Baltimore Orioles Platoon Bat Cracks Top 20 in Position Power Rankings

The Baltimore Orioles have rejuvenated this veteran's career and he's now among the best hitters at his position.

Sep 28, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Baltimore Orioles first baseman Ryan O'Hearn (32) celebrates his two-run home run against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images / Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles decided in the 2022-23 offseason that they would take a flier on first baseman Ryan O'Hearn.

He spent the previous five years with the Kansas City Royals, but struggled to find consistent success at the plate, while led to him struggling to find consistent playing time.

Now two years into his time with the Orioles, his career trajectory has taken a drastic 180. He has been a key part of a team that has made the playoffs each of his two years with the team. Baltimore won 101 games in 2023, and 91 games last season. Out of the 324 that the O's played, O'Hearn took the field in 254 of them.

The veteran turned 31 years old in July, but Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report thinks he is better served as a teenager — or at least when it comes to his positional ranking. In Reuter's most recent first base power rankings, O'Hearn falls inside the top 20, landing at No. 16.

"O'Hearn enjoyed a career renaissance after joining the Orioles in 2023, and he backed up his breakout performance by posting a 122 OPS+ with 21 doubles, 15 home runs and 59 RBI in a career-high 494 plate appearances. The 31-year-old was used almost exclusively as a platoon player, tallying just 44 plate appearances against southpaws."

O'Hearn has been utilized in a strong-side platoon role throughout his career, even in his time with the Royals. But things have clicked during his time with Baltimore. Of his 1,933 career plate appearances, only 12.3 (237) percent have come against left-handed pitching.

The veteran has a slash line of .252/.317/.433 in his career against righties, and only .190/.254/.301 against lefties.

This year, O'Hearn had a slash line of .264/.338/.439 against righties, while finishing with a slash line of .262/.296/.310 against lefties, leaving him with a .264/.334/.427 slash line overall. O'Hearn's 122 OPS+ marked the second consecutive campaign with that mark, and only the third time in seven seasons he has put up an OPS+ above 100.

O'Hearn took a step back in his defensive ability this year, posting a -2 in Outs Above Average per Baseball Savant, after totaling an even zero leading up to 2024. His -2 OAA ranked him 23rd in baseball among all first basemen.

The Orioles picked up the veteran's club option for 2025, giving him at least one more season with the club before hitting free agency, and making a cool $8 million in the process.