- 14 minutes ago
On paper, this Orioles rotation could be electric, but the floor is also fairly low. Bob and Nolan discuss their expectations for the Orioles pitching staff in 2026.
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00:00At Zach Affleck, yesterday starting pitcher for the Orioles against the Tampa Bay Rays down in Florida as the spring
00:08training schedule goes into its second week opening day less than three weeks from today.
00:14Coming up on March 26th, Oriole Park Cannon Yards will be at Pickles Pub, Baltimore Baseball tonight in all of
00:20our glory and obviously we'll be previewing that over the next week as well.
00:25It's video at Hany 105. Some of the family's off today. He'll be back on Tuesday. Nolan McGraw in the
00:32house, Mike Pope as well.
00:34And Zach Affleck had back surgery, spent three stints on the IL in 2025.
00:42And according to Zach Affleck, this back issue that had arisen had lasted for quite some time.
00:49He hadn't been comfortable for many, many seasons. Got it done.
00:54And one of his quotes after the game was, it's like I have a new back, which is great.
01:01And then yesterday against Tampa, two innings, a hit, one walk, three Ks.
01:08The most important thing, Nolan McGraw, well, first thing, he got out of there healthy.
01:15He didn't get carried off the field or ambulanced out.
01:20But the Vila was 94, 95 miles an hour, not only with his fastball, but with his secondary stuff.
01:28So Zach Affleck, and we were talking at the end of the show yesterday about the rotation order.
01:34And maybe a six-man rotation could be part of the equation at some point for the birds.
01:40But it's going to be Bradish, Rodgers, Boz, Bassett, and either Eflin or Kramer.
01:47And Dean Kramer has been a reliable, solid, sometimes spectacular pitcher.
01:53Eflin was their number one pitcher going into last year.
01:57But the good news, the Vilo and the health look pretty impressive against the Rays.
02:04Yeah, I wish we got to see it on TV yesterday because a big thing that he was talking about
02:08in his recovery from the back surgery and that procedure was that, well, all of a sudden he's able to
02:14lift his arm higher than he used to.
02:16And he's saying that that changed his entire pitching motion.
02:20So I don't know if it looked that drastically different in person or not.
02:23Just wish I got a chance to see it.
02:25But the stats, the results speak for themselves.
02:28And as we sit here just a couple weeks from opening day, and you mentioned it, you're trying to figure
02:33out who's going to have that last spot in the rotation, either him or Dean Kramer.
02:37I guess there is a possibility that Eflin, the fact that he's getting his spring start this late into the
02:44game, the ramp up starting now instead of a couple weeks ago.
02:48So maybe you could say that he hangs around in Sarasota for another week or so, just build up even
02:54more durability, more endurance, and then he'll join maybe the major league club after that.
03:00But they hate to say it, the easiest way to sort out the issue would be someone getting injured, and
03:05that is probably going to happen at some point.
03:07But I'm up for anything.
03:09I said it yesterday, I think six man is on the table.
03:12I think it'd be a pretty good idea to start the year.
03:14But if Eflin isn't ready to go, then Kramer will be certainly built up by then between getting an early
03:21start in spring and the WBC.
03:23And even with Kyle Braddish, I would still think you'd proceed with caution with him.
03:28All systems go with Rodgers and Bassett.
03:31Shane Boz has a full season after Tommy John surgery a couple years ago.
03:36And Kramer, now he's good pitching for Israel in the World Baseball Classic.
03:41But even Braddish, I would think, Nolan, the de facto ace of the staff, could possibly be slow play to
03:48some level.
03:49Doesn't seem as though, and we'll talk to Jake real later, that that is a plan right now.
03:54I mean, he's kind of pumping it all cylinders right now, but long year.
03:59Right, I think, yeah, you're just naturally going to have to hold him back a little bit to get him
04:04through 162.
04:05I mean, whether the fans like it or not, and I'll be honest, from my perspective, it is a little
04:09annoying.
04:09Because if you're going to lean on this guy that heavy, I would hope that he's out there.
04:14But, you know, this is the situation they're in.
04:16They have cultivated some depth, so that is nice.
04:19Everyone has good health for now, which is incredible.
04:22You know, outside of the Kittredge thing this week and what we kicked off spring with with the infield injuries.
04:28Actually, been pretty fortunate this year.
04:31You know, and Jackson, I see you knocking over there.
04:33I'm knocking with you.
04:35But, yeah, like even Jackson Holiday, like he started swinging yesterday in the cage, so he's working his way back.
04:41If he's not there on the opening day roster, he'll be there for minor league opening day, and he'll be
04:46able to join the team in a couple weeks.
04:48So they're in decent shape right now.
04:50I just think, you know, it would be interesting to see how they, you know, try to keep guys as
04:55healthy as possible, you know, by holding them back, limiting innings.
05:00Because at a certain point, there's only so much you can do.
05:02Like, you just have to let it rip at a certain point and hope that these guys can stay durable.
05:08Epplin's an above-average pitcher, as we know.
05:10And he helped the Orioles get to the playoffs in 2024.
05:13Yeah, the Byrnes had built up some equity by the time they had traded for him, but the starting rotation
05:18was in disarray.
05:20And he came in, and he pitched game two of the playoffs after Corbin Byrnes went in game one.
05:26But I'm very intrigued by his potential upside here.
05:31One-year deal, I believe there's an option for 27, if I'm not mistaken.
05:36I could be wrong.
05:37But if he's healthy, he gets 25 starts, for instance, 30.
05:45I think there's a guy that's going to be a big asset to Craig Auburn as in his first year
05:50here in Baltimore out of the rotation.
05:52Right.
05:53And, I mean, before it was all talk.
05:55And up until yesterday, he just didn't have any actual game action to go off of.
05:59And as fun as it is, as nice as it is to hear a guy say, well, I feel the
06:04best I've ever felt.
06:05You know, this feels like a weight off my shoulders.
06:07There's back injuries behind me.
06:09Something that he had been pitching through for years before it actually finally blew up and prevented him from pitching
06:14at all.
06:15That he's saying all the right things.
06:17That's fine.
06:18I've heard that a million times from a million players, that they feel the best they've ever felt.
06:22And then the results don't come.
06:24So it still will be a little wait and see with him, you know, how it translates to the regular
06:28season.
06:29But this is a veteran pitcher.
06:31He knows what he's doing.
06:32He knows his limitations.
06:33It's very in tune with his arsenal.
06:35So I think there's a lot to like here.
06:37Now, for our listeners out there on this Featured Artist Friday, it's Vidian Haney, 105.7 The Fed.
06:42Bob Haney, Nolan McGraw.
06:43Nolan's going to be sitting next to me at some point in time here on this Featured Artist Friday.
06:48That reveal coming up in a few minutes.
06:50As you look at the rotation on paper, it's an upgrade over last year.
06:57I mean, last year was brutal, as we know.
07:02And Trevor Rodgers kind of saved it from being an absolute abysmal starting rotation.
07:09But what are your expectations?
07:12I mean, are they going to finish starting rotation?
07:15Top five in our run average?
07:16Top ten?
07:18Innings pitch from your starters?
07:20Who's the guy that's going to get the bulk of the innings?
07:24Who's the burns if they get to the playoffs that's going to go eight innings in that sort of game?
07:29Who's going to keep the pitch counts to a minimum?
07:31I'm sure they're going to, Drew French is going to kind of keep things, you know, as copacetic as he
07:36possibly can earlier.
07:38I don't want to get Orange Cool Lady yet, Nolan.
07:42Because again, Braddy.
07:44I don't know.
07:46Coming off Tommy John, he looked dominant last year when he came back.
07:50All systems go so far in spring.
07:53Trevor Rodgers.
07:54We've discussed this many times.
07:57Which one do you get?
07:59The 2024 or the 2025 version?
08:03I'm leaning towards 25 because it's outside of that outlier against, who was it the other day?
08:09The Netherlands.
08:10He was dominant in spring training.
08:13Boz, I'm excited about.
08:15Now, Bassett's solid, proven.
08:18He's an older version of Dean Kramer.
08:21And then you have man butt.
08:23And now the Eplen we just talked about.
08:26I don't want to say there's a surplus.
08:29What is it?
08:30Riches or benefit of riches, whatever the stupid term is.
08:34But there's still reasons to be somewhat skeptical.
08:38And in particular, injuries.
08:41And is Rodgers for real?
08:44Bassett and Kramer are just them.
08:46That's fine.
08:46Eplen, health permitting.
08:48He's him.
08:49That's fine.
08:50I mean, what Shane Boz are you getting?
08:51The one that pitched at Steinbrenner Stadium or the one that pitched away from there in 2021?
08:57Well, at least you have two guys that I think you're pretty confident in what you're getting.
09:00Bassett and Kramer.
09:02You know, two different levels, two different standards.
09:04But of all the guys in the rotation, all the guys in the starting pitcher conversation,
09:08those are the two that I feel most confident in saying, yeah, I'm pretty sure I know what
09:12their stat line is going to look like this year.
09:14Next tier down, I would go with your front end guys, Braddish and Rodgers.
09:18But it's a little more of a mystery for two different reasons.
09:21Injury in one case, Rodgers just being otherworldly in the other.
09:26And honestly, with Rodgers, what if we just split the difference between, you know,
09:30his mediocreness and his eliteness?
09:33You split the difference, that should be good enough to be in your starting five.
09:36So I think overall expectations, team ERA, well, let me say starting pitcher ERA,
09:42because I don't know what the bullpen is going to do.
09:44Starting pitcher ERA, I would hope, is top five to top seven in the American League.
09:49If it's anything less than that, maybe if it's more closer to 10 in the American League,
09:54then your offense really has to be number one or number two.
09:58So we'll see.
09:59I mean, I'm interested what the balance is going to be this year.
10:02You know, it'd be great if everyone's firing on all cylinders,
10:05but there's going to be at least periods of this season, a couple months stretch,
10:10where the offense is going to have to pick it up for the pitching, for whatever reason, and vice versa.
10:15So for now, at the very least, compared to last year, they're deeper, the floor is higher,
10:22and they're good enough to compete.
10:24Are they elite?
10:24Can't say that, but they're good enough to compete.
10:26On paper, this is a better team than the one that won in 2025.
10:32But the unexpected injuries and dips in performance from some of these young players led to a last-place finish.
10:39So I think there's reason for optimism.
10:41I'm not booking World Series tickets.
10:44I might throw a couple bucks on the Orioles, given their World Series odds.
10:48I might do that sort of thing.
10:49But based on what you've seen and heard, ladies and gentlemen,
10:52through spring training for the first couple of weeks,
10:54what do you think about the expectations for the team?
10:57It's been a brutal year.
11:00Well, last year was brutal.
11:01We talked about it at the end of the season, or the end of December, Nolan.
11:06Maryland getting to the Sweet 16, which was almost a year ago,
11:10in my opinion, was the highlight of the sports calendar for the big three,
11:16Orioles, Ravens, Maryland basketball.
11:18Orioles finished last.
11:20Ravens missed the playoffs.
11:22Hyde got fired in May.
11:23Harbs, he got cundiffed after the season.
11:27Now we go into 2026.
11:30Well, Maryland basketball stinks.
11:32Oh, Maryland football had a brutal year after a 4-0 start.
11:35So we go into 2026.
11:38We still have pre-agency in the NFL.
11:40Still have the draft in the NFL.
11:42We pretty much know what the Orioles might look like.
11:46Maryland hoops has some work to do going into 2026-27.
11:50And then Maryland football, who knows?
11:52Mike Loxley is deemed as one of the hottest hot seats going into college football.
11:57So, Nolan, right now the Orioles are going to have to kind of save the day
12:01as we get into March and April here for our sports calendar fun.
12:05Yeah, because things get ugly for the Ravens starting next week.
12:09Before we even get to minicamp or the draft, things could get ugly for the Ravens.
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