Ranking the Baltimore Orioles' Most Ideal 1st-Round Matchups

The Baltimore Orioles extended their commanding division lead by sweeping the Cincinnati Reds at home last week and have now taken the first two from the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

With a 10-game lead on the second-place New York Yankees, the Orioles look to be a lock to make their second postseason berth in three years barring a catastrophic meltdown coming down the stretch.

So with the division race all but locked up, it's easy to see why fans are already looking ahead into possible first-round matchups for their Orioles.

Fans have their own opinions on who they'd prefer to be matched up with, but sometimes, it doesn't work out the way they envisioned.

A hot team now could get cold in the last week of the season and be slim pickings in the playoffs, or the team everyone wants to face could be the hottest team in baseball by October.

Right now, though, most Orioles fans have a clear team in mind of who they'd want to go up against and a team they would definitely want to avoid until the championship series.

With that being said, here is my take on the Orioles' most ideal first-round matchups ranked in descending order from least preferred to most preferred.

5. Los Angeles Angels

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The Los Angeles Angels hold the best record in all of baseball and are also the hottest team right now, going 8-2 in their past 10 games.

With the offense that the Angels possess, leading all of baseball in runs scored with 697, it's easy to see why most teams want to avoid a lineup that consists of sluggers such as AL MVP favorite Mike Trout, a resurging Albert Pujols and a wild card in Josh Hamilton.

After suffering a torn patellar tendon in his left knee in late August, rotation stalwart Garrett Richards' season was cut short, as he required surgery and is expected to miss six to nine months.

The starting rotation hasn't missed a beat, though, as Matt Shoemaker has stepped in and has been lights-out for the club, particularly in August, when the reliever-turned-starter won all six games in which he started.

Staff ace Jered Weaver is no slouch either. Despite a slightly above average ERA of 3.58, the longtime Angel is tied for fifth in all of baseball in wins with 16.

Since coming over to the Angels in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates that swapped him for Ernesto Frieri straight up, Jason Grilli has been extremely efficient coming out of the bullpen.

The 37-year-old righty holds a 2.20 ERA, a strikeout-per-nine ratio of 9.1 and a walks-per-nine ratio of just 1.9.

Add in the expertise of setup man Joe Smith and closer Huston Street, and you've got one of the best back-of-the-bullpens in baseball.

With a red-hot offense, a solid rotation and a stellar bullpen, the Orioles are certainly hoping that they can retain their spot as the current No. 2 seed to avoid a first-round matchup with the AL West-leading Los Angeles Angels. 

4. Detroit Tigers

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Prior to the start of the season, most baseball pundits proclaimed that the Detroit Tigers were one of the best teams, if not the best team, in all of baseball because of their elite starting rotation and lineup.

They were supposed to be the only lock to win their division by a large margin, and most baseball fans had penciled them in as a shoo-in to make the postseason.

The starting rotation that consisted of a one-two-three punch of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez was supposed to be within the top tier of rotations in all of baseball.

As it currently stands, the Tigers hold a starting pitching ERA of a below-average 3.93, and much of that failure can be attributed to the one man you wouldn't think would be the issue—Justin Verlander.

Verlander, who boasts a career ERA of 3.54 across 10 seasons, has put up a dreadful ERA of 4.82 on the year and hasn't shown any signs of turning it around lately.

The bright side to look at with Verlander, though, is his success in the postseason.

Just last year, he looked like the best pitcher in baseball for that short stretch, hurling 23 innings over three games and surrendering just one earned run, good for an almost-perfect ERA of 0.39.

Another question mark for the Tigers is Miguel Cabrera, who is deemed to be the best hitter in baseball.

Cabrera is having a down year for his standards, as he has launched just 22 long balls, which, if the season ended today, would be his lowest full season total of his career.

Cabrera still boasts an amazing .370 OBP, but for a man whose four-year average prior to this season was .425, it is a considerable step down.

Still, the Tigers have managed to have a lot of players step up their level of production and surprise many.

At the age of 35, Victor Martinez is having a career year, as he has surpassed his career high in homers and looks to be on track to pass his career high in RBI as well. He has also only struck out an eye-popping 39 times in 501 at-bats this year.

With such a loaded offense that ranks just behind the Angels in runs scored and a rotation that can potentially more than hold its own against other teams' top three starters, the Tigers are another club that the Orioles would rather not see in the first round.

3. Seattle Mariners

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The Seattle Mariners land smack dab in the middle of this list of preferred first-round matchups, and it's easy to see why.

Despite a lackluster offense that ranks just 17th in the majors in runs scored with 572, the Mariners are one of just four teams that possess a positive run differential of over 100.

That's directly tied to their strong pitching unit that has given up the least amount of runs in baseball with 466 and leads the majors in team ERA with 3.00.

The Mariners' pitching foundation is anchored by two individuals—ace and AL Cy Young favorite Felix Hernandez and No. 2 starter Hisashi Iwakuma.

Both pitchers rank in the top 17 in baseball in ERA, and each has achieved 14 wins despite a below-average offense as support.

Though the offense is less than pedestrian and not much to worry about, if the Orioles were to face them, they would need to come up with a well-thought-out plan on how to approach middle-of-the-order hitters Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager.

Cano, who is in the top five in the majors in batting average with .320, will definitely receive some votes for AL MVP at the conclusion of the season.

He is a career .334 hitter against the Orioles and has belted 15 homers in just 79 games played at Camden Yards.

Likewise, Seager could be a real threat for the Orioles come playoff time.

At the age of 26, the in-his-prime third baseman is hitting for a .276 average, has 23 homers and earned his first AL All-Star selection this season.

He is hitting for an average of just .083 against the Birds this year but is extremely comfortable at home at Safeco Field, totaling an on-base percentage of .380 and 16 homers there.

With the best pitching in the majors but a less than impressive offense at their disposal, the Mariners would be a good matchup for the Orioles given Baltimore's potential to put up big numbers on the scoreboard and having a starting rotation that is doing an extremely good job of keeping its team in games until the bullpen can slam the door.

2. Oakland Athletics

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While it's surprising to see the Oakland Athletics this far down—they were, for most of the season, considered the best team in baseball—the fact remains that they've fallen off considerably in the past month-and-a-half, going 15-22 since the beginning of August.

Now, the Athletics are a whole eight games back of division leader Los Angeles and have only picked up the W in three of their last 10 contests.

When addressing their issues, the first thing that comes to mind is that the performance of the starting rotation has dropped significantly.

Besides Jon Lester, who was acquired in a trade that sent Yoenis Cespedes to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for his services prior to the MLB trade deadline, there has been disappointment across the board.

Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel—who were shipped to Oakland in a trade involving the A's sending prize prospect Addison Russell to the Chicago Cubs—have looked like shadows of their former selves away from their comfy confines.

In his last five starts alone, Samardzija has 17 earned runs over 33 innings for a dreadful 4.64 ERA and has garnered four losses in those outings.

Likewise, Hammel seemed to have fallen off right away when he touched down in Oakland, as he too has been lackluster, sporting a 4.70 ERA and five losses in his time with the Athletics.

Even the staff ace for the majority of the season, Sonny Gray, has been in a funk since the start of August, which is much in tune to when the team itself started to take a nosedive. He has acquired a similar ERA split as his counterparts of 4.76 in his last eight starts.

While it's easy to focus on the failures of the starting staff, the offense has been almost nonexistent ever since Cespedes' departure to Boston.

August was the lowest scoring month for the Athletics, as they only plated 103 baserunners, which is a far cry from the opening month of April when the club scored an impressive 148 runs.

One key player to point out for the offense's lack of firepower has to be outfielder/first baseman Brandon Moss.

Moss, who seemed to be right on track following a breakout year in 2013 in which he notched 30 homers, can't seem to find his power stroke as of late, and in fact, he hasn't homered since July 24.

With the only real threat right now being that of Lester and the club's best hitter Josh Donaldson, the Orioles would relish the opportunity to play a struggling Oakland club while it's down.

1. Kansas City Royals

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The Kansas City Royals have been hot ever since the start of August, a month in which the club compiled an astounding record of 19-10, but it definitely feels as if the club is overperforming given its personnel.

For an offense that ranks dead last in homers across both leagues and is more than 100 long balls behind Baltimore, there isn't much to fear going down the lineup card.

Most people would agree on the fact that left fielder Alex Gordon is the club's best all-around player, being both the best hitter and defender on the club, yet he only has 19 homers to his credit, which speaks volumes about the rest of the team's lack of pop.

Designated hitter Billy Butler, who was a lineup stalwart in previous seasons, is having a down year, hitting for just a .268 average, well below his career .295. Add in the fact that he has yet to reach double digits in home runs, and you've got a player on the decline, which is surprising given his age of 28.

Likewise, first baseman Eric Hosmer has also been unable to replicate the power he produced in his rookie year in 2011, when he put up 19 homers in just 128 games played. Right now, he has only been able to hit six round-trippers in 112 games.

The 24-year-old has hit for a .286 average since his return from the disabled list due to a fractured hand, and he had a 3-for-4 performance on Monday.

The starting staff for the Royals is actually very formidable given the lack of superstar names that lead it.

Ace James Shields, veteran Jason Vargas and rookie Yordano Ventura all boast sub-3.30 ERAs. In addition, each pitcher has provided 3.10 ERAs or lower since the start of August, which is more than excellent.

But perhaps the team's greatest asset is its bullpen, which contains arguably the greatest back-of-the-bullpen in baseball with a one-two-three punch of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland.

Each pitcher sports an ERA of 1.60 or lower and provides the security that if his team is in the lead by the end of the sixth, he'll be able to almost certainly guarantee a win every time out.

Despite the club's stellar pitching, which sits at ninth in ERA in baseball and just ahead of Baltimore, the Royals' inefficiency on offense will be their ultimate downfall once the postseason begins.

The Orioles' starting staff has come along great in the second half of the season and would be more than capable of holding its own against a weak Royals lineup. On the flip side, the Orioles offense is so potent with home run potential throughout their lineup that they have a good chance to jump on any pitcher no matter their track record.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and ESPN Stats unless otherwise noted.

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