According to Fanduel, the Baltimore Orioles have a win total set at 86.5. The odds currently show the over at -104, but the Orioles’ young talent will allow them to hit the over.
The Orioles have been through a gauntlet of a division over the past few years, dealing with World Series runner-up rival New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, and the gritty Tampa Bay Rays. In 2024, Baltimore finished second in the AL East and was swept 2-0 in the AL Wild Card round against the Kansas City Royals. The team only scored one run on 11 hits, letting their pitching down that gave a phenomenal performance, giving up three runs in two games.
In 2025, the Orioles will once again face an improved division after each team upgraded in the off-season.
2025 Baltimore Orioles O/U: Win Total Why the Orioles Will Hit the Over
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Young Talent Will Carry Team to 87 Wins
The Orioles may have the best young roster development throughout the MLB. Year after year this team finds young talent and gets the most out of it immediately. Baltimore is one of the most entertaining teams to watch and should be again for all seam heads. This team is loaded with young talent including Shortstop Gunnar Henderson, Second Baseman Jackson Holliday, First Baseman, and Designated Hitter Ryan Mountcastle and you can’t forget switch-hitting two-time all-star Catcher Adley Rutschman. The list goes on and on with talent, including veterans Ryan O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins, and Ramon Urias.
With a nearly identical lineup to last year’s squad and a better bench, scoring runs will not be an issue for the Orioles. After a year under his belt, the 21-year-old Holliday should be able to compete for an all-star spot and show why he was the top prospect coming up to the bigs. Holliday will also have to pick up the slack at shortstop to start the season, due to Henderson starting the season on the IL for an expected short time. Baltimore will have to replace 44 home runs from Anthony Santander, who left for the rival Blue Jays. As a result, the Orioles replaced him with Tyler O’Neill who smashed 31 home runs for the Red Sox.
Pitching Will be Good Enough to Hit the Over
Most baseball experts believe that pitching will determine the season for Baltimore. Ace Corbin Burnes departing for the Arizona Diamondbacks was a massive loss for the Orioles, who delivered 32 starts and 194.1 innings of work. To fix the issue, they went out and signed the ageless wonder, 41-year-old Charlie Morton, who has made a mind-blowing 30 starts every season since 2017. A lot will be on the shoulders of Tomoyuki Sugano from Japan, who is known for being a ground ball pitcher. In 24 starts last season for the Japanese league Nippon Professional Baseball (NPG), he delivered an outstanding 1.67 ERA and a 2.16 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) with a 70.1 Ground Ball%.
The Orioles will rely on last season’s trade deadline acquisition Zach Eflin, who they acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays, making nine starts for Baltimore recording 55.1 innings with a 2.60 ERA and 3.94 FIP.
If the Orioles are in contention, they have shown during the past few seasons that they will be buyers at the trade deadline. Look for them to make a move for another talented arm to make a playoff push.
Talent Is Equal to Red Sox and Yankees to Compete for Division
There aren’t many holes on this team, but people think the bullpen could be a potential weakness. However, it could be a strength and be a top-five bullpen in the making when the regular season ends. The 2025 Orioles will look to get big performances from relievers Seranthony Dominguez, Yennier Cano, and all-star closer Felix Bautista. This bullpen should outperform the Yankees and Red Sox.
Baltimore should have no issues putting up runs and be able to rely on their bullpen to close out games. This team is too talented and may not just get a wild card berth, but potentially win the division.
The last time the Orioles made the playoffs three straight times dates back to the 1969-1971 seasons. Expect this team to accomplish that feat this season and make history with an all-star roster going into 2025.
The real question is can they make some noise in the postseason?
Main Image: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
