5 BALTIMORE ORIOLES

O/U WINS: 64.5

KEY PLAYER: Anthony Santander. Jose Ramirez, who finished second for the AL MVP, had the best OPS (.993) among switch hitters last year (minimum 160 plate appearances). Santander (.890) was second. As the Orioles try to lay cornerstones for a better future, can young hitters such as Santander and Ryan Mountcastle validate last year’s strong showing over a full season? PLAYER WHO’LL NEED TO STEP UP: John Means. The lefty was second for AL Rookie of the Year in 2019, but produced a 4.53 ERA in 2020. However, in his final four starts against the strong offense of the Mets and three AL East playoff

PROJECTED LINEUP CF Cedric Mullins 1B Trey Mancini RF Anthony Santander LF Ryan Mountcastle 3B Maikel Franco DH Austin Hays

C Pedro Severino SS Freddy Galvis

2B Pat Valaika ROTATION

LHP John Means RHP Matt Harvey LHP Bruce Zimmermann RHP Jorge Lopez RHP Dean Kremer

teams (Rays, Yankees, Blue Jays), Means had a 1.52 ERA and a .488 OPS against. NAME YOU’LL GET TO KNOW: Adley Rutschman. The firstoverall pick in the 2019 draft can come fast. He is a switch-hitting catcher with a projection to be above average on both sides of the ball. BIGGEST QUESTION MARK: When exactly do they try to win? It’s not yet. There are not many long-term pieces

in place.

HOW IT’LL GO DOWN: They are still taking baby steps toward contention, so the Orioles need players such as Mountcastle and Rutschman to show they are longterm answers.