One number that defines every Orioles pitcher’s 2024 season

Last October, it was the Orioles’ pitching staff that let the team down.

The starting pitchers combined to allow 13 runs in eight innings as Baltimore was swept out of the playoffs by the Texas Rangers. The bullpen wasn’t much better, as the Orioles’ relievers gave up six runs across the series’ first two games.

This year, pitching was predicted to be the Orioles’ downfall again in October. Instead, the group gave up only three runs in two playoff games, and it was the offense that couldn’t come through as Baltimore was once again swept out of the postseason.

But how the club’s pitchers performed across the 162-game regular season is far more important than the tiny two-game sample size in October. Given that, here is one number that defines every Orioles pitcher’s 2024 season.

Starting pitchers

Corbin Burnes: 70 — As general manager Mike Elias said, Burnes “more than held up his end of the bargain” after pitching 194 1/3 innings and posting a 2.92 ERA in the regular season. But the main reason to acquire Burnes was for him to pitch like an ace in Game 1 of a playoff series — and that he did. Burnes’ eight-inning, one-run performance in the AL wild-card series opener against the Kansas City Royals resulted in a game score of 70 out of 100, according to Baseball-Reference. That marked Burnes’ sixth-best start of the year and the best postseason start by an Oriole since Bud Norris in Game 3 of the 2014 AL Division Series — the Orioles’ last playoff win. Those Orioles scored two runs for Norris, while the 2024 version couldn’t muster a single one for Burnes.

Grayson Rodriguez: 80% — Rodriguez’s season came to an end in early August when he suffered a strained shoulder muscle. Before the injury, he allowed three or fewer earned runs in 80% of his 20 starts.

Zach Eflin: 18 — That’s the number of millions of dollars owner David Rubenstein and Elias agreed to take on in 2025 salary when they traded for Eflin at the deadline. Eflin, who was excellent in his nine starts with the Orioles, is on track to enter 2025 as Baltimore’s highest-paid player since Chris Davis ($21 million) in 2019.

Dean Kremer: .139 — In each of his previous three seasons before 2024, Kremer’s weakest pitch was his changeup, according to Baseball Savant’s run value. In 2024, he changed his grip, Statcast gave it a new name and it became his best pitch. Opposing batters hit .139 while whiffing 36% of the time against the pitch that Statcast classifies as a split-finger.

Albert Suárez: 2,395 — Suárez went from a nonroster invitee to spring training to finishing second on the team in innings. After going 2,395 days away from the major leagues, the journeyman right-hander stepped up to save the Orioles’ rotation several times. His eight scoreless starts were second in the AL and tied for the third most in Orioles history.

Cade Povich: 6.9 — The young left-hander’s season can be split into two. In his first eight starts, Povich walked 13.1% of opposing batters — an unsustainable rate for a starter — and posted a 6.27 ERA. In his final eight starts, he walked only 6.2% — a decrease of 6.9 percentage points — while recording a 4.25 ERA.

Trevor Rogers: 9 2/3 — Elias gave up two MLB-ready bats in Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby for Rogers in hopes the southpaw would bolster the Orioles’ rotation. Instead, he pitched 9 2/3 more innings in Triple-A (28 2/3) than he did for the Orioles (19).

Kyle Bradish: 32.5% — Bradish posted a 2.83 ERA and finished fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2023. He was even better in 2024 before he suffered an elbow injury that required Tommy John reconstruction surgery. After striking out 25% of batters last year, Bradish sat down a whopping 32.5% in his eight starts this season.

John Means: 10 — Means was the Orioles’ No. 1 starter during the rebuild, but he was barely able to pitch for them once they became contenders. The crafty lefty started only 10 games for the Orioles from 2022 to 2024, including four this past season, after suffering two elbow injuries that required Tommy John surgery.

Tyler Wells: 3 — While not as dominant as Bradish or as popular as Means, Wells’ absence was felt in 2024 — whether he would’ve stuck in the rotation or been moved to the bullpen. Wells started only three games for the Orioles and was one of three pitchers, including Bradish and Means, who had their ulnar collateral ligaments repaired.

Relief pitchers

Seranthony Domínguez: 6 — Domínguez quickly became the Orioles’ closer after he joined the club from the Philadelphia Phillies at the trade deadline. He converted on 10 of 11 save opportunities but he struggled with the home run ball, allowing six of them in only 22 2/3 innings.

Yennier Cano: minus-1.9 — The average batted ball off Cano this season was hit at minus-1.9 degrees — the third-best opponent launch angle among all qualified pitchers. The sinkerballer induced a grounder 63.5% of the time.

Cionel Pérez: 0 — Pérez pitched in 62 games. The ball never left the yard, as Pérez extended his homerless streak to 83 2/3 innings. He’s given up only four long balls in 164 2/3 innings since joining the Orioles in 2022.

Danny Coulombe: 1.30 — Coulombe missed three months after undergoing elbow surgery in June. Before his injury, the Orioles’ bullpen ranked seventh in MLB with a 3.38 ERA. With him gone, the unit’s ERA jumped 1.30 runs to 4.68, ranking 25th in MLB over that span.

Jacob Webb: 5th — Webb established himself as a reliable platoon-neutral reliever thanks in large part to his changeup. On a per-pitch basis, Webb’s changeup was the fifth best among MLB pitchers who threw it at least 250 times.

Gregory Soto: 1.10 — In his first three outings with the Orioles after joining the team at the deadline from the Phillies, Soto allowed nine hits and eight runs. In his next 20 outings, he was the Orioles’ best reliever with a 1.10 ERA and 20 strikeouts across 16 1/3 innings.

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Keegan Akin: 23rd — It might not have seemed this way given how Brandon Hyde used him or how it felt on his occasional bad outings, but Akin was one of the most valuable relievers in baseball. His 1.4 wins above replacement ranked fourth among Orioles pitchers (behind only Burnes, Rodriguez and Suárez) and 23rd among qualified MLB relievers.

Burch Smith: 6.08 — Smith joined the Orioles in mid-July and was stellar across his first 13 1/3 innings, posting a 2.70 ERA to bolster a beleaguered bullpen. He couldn’t maintain that success in his next 13 1/3 innings, though, as his ERA ballooned by 6.08 runs to 8.78.

Craig Kimbrel: 84.2% and 11.50 — Kimbrel often felt like two different pitchers in 2024 — the good version and the bad. Given that, he needs two numbers to define his perplexing, yet predictable, season with the Orioles. Through July 13, the veteran closer was en route to his best campaign in years with a 2.10 ERA. He allowed an earned run in only 32 of 38 outings (84.2%) and the Orioles won four of those six games. From July 14 onward, though, he was one of the worst relievers in the majors with an 11.50 ERA — the worst for any pitcher with more than 15 innings over that span.

Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com , 667-942-3337 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer .