Kevin Gausman, pitcher, Baltimore Orioles
Last season, the Baltimore Orioles’ starting pitching staff ranked 24th in ERA, 21st in FIP, 19th in strikeouts per nine innings and 21st in batting average against. They need an ace, and Kevin Gausman is the closest thing they’ve got.
In 2016, Gausman had the best season of his career, putting up a 3.61 ERA, 4.10 FIP and 8.7 strikeouts per nine with career highs in innings pitched and ERA-. Those numbers don’t knock you over, but if nothing else, Gausman proved to be the best the Orioles have got when it comes to their rotation. If he can take the next step this year, Gausman could be the ace Baltimore desperately needs.
He certainly has the talent — his heater averages 95.91 mph, per Brooks Baseball, and his splitter produced whiffs 24.16 percent of the time it was thrown last season. If Gausman improves his curveball — the pitch he replaced his slider with in 2015 — he’ll have a repertoire on par with most aces.
The AL East is stacked. The Red Sox are World Series hopefuls while Toronto, New York and Tampa Bay each have a solid chance to make the playoffs. For Baltimore to compete, its starting pitching has to improve, and that starts with Gausman.