Baltimore Orioles Playoff Hopes Could Be Undone by This Fatal Flaw

A deep October run for the Baltimore Orioles could hinge on this fatal flaw.

Sep 28, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde (18) makes a pitching change during the sixth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles are right in the thick of the race for the American League East title with the New York Yankees.

Whoever comes away with the division crown will likely receive a bye in the MLB playoffs, avoiding the Wild Card Round. That should be the goal for the Orioles given some of the question marks they have heading into the stretch run.

A lot of focus has been put on their lineup, which has collectively hit a slump recently.

Can their young stars return to the form they showed earlier in the season?

It will be imperative the bats heat up. Baltimore is almost assured of a playoff spot, but a deep run in October is far from guaranteed because of some other worrisome areas.

Scoring runs would take a lot of pressure off of what has turned into a very shaky starting pitching situation. In the opinion of Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report, their rotation is a potentially fatal flaw.

Injuries are the biggest reason why.

The Orioles have lost Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells to season-ending injuries. Grayson Rodriguez, who has not pitched since July 31, may not be ready to make postseason starts.

There is some depth still, with Dean Kremer and Albert Suarez, but there is a reason why the front office was aggressive ahead of the deadline, acquiring Zach Eflin from the Tampa Bay Rays and Trevor Rogers from the Miami Marlins.

Eflin has been excellent. Rogers has been the polar opposite.

The former Marlin is now in Triple-A with Norfolk, and is actually performing worse than he did with the Big League club.

Alas, the biggest issue this rotation faces is with its ace, Corbin Burnes.

As Miller shared, something doesn’t seem right about the former Cy Young Award winner.

“Once a top candidate for the AL Cy Young, he has a 5.89 ERA and just a 7.1 K/9 over his last seven starts. Immediately after five consecutive starts in which the average velocity on his fastball was at least 96.0 MPH, he has been hovering at 94.5 MPH over his last three appearances. Both for Baltimore's sake and for the sake of this impending free agent's bank account, here's hoping it's just a blip before a strong finish, because the O's could get swept out of the ALDS for a second straight year if their big offseason acquisition is running on fumes,” per the Bleacher Report writer.

The questions surrounding their starting pitching staff makes winning the AL East even more important for Baltimore.

If they have to make it through a Wild Card Round before facing off against the Yankees or Cleveland Guardians, they will be at a distinct disadvantage.