Two or three years ago, the entire league smiled when the calendar showed the Baltimore Orioles awaiting.
The tables have turned, however, and the O’s are now a powerhouse.
On Monday, they completed a sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays, and that showed us two realities: one, Baltimore is truly a top-five team in MLB at the moment, and two, the Rays are not the team they used to be.
After the four-game sweep, Tampa is now at the bottom of the AL East standings with a 31-35 record.
Baltimore, on the other hand, is 43-22.
Only the 47-21 New York Yankees have been better in the American League.
Baltimore is now working on a four-game winning streak and has won seven of their last eight contests.
Despite a few injuries on the pitching side, they still have Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, and Corbin Burnes leading an elite rotation.
Perhaps even more impressive is their stable of young, quality hitters: Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O’Hearn, and Jordan Westburg all have an OPS over .800.
Henderson, in particular, has been a force to be reckoned with, hitting 21 home runs and boasting an elite .974 OPS as of Tuesday afternoon.
The most impressive part is that the O’s have yet to feature talented young hitters such as Jackson Holliday, Kyle Stowers, Coby Mayo, Connor Norby, and Heston Kjerstad.
Most of them – except for Mayo – have gotten their chance in the majors, but opportunities have been limited and the O’s, having so much depth, don’t give them much of a leash.
When two or three of that group pan out, this lineup could be impossible to navigate.
The O’s, for all their recent success, still haven’t hit their ceiling.