Chart Shows The Orioles Making A Run At The Rays
As you probably know by now, the Baltimore Orioles officially took over first place in the AL East.
They finally caught the Tampa Bay Rays at the top, and even though they are tied (Baltimore is 58-37 and the Rays are 60-39), the O’s have a slightly better winning percentage at .611.
The division race is far from over: Tampa is obviously good enough to come out on top when all is said and done, and the remaining three teams have the potential to get in the picture, too.
It does look like a two-horse race between the O’s and the Rays, though, at least for now.
Baltimore has been so good that FanGraphs and other similar sites have been upgrading their odds to win the division.
They are still not favored to do so, but their odds are looking much, much more promising now than what they were at the start of the season, per Codify.
fangraphs starting to believe in the orioles pic.twitter.com/Sg9maMOKRA
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) July 20, 2023
The Rays were close to 90 percent at one point, but are currently at 62 percent.
Baltimore, on the other hand, was close to zero as recently as this month, but their recent surge and the fact they have already caught the Rays have them at 23 percent.
Little by little, the O’s have earned the trust of analysts, projection sites, and most notably their own fans.
They have an amazing offensive core with Adley Rutschman, Anthony Santander, Cedric Mullins, Gunnar Henderson, and lots of talented prospects.
They had zero reliable pitchers to open the season and now have two: Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells.
With their prospect ammunition and hunger, they have the ability to bring in an ace or two at the deadline.
It’s an exciting time to be an Orioles fan.