Baltimore Orioles: 3 Potential Breakout Candidates to Watch in Spring Training

Spring training has officially kicked off for the majority of MLB teams, and they are all excited to see what players of theirs will step up and put them above preseason expectations.

For the Baltimore Orioles, not much talent was brought in this offseason, which means they will have to hope for several of their younger guys to take the next step in reaching their individual potentials.

Last season, the Orioles saw a few players break out to make considerable impacts on the club.

Steve Pearce is the perfect example of a breakout player who was not expected to do much in the 2014 season.

Last season, Pearce hit for a .293 batting average, nearly 40 points higher than his career average, and hit 21 of his 38 career home runs while helping the Birds to an ALCS appearance.

Orioles ace Chris Tillman was another player who broke out in a big way.

Tillman posted a career-best 3.34 ERA when pitching a full season's worth of starts and managed to pass the 200-inning milestone for the second time in two seasons.

Who will be this year's breakout performers for the Orioles?

Let's take a look into the three best candidates to do so.

Manny Machado, 3B

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Orioles third baseman Manny Machado is primed for his first big season statistically in 2015.

This season will be Machado's third full season in the majors, and it's hard to believe that the young superstar is still only 22 years old.

Last season, Machado nearly matched his home run total from 2013 in about half the amount of games, turning many of his doubles into long balls as many pundits had predicted.

Double his total from 2014, and Machado would have finished with 24 homers on the year, which would have been incredibly impressive given he still has not come close to his prime age seasons.

Machado will still be expected to provide elite level defense, but if his bat blossoms and he reaches base at a higher rate by being more selective at the plate, then fans can expect an MVP-caliber season in 2015.

Kevin Gausman, SP

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Kevin Gausman is the starting pitcher everyone will be looking to to give the Orioles' starting rotation an added jolt.

Of course, Baltimore's starting rotation is still very talented and is bringing back all of its personnel from 2014, but any regression from the others will be all the more reason that Gausman needs to perform at a higher level.

In an article by ESPN.com's David Schoenfield on the top breakout candidates for 2015, Gausman was listed along with several other younger players. Schoenfield gave his assessment of why Gausman should succeed this season:

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We saw his arm strength in the postseason, when he looked so good pitching out of the bullpen. After bouncing back and forth last year between the Orioles and Triple-A, making 20 starts in the majors, Gausman is ready to spend the entire year in Baltimore. He has developed into primarily a fastball/splitter guy, mixing in his slider and a few changeups, so while he may not rack up the strikeouts like Cole, he should do a good job keeping the ball in the park, which of course is essential for success in Camden Yards.

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After grabbing the baseball world's attention with a stellar performance in the postseason, Gausman has hopefully gained the confidence with which he can execute any of his pitches at any time.

Dylan Bundy, SP

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It seems as if top prospect Dylan Bundy has been around forever, floating in the limbo of minor league ball while attempting to remain healthy enough to prove to the organization that he is major league ready.

Bundy, who like Machado is still only 22 years old, still has a very bright future ahead of him in Baltimore.

According to MLB.com's evaluation of Bundy, who was ranked No. 20 in all of baseball in the site's 2015 Prospect Watch list, it is believed that despite the negative impact that Tommy John surgery has on his secondary pitches, both his curve and changeup should be at least above-average pitches down the road.

A majority of the 2015 season will be dedicated to getting a full season's workload in for Bundy, but it wouldn't be surprising if Baltimore fans saw him in black and orange much sooner than expected.