The Midsummer Classic is a little less than 24 hours away. In the American League bullpen will be a pair of Orioles teammates to potentially make their respective first All-Star appearances. While neither player entered the Baltimore organization with much fanfare, their emergence as an elite late-game duo has helped the O’s to a 54-35 record that has them just two games behind the AL-leading Rays.
Félix Bautista first entered the professional ranks as an international signee of the Marlins. He spent two and a half years in the Miami system, didn’t advance past rookie ball, and was released. The Orioles signed him midway through the 2016 campaign. Bautista remained in the low minors for a while, not even reaching Low-A until his age-24 season in 2019.
Given that background, it’s not surprising he never appeared on an organizational top 30 prospects list at Baseball America. He’d go unselected in the Rule 5 draft on a couple occasions before securing a spot on the O’s 40-man roster over the 2021-22 offseason.
As a 27-year-old rookie, he somewhat surprisingly broke camp last year despite walking over 15% of minor league opponents the preceding season. Bautista rewarded the organization’s faith by immediately dominating MLB hitters. He worked to a 2.19 ERA across 65 2/3 innings, striking out a little under 35% of opponents. By year’s end, he’d ascended to a ninth-inning role vacated by a midseason trade we’ll revisit later.
Bautista entered 2023 assured of a high-leverage spot in Brandon Hyde’s bullpen if healthy. The latter caveat was no sure thing in exhibition play. Bautista was hampered early in camp by knee and shoulder issues. Fortunately for the Orioles, he was not only ready to go by Opening Day, he’d taken his game to another level.
The towering 6’8″ hurler was MLB’s best reliever in the first half. He’s thrown 42 innings with a 1.07 ERA, locking down 23 of 28 save opportunities. Bautista has incredibly punched out 84 of the 165 hitters who’ve stepped in against him. His 50.9% strikeout rate leads the majors by a wide margin. The 7.7 point gap between Bautista’s figure and Aroldis Chapman’s 43.2% second-place mark exceeds the difference between Chapman and Trevor Richards in 11th place (minimum 20 relief innings).
Among that same group, only Robert Stephenson is getting swinging strikes more frequently than Bautista, who has gotten whiffs on 20.9% of his offerings. Jhoan Durán, Chapman and Jordan Hicks are the three pitchers averaging better than the even 100 MPH on Bautista’s four-seam. There’s an argument Bautista is the best reliever in the game and he’s on his way to getting some down-ballot Cy Young support this fall.
Yennier Cano isn’t likely to appear on any Cy Young ballots, but he could find some Rookie of the Year support. His emergence might be even more unexpected than Bautista’s. Cano didn’t get to the big leagues until after his 28th birthday. The Twins signed the right-hander out of Cuba a few seasons back and selected him onto the MLB roster last May. He made 10 appearances in a depth role for Minnesota, allowing more than an earned run per inning.
At last summer’s deadline, the O’s and Twins lined up on an aforementioned trade. Baltimore dealt then-closer Jorge López to Minnesota for a four-player package. Cano was the only one of the group with any big league experience but arguably perceived as the fourth player in the return. He spent most of the late-summer at Triple-A Norfolk, only pitching three times for Baltimore at the MLB level.
Cano opened this season back in Norfolk. The O’s recalled him in the middle of April. The 6’4″ righty never gave Baltimore an opportunity to send him back down. Cano has posted a 1.48 ERA over 42 2/3 innings. He quickly jumped up the depth chart and has already picked up four saves and 19 holds.
Unlike Bautista, Cano isn’t racking up whiffs. His 23.9% strikeout rate and 10.5% swinging strike percentage are around average for a reliever. He has excelled by limiting contact quality, keeping the ball on the ground at a huge 64.3% clip. He owns the fifth-highest grounder rate among relievers with 20+ frames.
Cano had always shown a knack for keeping on the ball on the ground throughout his minor league tenure. He’d been prone to bouts of wildness throughout that time, though, routinely walking opponents at a double-digit percent clip. His strike-throwing has been exceptional this season, as he’s handed out free passes to less than 4% of batters faced. Whether he can keep pounding the zone at this rate remains to be seen, but the grounders should make him a quality high-leverage arm even if his walks were to move closer to league average.
The Bautista-Cano pairing has become one of the game’s most effective relief duos. The Orioles probably didn’t anticipate this kind of dominance from either pitcher, but their respective acquisitions — Bautista as a minor league signee, Cano as a small part of a bigger trade — are strong credits to their scouting staffs. They’ll be in the national spotlight tomorrow in Seattle, and they’re doing their part to get Baltimore back to the postseason after a long rebuild.
Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Meanwhile in St Louis, the “winners” of the 2011 front office power struggle plot new ways to drive the team backward, further into the abyss.
Yeah, first losing season since 2007 and playoffs 9 of the last 12 years, really screams of a badly run team.
Way to go, Mo!
Thanks for making this Orioles post about the Birds. But you’re not wrong, just…
Way to go, Elias! Feel better…
@palebros
You’re right. My bad. You guys are having a great season after a long time down. You deserve the positive attention. I’m struggling to cope with the losing. Enjoy this team. They are truly something special. Best of luck the rest of the way. I will definitely be rooting for the O’s.
Struggling to cope with one losing season? What is that? You sound like a spoiled brat who throws a tantrum every time they don’t get their way. Struggling to cope with a losing season. One. Not a few years. No. Just one bad season. WTF is wrong with people.
Bautista seems like the most humble guy. He just gases 102 by someone to end the game and casually walks to Adley for his hug. Cano’s stare down is a great ying to Bautista’s Yang. Let’s go O’s!
I recall seeing Cano’s antics and getting thrilled when Seager hit a double off him that inning. I want to see a hitter flip his bat and walk backwards around the bases in 2 minutes to show him a tast of his own medicine. He reminds me of Fernando Rodney. Sure, a fan may love it, but that annoys other fans. I do love that bullpen. I admire how Baltimore has recently developed elite bullpen guys, which puzzles me how their starting pitchers are so bad, even adjusting foe ballpark (ERA+). They managed to turn a top 3 prospect in MLB in Bundy into a meh guy. The same goes for Gausman before he went to Toronto.
Your comment is ludicrously off-base. Baltimore’s rotation is fine, getting better as the season progresses and, maybe more importantly, they’re healthy. Bundy and Gausman were drafted and developed under a different management structure that’s been obliterated by Elias. Gausman took many years to discover his MLB mojo (remember that ATL and CIN gave up on him, too) and Bundy has been a total underachiever for his entire disappointing career, who was somehow adeptly flipped for Kyle Bradish. Two poor examples that aren’t even applicable in the first place.
Discussing Gausman and Bundy as if that has anything to do with the current regime. It has nothing to do with it.
Gausman was gone before Elias was hired and he turned Bundy into Kyle Bradish. The O’s developed Bradish into a much better P than Bundy. Bundy simply never returned to the guy he was pre TJ. He went from throwing 96 w/ ease to hovering around 90MPH.
I mean in general, they have had top bullpen guys since the days of O’Day and much lower bullpen ERAs and higher ERA+s than their starters. See the last few seasons. It’s not just those 2. Tate, Cano, Bautista, O’Day’s longevity, Brach, Givens, Britton, and Matusz (failed starter). I’m asking about the recent trend of about a decade or so (probably more about the prior development guys then).
Yeah, bud, those Showalter bullpens were show stoppers, but us O’s fans have also endured a lot of BS teams since then, by design, yet still tough to watch day in and day out. Last year’s bullpen was a revelation and may have been the first palpable indication of Elias and Mejdal’s acumen for talent appropriation. Its funny that a lot of fairweather-ish O’s fans excoriated Elias for not spending like an idiot this past off-season, but this sure looks like liftoff to me. Love it.
I’m waiting for it too. I’m honestly not a fan of the stare down either
F#*K IT GO HARD!!!
I wonder which one they’ll trade at the deadline?
Neither. They’re contenders.
I know, but I wonder which one they’ll trade.
Neither. They’re contenders.
They will trade neither one. Only a fool would say something so dumb.
Yes, yes. But which one will they trade?
I pity the fool!
@LordD99: Your village called. They want their idiot back, so you’ll have to go.
@LordD99; agree that there needs to be a trade. This dynamic duo needs to become a terrific trio and quickly if they have an interest in playing in the post season. Cano started out strong but is tailing off. Fatigue ?! No RP in the org has been able to step up to help get to Bautista. Go outside of org to get it?
Mayo , Ortiz , Cowser for Ohtani ?
Could the Angels say no ?
Toss in or exchange Grayson maybe.
O’s be WS favourite if that goes down imo
Ohtani and later Means , you got Wells Bradish et al
Lineup and bench be really deep now
No one has as deep a pool of A prospects as O’s.
Could give up a few and still have the best prospect list lol
Angels would never accept that…and I’m not sure I’d give up that much for a rental.
Just add some starting pitching and they’ll be in great shape
I think the Angels would love that kind of offer— 3 top 100 prospects for half a season of a guy who is unlikely to resign with them in the offseason…
O’s don’t need Ohtani. Braves didn’t need Acuna. You need the mojo and the O’s have it. I’m all about the ATL but I love what the orioles have brewing right now. They are young and fun and super powerful.
Going to take an other worldly offer for Ohtani for Angels to deal him even as a rental.
Westburg, Ortiz, Kjerstad, Hall, Armbruester.
Angels make him available it’ll be a bidding war. Price will be insane.
Between idiots it will be insane sure.
At the end of the day he is a rental that is not going to sign with an East Coast team barring overpayment of the what will be astronomical market.
No team is going to give up the farm for him, last year they would have, this year not so much.
Angels masterclass as always.
The only prospects the orioles will move this deadline will be Mayo, Ortiz, and possibly Hall.
Likely for someone like Justin Steele if they move that much muscle, other minor prospects would be included.
Given the fact Ohtani can impact the game pitching and hitting someone is gonna give up the farm for him. Even as a rental. Especially if they feel like he’s the missing piece.
We haven’t seen ohtani in the playoffs but this is a guy who could be Madison Bumgarner where he starts and comes pitching out the pen in addition to David Ortiz where he’s at DH lighting it up all in one.
See. Other plays teams can circle back and find other options if they miss out on a pitcher or position player.
Name me 1 other player who’s posting a 182 OPS+ and 133 ERA+ at the same time. Or anywhere close to doing both for you.
You’re really gonna make two separate deals to find an elite rental bat and elite rental starting pitcher? Amd what happens if you miss out on 1 or both? Sometimes circling back to cheaper options works most the time it doesn’t.
The orioles don’t need a DH at all, not at the price of a rental for half of the future.
They actually need to move some hitters.
Ohtani may have all the value in the world, but none of that matters if no one is willing to pay it.
There’s a difference between the price it will take and what a team is willing to offer.
I posted what it’ll take for Orioles in a bidding war. Angels arent just going to give away ohtani for a standard package. Theyre more inclined to keep him than trade him.
Someone will pony up. May not be the Orioles but someone is gonna if he’s even available. Plenty of other suitors out there.
Rangers
Yankees
Reds
Rays
Of those I see the Rays as the best for personally.
The rays are not a dumb organization, they will not trade for Ohtani.
The reds are not going to sell off their next years team for 3 months of games.
The yankees are dumb enough to do it, as are the rangers.
The Angels will not trade within division with the rangers.
So that leaves the Yankees.
Wasting time making up hypotheticals that will never happen makes no sense, and your package is still more than anyone will give.
I’d actually rather take the former offer.
It doesn’t matter who’s in the package. Ohtani’s not coming to Baltimore. Nor do the Orioles, likely the most prospect-hugging team in the league, want to give up top prospects (and big money) to get him.
Yes they do need starting pitchers, as always, but are very unlikely to go and get them either for the deadline or in the offseason. I could see more relievers coming over for a lower level prospect (DL Hall at the most, and that’s if they’ve given up on him as a starter) because they don’t have the starters to go deep into games and the bullpen needs to be shored up for the stretch…but no major moves. Ortiz, Holliday, Kjerstad – they’re not moving.
The front office sees it as being competitive already without spending having spent/needing to spend major money or move prospects…so they’re not going to. 54-35 is several games better at this point in the season than anyone expected them to be, including me – I was thinking .500 to something like 47-42 at best.
Ohtani’s going to a big money team like LA or NYY or NYM.
Prediction: they’re both warming up while O’s get walked off in the wildcard
That was Buck lol
And britton was hurt, but don’t let the facts interrupt a good narrative.
Britton warmed up in the Orioles bullpen 3 times that wildcard game. Buck and him both said he was perfectly healthy.
No, he had an ankle injury that was present and lingering from the previous few weeks.
The warming up was a charade.
“Hey did the pain killers work this time?”
“No”
“Okay go in ubaldo”
Jays fans sure love to push narratives.
Do you have any jokes that aren’t nearly seven years old?
Neither of these guys are trade candidates and the article makes no illusion to extensions. Why would a transaction website need to write a very mediocre attempt at analyzing their stats that anyone can find on their BR pages? Are their agents paying off MLBTR to do this? Talk about ethical concerns. I thought this website was impartial.