Every season, there are players who exceed our expectations — the no-names who came crawling out of the woodwork, the prospects who are late bloomers, or the veterans who put it together one last time. On the opposite end of the spectrum, however, there are players who fall short of expectations. These players can be overhyped prospects, or aging stars, or typically solid players who had off-years for no apparent reason.
The Orioles had plenty of guys who exceeded our expectations this season. Anthony Santander had a career year with 44 homeruns, Colton Cowser emerged as one of the best rookies in the league, and 35-year-old Albert Suarez pitched to a 3.70 ERA after not pitching in MLB since 2017.
But the Orioles also had plenty of guys who fell short of expectations — and here are 4 of those players.
Jackson Holliday’s debut left much to be desired
Holliday, the son of former major leaguer Matt Holliday, was the #1 prospect in baseball in the preseason. He was touted for his elite hand-eye coordination, his high baseball IQ, and his quickness as a fielder and as a base runner.
But while he showed his potential at times, he had an incredibly underwhelming rookie campaign. In 60 games, he slashed .189/.255/.311 with just 11 XBH, 23 RBIs, and 4 SB. His WAR was a flat 0.0 and his wRC+ was 63, which were both the worst among all Orioles hitters.
On one side, it was only 60 games and, given that he is just 20 years old, he has plenty of time to develop and grow into a great ballplayer.
On the other side, however, Holliday looked outmatched at times. His 33.2% strikeout rate was 15th worst in baseball among 365 players with 200 or more plate appearances. His .565 OPS also ranked in the bottom 20 of this same group of players. So, while he certainly deserves more time to prove himself, he did not meet expectations in 2024 and will have to rebound in 2025 to regain the buzz that surrounded him when he was called up.
Cade Povich had good moments but was largely inconsistent
Earlier this season, Povich was ranked as the Orioles’ fifth best prospect and was probably their top pitching prospect in the minors. Povich started the season in Triple-A, pitching to a 3.18 ERA across 11 starts for the Tides.
After this strong start in the minors, he was called up in June with the hope of adding a budding young southpaw to an already solid Orioles rotation. But, while he put together a few decent starts throughout the season, he could not remain consistent for the O’s.
He tallied a 5.20 ERA and a 3-9 record across 16 starts. Among 204 pitchers with 70 or more innings, his 3.84 BB/9 was among the bottom 15% of pitchers. He was sent back and forth between Baltimore and Norfolk several times.
Similar to Holiday, it is still too early to come to any conclusions. However, he most definitely did not live up to expectations and was part of the reason their rotation was weak down the stretch.
Adley Rutschman collapsed in the second half
Unlike Holiday and Povich, Rutschman had already proven himself. He had an .807 OPS in a stellar 2022 rookie campaign and an .809 OPS, 20 homeruns, and an All-Star selection in his sophomore season.
Then, seemingly out of the blue, Adley had a down year in 2024. His .250/.318/.391 slash line were all career lows and his 9.1% walk rate was significantly lower than his career mark of 12.0%. Adley still showed some power with 19 homeruns but almost every other offensive category was down, including a .709 OPS that ranked last among qualified O’s.
There are a few potential explanations for his struggles. Some cited his positional splits because he had a .650 OPS as a catcher and an .854 OPS as a DH. You could also point to his launch angle and flyball rates, which sat at 18.8 degrees and 50.0% compared to his 15.6 degree and 38.6% career averages.
Regardless of the reason, Adley had a down year in 2024 and was unfortunately one of the holes in the O’s lineup.
Craig Kimbrel might have pitched his way out of the league
The Orioles signed the 36-year-old closer in the offseason to a one year, $12 million contract. This came after Felix Bautista got Tommy John surgery and was expected to miss the entire season, so the O’s hoped they could try Kimbrel out as their new closer.
Although he is past his prime, Kimbrel was coming off a 3.26 ERA in 2023 with Philadelphia so the hopes were somewhat high for him.
Kimbrel struggled mightily, pitching to a 5.33 ERA and blowing 6 saves while only collecting 23. In fact, Kimbrel struggled so much that he was DFA’d in September and, later, released officially.
Signing the veteran closer was a gamble, but it ultimately failed and he did not come close to their expectations for him.
While Kimbrel is already gone, there is still plenty of optimism for Holliday, Povich, and Rutschman to turn it around in 2025.
But, as far as this season goes, these players did not come close to expectations and were part of the reason the Orioles’ bid for a title fell short yet again.
