Baltimore Orioles: 5 Steps That Must Be Taken to Compete in the AL East

The Orioles have finished last in the powerful AL East each of the past four seasons and have been rebuilding since the late '90s.

Since the their last postseason appearance, the O's have had six general managers, six managers and zero winning seasons.

It is no secret that the Orioles lack the talent and depth to compete with the top level teams in baseball. Unfortunately for the O's, three of those top teams play in their division, and Toronto is headed in the right direction.

Baltimore was once one of the proudest baseball cities in America and the Oriole Way was seen as the proper way to run a franchise, but those days are long gone. If the Orioles ever hope to return to prominence and once again be seen as a model organization, they must compete in the AL East.

These are the steps the Baltimore Orioles must take to win in the AL East.

Add Talent and Depth to the Farm System

If the Orioles are not going to spend money like the Yankees and Red Sox, they are going to need a top farm system to win consistently.

Keith Law ranked Baltimore's farm system 17th in his team-by-team breakdown of each organization's prospects. This ranking doesn't show how dismal the Orioles' farm system actually is and only ranks this high because of the superstar potential of Manny Machado and Dylan Bundy.

Law noted that after the top few prospects, there are nearly no other potential major league regulars in the system.

This means that the Orioles lack organizational depth and have to immediately address this problem to be in a position to make some noise in the years to come. 

There are two ways to add depth: the draft and by trading stars.

Adam Jones is worth a major prospect haul, and since the O's are yet to commit long-term to the All-Star, it appears he will eventually be dealt.

The Orioles have drafted well in the past few seasons, selecting catcher Matt Wieters along with super prospects Machado and Bundy, but must hit on nearly all top picks in the next several seasons to really make a dent.

Improve International Scouting

For years the Orioles have undervalued international scouting and it has shown on the field. 

Lucky for Baltimore, new GM Dan Duquette appears to understand that one of the best ways to build a winning baseball team is to search far and wide for talent.

Duquette has hired Fred Ferreira to be the director of international recruiting. Ferreira was one of Duquette's top assets when he was with the Expos, reeling in stars Vladimir Guerrero and Javier Vazquez. 

Boosting the Orioles' international efforts is a step in the right direction but Duquette has miles to go before the Orioles catch up with other organizations' international scouting departments.

Change Hitting Approach

Baltimore was a productive offensive ball club in a traditional sense last season, but fell short in the truly consequential statistics that lead to victories. 

The Orioles had the six highest batting average, at .257, in the AL

They also hit 191 home runs, which ranked them fourth in the AL

Despite this, the O's had an OPS, On-Base+Slugging, of .729, which falls below the league average of .730.

To put things in perspective, the only team with a top four OPS in the AL that did not make the playoffs was the Red Sox. When you consider it took an epic collapse combined with an epic run by the Rays to knock them out, it is safe to say that high on-base combined with high slugging translates to wins.

As good as the O's were at putting the ball in the seats this past season, they were equally futile at walking. They walked only 452 times, fifth worst in the AL This translated in an on-base percentage, OBP, of only .310. Baltimore ranked 10th in OBP as well. 

If Moneyball taught us anything, it's that OBP and not batting average is the measure of a productive hitter.

J.J. Hardy and Adam Jones are two examples of players who hit for good power but need to improve their on-base numbers. Hardy only got on at .310 clip and Jones had a .319 OBP.

If the Orioles want to have a consistently productive offense like the Yankees and Red Sox, they are going to need to find a way to see more pitches and walk more, without losing their power. 

Improve Pitching

This is the most obvious, as well as the most important, step that must be taken for the Orioles to become one of the AL East powers.

The Orioles had the worst starting rotation, ERA 5.39, in baseball this past year, and their bullpen, ERA 4.18, wasn't exactly lock down either.

Playoff teams can pitch, plain and simple. No team can survive the marathon that is a baseball season without depth along the pitching staff.

Dylan Bundy is projected to be a star, but this is not football where one golden arm can turn a stinker into a winner. The Orioles need several pitchers with upside like Bundy.

Even if pitchers Bundy, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta and Zach Britton are able to reach their potential and become mainstays in the Oriole rotation, Baltimore must scout, draft and sign as many high upside arms as they can.

The Rays have proven that the only way to compete with the big boys on a budget is to develop pitching.

Be More Lucky

I am not talking about funny bounces during a game or the other team contracting food poisoning before a series. I am talking more along the lines of not being unlucky when it comes to injuries and player development.

It is no secret that the healthier a squad is, the better they will perform.

Even if the Orioles stay healthy all season, they likely won't be playing in October this season. There is another, more important, reason that the O's need to stay healthy though.

Injuries kept many Baltimore prospects from continuing their development this past season.

Brian Matusz was never healthy last year and had a dismal season before being shutdown. Jake Arrieta was improving before he was also shutdown to have a bone spur removed from his elbow.

If the O's are going to move in the right direction, they can't have Adam Jones, Matt Wieters or any young pitchers on the DL and not developing.

It would also benefit the Orioles if former star Brian Roberts could return and play at a high level once again. He would provide a boost to the lineup and could possibly be worth a lot on the trade market.

Finally, the O's need some luck when it comes to their once-bright pitching prospects who failed to improve last season.

Guys like Arrieta, Matusz, Brad Bergesen and Chris Tillman were once seen as possible rotation mainstays, but now appear to be heading towards mediocrity. 

Some of these young arms need to live up to their potential and win now. Buck Showalter and company can coach them up all they want, but it all comes down to whether the player has it. If the O's are lucky, some of these guys will have it.