Some flashed and some crashed
Valuable Oriole. One of baseball’s best all-around players and likely to remain so for a long, long time. Grade: A
Mark Trumbo, OF-DH: The steal of the offseason led the major leagues in home runs and delivered particularly big swings late in the season. Reports of his inability to produce in the second half of the season obviously were greatly exaggerated. Grade: A
Jonathan Schoop, 2B: Continued to establish himself as one of the game’s top all-around second basemen. Showed signs of fatigue at the end of the season but finished with 25 home runs and 82 RBIs, and wowed everybody defensively. Grade: B+
Pedro Alvarez, OF-DH: Another Dan Duquette steal, Alvarez didn’t get as much playing time as he might have liked, but project his run-production numbers over a full season of at-bats and he’d be right up there with the Orioles’ other big guys. Grade: B
Michael Bourn, OF: Late-season acquisition didn’t play a lot but made the most of his opportunities, playing solid defense and injecting speed into the lineup. Even mixed in a couple of home runs. Grade: B
Chris Davis, 1B: The big guy delivered another big home run total in the first season of his megacontract, but the other offensive numbers were not great. Hit just .221 and led the majors with 219 strikeouts. Excellent defense at first base offsets some offensive disappointment. Grade: B
J.J. Hardy, SS: One of baseball’s steadiest players came on strong at the plate in September when many of his teammates were in a frustrating funk. Makes it look easy in the field when it really isn’t, and makes everyone around him better. Grade: B
Adam Jones, CF: Continues to be the de facto team captain and one of the game’s best all-around outfielders. Solid run-production numbers would have been higher if he had not taken over the full-time leadoff role, but necessity demanded it. Grade: B
Joey Rickard, OF: Rule 5 draft pick gave the Orioles a big spark early in the season and was an everyday player until late May. Numbers sagged some and Hyun Soo Kim captured increasing playing time before Rickard was lost for the season with a hand injury. Grade: B
Matt Wieters, C: Needed to come back to the Orioles this year and re-establish himself as one of the top all-around catchers in the game. Did that by playing 117 games behind the plate and putting up upper-level offensive numbers for a catcher. Grade: B
Ryan Flaherty, IF: Super-utility guy whose playing time declined substantially because the Orioles stayed largely healthy at the positions he usually plays. Batted just .217 with three homers and 15 RBIs in 157 at-bats, but he isn’t here for his offense. Good defender at all infield positions. Grade: C+
Francisco Pena, C: Called up when reserve catcher Caleb Joseph suffered a serious testicular injury and performed adequately in his place. Came up again late in the season and finished with a .200 batting average in 40 at-bats. Threw out four of eight runners who tried to steal on him. Grade: C+
Paul Janish, IF: Good soldier who spent almost all of the season in the minors to give Buck Showalter veteran infield depth. The Orioles didn’t need much of it this year, so he played in only 14 major league games. Hit just .194, but was here for the errorless defense at short and third. Grade: C
Nolan Reimold, OF: Didn’t get much playing time, but hit a couple of important home runs in the second half and made two big defensive plays during the final series against Toronto. Grade: CCaleb
Joseph, C: Reserve catcher missed several weeks with a serious testicular injury and struggled at the plate for much of the season. Did not have an RBI in 132 at-bats. Still a solid reserve catcher who could get more playing time next year if Wieters does not return. Grade: D
Drew Stubbs, OF: Joined the team late to provide outfield depth and did that, but didn’t bring much at the plate. Managed just three singles in 22 at-bats. Grade: D
Trey Mancini, OF-DH: Top hitting prospect came up in September and hit a home run in each of his first three starts. That hasn’t happened often in major league history. Will come back next spring with a chance to pop. Had five hits in 14 at-bats, four of them for extra bases. Grade: Promising
Julio Borbon, OF: Journeyman outfielder appeared in just six games for the Orioles and had four hits in 13 at-bats. Grade: Incomplete
Steve Pearce, OF: Reacquired by the Orioles in early August to give the club an OBP injection, but was dogged by an elbow injury and hit just .217 in 60 at-bats. Still a Showalter favorite and could be back next spring. Grade: Incomplete
Pitchers
Zach Britton, P: Less than one season after moving into the role, delivered one of the greatest performances by a closer in baseball history. Set a major league record for consecutive successful save opportunities by a left-hander to start a season and finished the year 47-for-47. Set records for lowest single-season ERA and consecutive appearances without giving up an earned run. Should get strong consideration for Cy Young Award. Grade: A+
Brad Brach, P: Blossomed into one of the game’s best setup relievers and was rewarded with an All-Star selection. Reached double digits in wins and pitched to a sub-1.00 ERA in the first half of the season. ERA crept over 2.00 because of one bad outing at the end of the season. Grade: A
Donnie Hart, P: Surprise addition to the bullpen. Came up from Double-A to take over left-handed specialist role and excelled even in late-season pressure situations. What more is there to say about an 0.49 ERA and a sub-1.00 WHIP in 22 appearances? Grade: A
Chris Tillman, P: Seemed to be on his way to a Cy Young-caliber season until a shoulder problem slowed him at the end. Still, there was no question about his impact on the team, which was 22-8 in his regular-season starts. Grade: A
Mychal Givens, P: Rookie established himself as a solid middle-relief and setup guy, and stepped up when Darren O’Day missed significant time with injuries. Finished with an 8-2 record and very good ratios. Grade: B+
Dylan Bundy, P: Wasn’t expected to be a regular member of the starting rotation this season, but necessity dictated that his development be accelerated, and he responded well. Went 8-5 as a starter after pitching well and winning two games out of the bullpen. Grade: B Oliver Drake, P: Big right-hander has gotten a few looks over the past two seasons and appears to have made a good impression. Made 14 appearances in 2016 and had a 1.00 WHIP. Pitched well against tough competition in four late-September appearances. Grade: B
Kevin Gausman, P: It took time to get on track this year and took forever for him to get a win on the road, but emerged late in the season to help stabilize the starting rotation at just the right time. His 9-12 record was deceptive because of poor run support early in the season, but he’s still developing. Grade: B
Tommy Hunter, P: Comeback kid rejoined the Orioles in late August after being released by the Cleveland Indians. Pitched in 12 games and was effective, allowing just three runs and no homers over 121⁄3 innings. Grade: B
Vance Worley, P: Veteran right-hander played a couple of roles. Was an occasional spot starter and a versatile middle guy who finished with a 2-2 record and a solid 3.53 ERA. Just a dependable guy in a pinch. Grade: B
Brian Duensing, P: Veteran left-handed reliever missed a big chunk of the season with an injury after joining the Orioles in May, but was scored upon just once in seven appearances after coming back in September. Grade: C
Darren O’Day, P: Tough year for the captain of the bullpen. O’Day had to bounce back from two injuries that required extended stays on the disabled list. Trying to pitch through injury bumped up his ERA more than a full run to 3.77, but he still won three games and saved three in lowest number of appearances in his impressive Orioles career. Grade: C
Chaz Roe, P: Right-hander made just nine appearances for the Orioles in 2016, allowing four earned runs in 92⁄3 innings. The Orioles couldn’t sneak him through waivers, and he was claimed by the Atlanta Braves. Grade: C
Tyler Wilson, P: Got a chance to break into the rotation and held his place there for a couple of months. Fairly dependable innings eater until a couple of bad starts at midseason pushed him back to Norfolk. Made eight appearances out of the bullpen in the second half with mixed results. Grade: COdrisamer
Despaigne, P: Cuban reliever was acquired from the San Diego Padres last winter. Came up in June and pitched well for several weeks, but faltered in his last few appearances for the Orioles. Was demoted and claimed on waivers by the Miami Marlins in September. Grade: D+
Ubaldo Jimenez, P: Seemed on the verge of getting released in August before morphing into Orioles’ most consistent starter over the last six weeks of the season. Overall numbers are ugly and so was his final appearance, but the Orioles were 13-12 in games he started this season, which isn’t bad for a back-rotation starter. Grade: D+
Yovani Gallardo, P: Spring training free-agent acquisition had an up-and-down season that was interrupted by a shoulder injury. Struggled early. Pitched better after returning from DL. Pitched well in three of four September starts. Still ended up with a 6-8 record and 5.42 ERA. Grade: D
T.J. McFarland, P: Workhorse lefty has been a favorite of Buck Showalter’s, but struggled with injury and ineffectiveness this year and appeared in only 16 major league games. Emergence of Donnie Hart could make it tougher to get back. Grade: D
Wade Miley, P: Everybody was convinced that the deal that brought Miley to the Orioles was a bust until he bounced back with a string of strong innings at the end of the regular season. His place in the rotation remains an open question, but he’ll get a fresh start with the Orioles next spring. Grade: D
Logan Ondrusek, P: Veteran reliever came back from Japan and signed with the Orioles in July. Had a couple of solid outings to make a good first impression, then things went south. Gave up runs in four of his last five appearances and didn’t make it to September. Grade: D Mike Wright, P: Got the chance to establish himself in the starting rotation early in the season, but 6.22 ERA in 12 starts put him back on the Norfolk Shuttle. Pitched OK in a few late-season relief appearances and will get more time to grow. Grade: D Read more from columnist Peter Schmuck on his blog, "The Schmuck Stops Here," at baltimoresun.com/schmuckblog.