Baltimore Orioles

Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one-by-one until the top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings.

The Baltimore Orioles suffered through their 13th-straight losing season in 2010 and finished with a 66-96 record. They put themselves in a huge hole from the start, going 2-16 out of the gate. Baltimore went through three different managers last year, but appear to have found their man in Buck Showalter. Under the control of Showalter—who was appointed as head coach on July, 30 2010—the Orioles went an impressive 34-23 over their final 57 games.

The Baltimore Orioles used to be the envy of the baseball world. There was an Oriole Way: The team had an identity and a unique sense of fundamental soundness and professionalism. From the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, they won 90 games nearly every year and went to six World Series.

Despite it's relative weakness in terms of depth (Baseball America recently ranked Baltimore's system 21st), the Orioles still have one of the most intriguing farm systems in Major League Baseball.

Aside from a few standouts (Zach Britton and Manny Machado), they don't have much elite talent and very few polished prospects.

6. Mark Reynolds, 3B

Mark Reynolds, 27, spent the past four seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks before he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for starter/reliever David Hernandez. The trade will make him Baltimore’s every day third baseman while prospect Josh Bell will most likely start off 2011 at Triple A Norfolk.

Luke Scott has become a fan favorite in Baltimore since he came to the Orioles from the Houston Astros in 2008.

In 2010, Scott was one of Baltimore's most consistent hitters and helped carry Baltimore late in the season after Buck Showalter came aboard.

5. Luke Scott, LF

With Opening Day just over a month away, there is more excitement in the air in Baltimore about the upcoming baseball season than there has been in a long time.

Many factors contribute to that excitement, namely manager Buck Showalter. What he did the last two months of the 2010 season for the birds and what President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail achieved over the offseason provided for positivity coming into this season.

Derrek Lee, 1B

The Baltimore Orioles entered the 2011 offseason with first base in their sights as a position that needed to be addressed for the upcoming season. After failing to lure Victor Martinez to Baltimore, the Orioles quickly took no chances and locked up first base by signing veteran first baseman Derrek Lee.

2. Nick Markakis, RF

In his first five years in the majors with the Orioles, Nick Markakis has become a fan favorite in Baltimore. The right fielder has been one of the Baltimore most consistent players, both in the field and at the plate the past five years.

Pitchers and catchers have just recently reported to Sarasota, Fla., for the start of the Orioles' 2011 Spring Training.

With a busy offseason by Orioles general manger Andy MacPhail, for the first time since 2004, a sense of excitement has returned to Baltimore this spring.

With the Orioles' first Spring Training game just weeks away and Opening Day within sight, it is time for some bold predictions for the upcoming 2011 Baltimore Orioles.