Sunday afternoon Orioles gamethread: at Rangers, 3:05

Games like this could have a bigger impact on the future of the Orioles than it would first seem. Yefry Ramirez is one of the organization’s better pitching prospects. MLB Pipeline ranks him 22nd among all O’s up-and-comers and 14th among pitchers. His expected ceiling reflects where he finds himself in those rankings. Is Ramirez an ace in waiting? It’s highly unlikely. But could he become back of the rotation regular or useful bullpen piece? Almost certainly.

During this rebuild, the Orioles are still going to need MLB quality players in Baltimore. Someone has to throw the innings. Someone needs to take at-bats. While the losses will be piling up, the team cannot be a nightly embarrassment for two years. As long as Ramirez stays healthy, he could be the guy to give them 150 - 200 innings of 4.50 ERA baseball each season. That would save the club from signing another Andrew Cashner, a semi-expensive veteran to chew up innings.

To make the rebuild into a success, the O’s need better pitchers than Ramirez to emerge from the farm system and stake a claim to the top of the rotation. That has never been easy for the organization. Having a guy like Ramirez in Baltimore can allow the team to slow things down in the pitching development department. There becomes less of a need to rush Keegan Akin, D.L. Hall and Luis Ortiz. Ramirez may not be the most exciting hurler every fifth day, but he serves a necessary purpose.

Today’s Lineup:

1. Jace Peterson, LF
2. Tim Beckham, SS
3. Jonathan Villar, 2B
4. Mark Trumbo, RF
5. Danny Valencia, DH
6. Trey Mancini, 1B
7. Renato Nunez, 3B
8. Joey Rickard, CF
9. Austin Wynns, C

RHP Yefry Ramirez