A year that began with little to no expectations for the Orioles turned out to be far more productive than it had any right to be, with the coronavirus pandemic wiping out almost all of the player development opportunities in 2020 for an organization that has far more wrapped up in that aspect of the game than in the major league club at this point.
Despite ultimately flailing down the stretch, the Orioles were legitimately in the playoff picture two-thirds of the way into the 60-game season and weren’t mathematically eliminated until the final week. Their success was fueled by a breakout season from Most Valuable Oriole Anthony Santander and the debuts of rookies Ryan Mountcastle, Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer.