26-year old righty reliever Tommy Hunter has been outstanding out of the pen so far this year for the Orioles.  He has pitched in 13 games (0 starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 3-1 with 1 save, a 1.40 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP.  Hunter has given up only 12 hits and 3 walks while whiffing 15 batters in his first 19 1/3 innings pitched…..which is outstanding!  Hunter seems much more at home just letting er’ rip for an inning at a time than starting.  In his first 36 games out of the pen in his career, he is 7-2 with 1 save, a 2.70 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP.  In 75 games that he has started in his career, he is 29-23 with a 4.88 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.

26-year old lefty reliever Brian Matusz started his major league career as a starting pitcher.  He started 68 games for the Orioles and he was 21-33 with a 5.51 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP.  So late last year, manager Buck Showalter decided to try him in the bullpen and he has looked like a different pitcher ever since.  He has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA and a 0.53 WHIP.  Matusz has now pitched in 24 games in relief so far in his career and he is 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA and a 0.58 WHIP.  He has only given up 7 hits and 4 walks while whiffing 24 batters in his first 19 innings as a reliever in his major league career.  Matusz might just be the latest failed starting pitcher to become a dominating reliever.

29-year old righty reliever Jim Johnson has been outstanding so far in 2013.  Johnson has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 0-1 with 5 saves, a 0.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.  Johnson is building off his breakout 2012 season as he worked in 71 games (0 starts) last year in which he was 2-1 with 51 saves, a 2.49 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP.  Johnson is turning into one of the best closers in all of baseball and the Orioles hope that he keeps up the good work.

29-year old righty closer Jim Johnson has really excelled in his closer’s role except for July, when he really struggled. Johnson has been red hot since August 1st, working in 17 games out of the pen in which he is 1-0 with 12 saves, a 1.56 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP. He has now pitched in 63 games (0 starts) overall this year in which he is 2-1 with 43 saves, a 2.82 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He pitches to contact as he has only whiffed 36 batters in his first 60 2/3 innings while allowing 50 hits and walking only 13 batters. The Orioles need Johnson to finish strong if they are going to overtake the Yankees in the A.L. East.

The Rangers essentially gave up on fireballing 27-year old righty Pedro Strop and 29-year old side-arming righty Darren O’Day. But one man’s trash in another team’s treasure and that is the case with these two guys. Strop has been the Orioles’ set-up man so far this year. He has pitched in 61 games (0 starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 5-2 with 3 saves, a 2.26 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He has only given up 43 hits while whiffing 52 batters in his first 59 2/3 innings so far this year, which is impressive, but he has walked 32 batters and that’s too many. Still, Strop has been really effective so far this year. Darren O’Day has pitched in 58 games (0 starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 7-1 with 2 saves, a 2.22 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. He has only given up 42 hits and 12 walks while whiffing 57 batters in his first 56 2/3 innings for the Orioles so far this year. The Orioles have gotten outstanding work out of the bullpen this year and they need Strop and O’Day to finish this year strongly if they are going to make it to the playoffs.

24-year old righty starting pitcher Chris Tillman has been rock solid for the Orioles so far this year. He has pitched in 11 games (all starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 7-2 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He has only given up 52 hits and 21 walks while whiffing 49 batters in his first 61 innings this year, and those are impressive numbers. Tillman has repaid the Orioles this year for their patience in him as he didn’t pitch too well in his first three years with the team. The Orioles need him to finish strongly in September, if they are going to make the playoffs. Tillman has pitched in 47 games (all starts) in his first four years with the Orioles and he is 14-17 with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.

24-year old righty starter/reliever Steve Johnson has pitched pretty well for the Orioles so far this year. He has pitched in 5 games (2 starts) or the Orioles so far this year and he is 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Johnson has given up 13 hits and 6 walks in his first 17 innings while whiffing 23 batters for the Orioles so far and those are impressive numbers. Johnson is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP in his first two starts for the Orioles and they will likely keep him in the rotation as long as he is pitching well.

27-year old rookie Wei-Yin Chen would be a big time candidate for A.L. Rookie of the Year if it wasn’t for outfielder Mike Trout of the Angels. Chen has pitched in 22 games (all starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 10-6 with a 3.46 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He has only given up 118 hits and 44 walks while whiffing 109 batters in his first 135 1/3 innings this year. Chen has been red hot since July 1st, starting 7 games in which he is 3-2 with a 2.89 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. The Orioles need him to keep up the good work.

29-year old righty starting pitcher Jason Hammel has really pitched well in June. He has pitched in 3 games (all starts) for the Orioles so far this month and he is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. Hammel has now pitched in 13 games (all starts) in which he is 7-2 with a 2.87 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. It is not a fluke as I have watched him many times this year. Kudos to the Orioles’ front office as Hammel came into this season with career bests of 10 wins, a 4.33 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP in his first six years in the majors. The Orioles need Hammel to keep up the good work and he looks plenty capable of doing exactly that.

The Orioles thought they were going to have trouble in the starting rotation, but for the most part they have been pretty solid in that area in 2012. 29-year old righty Jason Hammel has been the Orioles’ most effective starting pitcher so far this year. He has started 6 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 4-1 with a 2.09 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. I don’t think it’s a mirage with Hammel as he is attacking the strike zone with his solid arsenal of pitches. 26-year old lefty Wei-Yin Chen from Japan has had little trouble his first time around in the majors. He has started 6 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 3-0 with a 2.68 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. The next three guys have been hit and miss so far this year, but they all have nice upsides. 26-year old righty Jake Arrieta has the best stuff of the O’s starting pitchers, but he hasn’t gotten the best out of it so far this year. He has started 8 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 2-4 with a 5.21 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. I think he’s going to improve as the year goes on. 25-year old righty Tommy Hunter has already been dispatched to AAA once this year. He has started 7 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 2-2 with a 5.14 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. He has the stuff to be successful, he just needs to learn how to set his pitches up a little better. 25-year old lefty Brian Matusz has been more bad than good this year, but lefties with his kind of arm will always get chances to show what they can do. Matusz has started 7 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 2-4 with a 5.50 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. The Orioles just need six decent innings out of their starters, because their bullpen is loaded in 2012.