Baltimore Orioles Predictions | 2012 Season Betting Preview – Cappers Picks Blog

2012 MLB Team Preview: Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles have their hands full once again in 2012 just to remain competitive and to finished the season with a .500 record.

Odds to Win American League Pennant: +7500
Odds to Win World Series: +15000

Key Additions:

OF Endy Chavez, OF Jai Miller, C Taylor Teagarden, DH Wilson Betemit, RHP Darren O’Day, LHP Tsuyoshi Wada, LHP Dana Eveland

Key Subtractions:

OF Luke Scott, LHP Jo-Jo Reyes, RHP Willie Eyre

The team had a relatively quiet offseason, failing to upgrade themselves in some absolutely key positions – mostly pitching. Let’s take a look at the Orioles and what we can expect out of the 2012 season.

We will start with the offense.

Projected batting order

1. 2B Brian Roberts:
.221 BA, .273 OBP, .331 SLG, 3 HR, 19 RBIs in 2011
2. SS J.J. Hardy:
.269 BA, .310 OBP, .491 SLG, 30 HR, 80 RBIs in 2011
3. RF Nick Markakis:
.284 BA, .351 OBP, .401 SLG, 15 HR, 73 RBIs in 2011
4. CF Adam Jones:
.280 BA, .319 OBP, .466 SLG, 25 HR, 83 RBIs in 2011
5. C Matt Wieters:
.262 BA, .328 OBP, .450 SLG, 22 HR, 68 RBIs in 2011
6. 3B Mark Reynolds:
.221 BA, .323 OBP, .483 SLG, 37 HR, 86 RBIs in 2011
7. DH Wilson Betemit:
.285 BA, .343 OBP, .452 SLG, 8 HR, 46 RBIs in 2011
8. 1B Chris Davis:
.276 BA, .310 OBP, .398 SLG, 2 HR, 13 RBIs in 2011
9. LF Nolan Reimold:
.247 BA, .328 OBP, .453 SLG, 13 HR, 45 RBIs in 2011

The Baltimore Orioles are a team that needed to address some glaring holes in their lineup that failed to do so during the offseason. Offensively, they should be just OK depending on the health of Brian Roberts. Without him, the Orioles look to be in a heap of trouble in the tough AL East. JJ Hardy provides power and Nick Markakis represents a decent third man in the order. Adam Jones as a cleanup hitter? He is probably best suited for the job but that certainly isn’t saying much.

The addition of DH Wilson Betemit gives Baltimore some much needed pop at the bottom of the order but certainly not enough to elevate the Orioles to where they need to be in order to just be competitive in the AL West. Baltimore may score some runs but it will mean nothing if their pitching can’t keep the other team from scoring more!

Now let’s take a gander at Baltimore’s pitching.

Projected rotation

The exact rotation order is nearly impossible to predict, given the Orioles’ current state, but here’s an educated guess at who will be in the top five:

1. LHP Zach Britton, 11-11, 4.61 ERA in 2011
2. LHP Wei-Yin Chen, n/a (spent past four seasons in Japan playing with the Central Chunichi Dragons).
3. RHP Tommy Hunter, 4-4, 4.68 ERA in 2011
4. RHP Jason Hammel, 7-13, 4.76 ERA in 2011
5. RHP Jake Arrieta, 10-8, 5.05 ERA in 2011

Projected bullpen

Closer: RHP Jim Johnson, 9 saves, 2.67 ERA in 2011
Setup man: RHP Matt Lindstrom, 3.00 ERA in 2011
Setup man: RHP Kevin Gregg, 4.37 ERA in 2011 [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]

There are major issues with Baltimore’s pitching staff heading into 2012 – MAJOR! It is very tough to get a grasp on what the Orioles hope to do with their rotation for one. The projected rotation above is just that – a projection. Nobody knows for sure what Buck Showalter will be able to do with this rag-tag bunch. Tsuyoshi Wada was the only significant move made among pitchers for Baltimore during the offseason. Wada went 33-13 over his last 52 starts with a 2.29 ERA during his career in his homeland – Japan. The rest of the projected starters have combined for a sub-.500 career record in the Bigs.

The closing duties will be handed to Jim Johnson and Kevin Gregg will be relegated to set-up duties after a disappointing 2011. Like the starters, there is not a ton too like when it comes to Baltimore’s pitching. In the AL East, arms are critical and the Orioles fall very short.