4 Bold Predictions for the Rest of the Baltimore Orioles' Season

The start of the 2015 regular season hasn't gone as planned for the Baltimore Orioles.

The team is currently under .500 with a record of 15-17, and it just can't seem to get a streak of good baseball going.

The biggest problems thus far have been inconsistent starting pitching and an offense that struggles to get itself going on a nightly basis.

It's still early in the season, though, and there's plenty of time for things to improve. The Orioles are a talented team with a deep roster, so anything can happen with this club before it's all said and done.

Let's take a jab at a few bold predictions for the remainder of the O's 2015 season.

Jimmy Paredes Is for Real

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Baltimore Orioles management as well as the team's fans knew that Paredes was a capable hitter with good speed. After all, he had a very good end of the season with the O's in 2014.

Granted, his 18 games and 53 at-bats qualified as limited playing time, but he posted a healthy .302 batting average with four doubles, two homers and two stolen bases in two chances during that time.

The switch-hitter wasn't able to break spring training camp with the Orioles due to injury, but since his return all he's done is hit. In 21 games and 88 at-bats, Paredes is hitting .364 with seven doubles, two triples, five home runs, 18 RBI and a stolen base to boot.

Now of course, to expect him to hit .360 all season would be silly, but is it really a surprise that he's been a good hitter this season? He owns a career .289 batting average in the minors with an average of .300 in 307 Triple-A games, and on top of that he was scorching hot during spring training this year, with a .364 average and two homers in 55 at-bats.

Paredes is just 26 years old and won't turn 27 until November, meaning that his "prime seasons" are theoretically directly in front of him. I fully expect Paredes to be this year's Steve Pearce and post a breakout season for the O's.

He's certainly been a sorely needed jolt for the offense since his return.

The Team Will Still Make the Playoffs

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Things don't look so fantastic now, Birdland, but this Orioles team is too good to not compete for a playoff spot this season.

Many guys have gotten off to slow starts this season, such as starting pitcher Chris Tillman and super utility player Steve Pearce, but once the team gets clicking all at once, it'll be hard to stop.

After all, look at what happened last season. The team was at .500 and struggling for consistency entering June yet managed to run away with the division by 12 games. Now I'm not saying that's guaranteed to happen to the O's this year just because it did last year, but the reason that the team was able to run away with the division was because all the guys on the team clicked all at once and didn't let up.

The O's have that same kind of potential this season, and guys like center fielder Adam Jones and DH Jimmy Paredes are looking as though they're setting themselves up for career years.

If the pitching can get itself going (it struggled early last season as well), then the O's are going to be a scary-good team for a second year in a row.

And when that happens, it will propel the team into a playoff spot.

Kevin Gausman Is Going to Become One of the O's Top Starting Pitchers

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

That starting pitching turnaround I mentioned? Kevin Gausman joining the rotation will be a big reason for that.

The hard-throwing righty, who started the season in the O's bullpen, is currently on the DL. However, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports, Gausman is expected to join Triple-A Norfolk's rotation as soon as he's healthy enough to do so.

Could Gausman being used as a starter at Triple-A mean that the O's plan on placing him in their rotation once he's stretched out enough? With the struggles and inconsistencies in the team's rotation, namely from Chris Tillman and Bud Norris, it's probably a strong possibility that is indeed the case.

Norris has had the toughest time this season, posting a 9.88 ERA in six starts spanning 27.1 innings, so he would likely be the odd man out and could find his way to the team's bullpen upon Gausman's return to the big-league club.

Having Gausman's talent in the rotation will be enough to give the group a shot in the arm, and Gausman will improve upon his very solid 7-7 record and 3.57 ERA in 20 starts last season. He'll take a step forward and grow into one of the team's best, if not its best, starting pitcher by season's end.

And, if all goes according to plan, he could be starting the first game of the playoffs for the club.

Adam Jones Will Finish in the Top Five in AL MVP Voting

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Center fielder Adam Jones is off to the best start of his career.

Jones has been one of the few consistent positives in the Orioles' lineup this season, as he's currently batting .336 in 122 at-bats. He's roped six doubles, a triple  five homers and 23 RBI in the 32 games in which he's appeared.

He's come back down to earth recently, hitting .256 over his last 10 games, but it isn't inconceivable to think that Jones will hit over .300 for the first time in his career. Jones appears to be working the count better than he has in the past, as his OBP for the season is at .385, 49 points higher than his batting average (his OBP was just 30 points higher than his batting average last season).

Jones will be able to keep up his great offensive production all season, producing at least a .300 average, 30 home runs and 100 RBI. That, coupled with his defensive ability and leadership on a club that will head to the playoffs, will earn him at least a top-five finish in the AL MVP vote, the first time in which he'll finish in the top five as his previous high is sixth.

I don't want to go as far as to say that Jones will win the award, because a lot can happen between now and the end of the regular season, but a top-five finish at the least will be a nice personal reward for Jones after he's put so much work into his career.

A better reward for Jones would of course be a World Series ring, but he can't get there by himself. Luckily, he plays with a very talented group of guys.