orioles won 101 games and the AL East.

The O’s probably aren’t winning a division title this year. But Kremer is performing like the quality pitcher he’s been his entire career, even if few are paying attention.