Baltimore Orioles See Glimpse of 2016
By Nate Wardle
Aug 3, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Tyler Wilson (63) throws a pitch against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
For the Baltimore Orioles, there is a lot of important baseball in 2015 yet to come. Yet, the first game of their West Coast swing gave the team a glimpse at what could be in 2016.
Tyler Wilson made the spot start in place of the injured Chris Tillman, who will pitch at the end of the week. Wilson was pitching with a heavy heart, and also with some extra motivation.
His wife’s grandfather, a big baseball fan, passed away, and the funeral was on Monday. But, Wilson felt like he would have wanted him to pitch in the major leagues, and that is what the young right-hander did on Monday evening in Oakland.
Wilson went 7 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on six hits with three strikeouts. He received plenty of run support from Chris Davis and company en route to a 9-2 victory.
Wrapping up the game for the O’s was Mychal Givens, the converted short stop turned relief pitcher with a sidearm delivery. Givens was impressed yet again, striking out three of the four he faced.
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These two pitchers could both play important roles not only the rest of this year, but also in 2016. Givens could be a set-up man, especially if Darren O’Day leaves in free agency. Wilson could have a spot in the rotation, as the Orioles will have to figure out if they bring back Wei-Yin Chen.
There also was a glimpse of what might be missing in 2015. Chris Davis has been on fire the past few weeks, as documented here.
Davis, along with Chen, O’Day, Gerardo Parra and Matt Wieters, are all free agents at the end of the year. The Orioles are going to have to decide which ones they want to try to re-sign. Chris Davis should be at the top of that list, but the way he is playing, he may command more money than what the O’s can give him.
The Baltimore Orioles’ farm system is often viewed as subpar, but they had two players show on Monday night that they belong in the majors. Whether they can keep their best slugger in the majors as well is going to be a big question.