Projecting the Baltimore Orioles' 5-Man Rotation for 2015

The Baltimore Orioles will be heading into the 2015 season with a surplus of potential starters, which not a lot of teams have the luxury of claiming at this time.

The Orioles have six main candidates to break camp as a member of the 5-man rotation: Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen, Kevin Gausman, Bud Norris, Miguel Gonzalez and, of course, Baltimore's least effective and most expensive starter from last season, Ubaldo Jimenez.

That's not counting knuckleballer Eddie Gamboa. If Gamboa proves dominant and showcases solid control of his pitch, he could be a headache for opposing hitters next season and could give Baltimore's brass the okay to trade away one of the team's impending free-agent starters.

There's also the possibility that former first-round pick Dylan Bundy could become a member of the rotation sometime next season, but the odds are very low that he would break camp with the club. The Orioles likely need him to develop further in the minors.

The great news is that Baltimore's entire 5-man rotation from 2014 will be returning, a unit that ended the season ranked seventh in ERA (3.43) in the MLB.

Let's take a look into who is projected to make the starting rotation at this point in the offseason.

Ace: Chris Tillman

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

After a rocky first half that included an ERA of 4.11 and a subpar 1.394 WHIP, Tillman rebounded down the stretch in the second half and finished out the season with a solid 3.34 ERA and 1.230 WHIP.

Tillman struggled in the first and second innings last season, splitting for a 5.56 ERA and a 4.78 ERA in those innings, respectively.

He did, however, settle in after that, particularly in the middle innings (fourth to sixth), in which he had a combined 2.26 ERA.

If Tillman can focus on improving on his initial innings, he can take yet another step forward on his way towards transforming into a true ace.

No. 2: Wei-Yin Chen

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Chen had a career year in 2014, setting career highs with 16 wins and an ERA of 3.54, the latter nearly half a point lower than his previous best.

Chen ended the year as the team leader in wins due to favorable run support, but make no mistake about it: Chen was extremely valuable as a No. 2 starter last year for the Orioles.

His control has improved each year since his inaugural season with the Birds in 2012. He surrendered just 35 walks to opposing batters in 31 starts last year.

Chen was also stingy in giving up long balls, surrendering only 1.1 home runs per nine innings in 2014.

If Chen can manage to up his strikeout rate even slightly in 2015, he would set himself up for a huge payday next offseason.

No. 3: Kevin Gausman

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

After getting a taste of major league action in each of the last two seasons, former first-round pick Gausman is primed and ready to live up to the high expectations that came with being such a highly touted pitcher out of LSU.

Last season, Gausman accumulated a 3.57 ERA while striking out 88 batters over the course of 113.1 innings pitched.

It can be said that Gausman's best month was his last of the season. The young righty struck out 29 batters in 31.1 innings on his way to a 2.87 ERA for that stretch.

This split and his postseason performance are great signs of his future potential. They show what fans can expect as soon as this upcoming season.

No. 4: Bud Norris

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

As a middle-of-the-rotation pitcher for Baltimore in 2014, the Orioles and their fans couldn't ask for much more from the burly Norris.

Norris ended the season with a more than solid ERA of 3.65 and an above-average strikeout-per-nine ratio of 7.6.

In 2014, Norris set a career high in wins with 15, which is five more than his previous career high from the season prior.

Norris' best moment from 2014 had to be his performance in Game 3 of the American League Division Series in Detroit. He pitched for 6.1 innings, striking out six and giving up no runs.

Norris will yet again serve as a stalwart in the rotation and provide immense value at the No. 4 slot in 2015.

No. 5: Miguel Gonzalez

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Just like most of his fellow starters, Gonzalez also had a career year in the 2014 season, posting a career-low ERA of 3.23.

After hitting the 15-day disabled list in early June with a strained right oblique, Gonzalez rebounded with a stellar second half, posting an ERA of 2.15 from July on.

Gonzalez struggled with command issues last season, however, walking 51 batters over the course of his 27 games pitched.

Gonzalez will once again find success as an end-of-the-rotation arm who can match up well against other clubs' lackluster fifth starters.

All stats provided by Baseball-Reference.com and ESPN Stats unless otherwise noted.