What we learned about the 2026 Orioles in season’s first series

One weekend of baseball is not enough to tell you much of anything about your favorite team. It’s a big sample size sport and we just don’t have much data yet on the 2026 season. Some players on big league rosters haven’t even seen game action yet. So any sort of good or bad vibes that might be surrounding the Orioles right now can be ignored.

Or at least, that’s what I would say if I didn’t have a blog to write! Who are we kidding? The internet craves instant reactions, in-depth analysis of one five-inning start, and predictions on where this season is headed. Measured, thoughtful perspectives can get lost. We want only the hottest, freshest takes!

Of course, there could be a middle ground too. Sure, you aren’t going to write someone off or elevate them to stardom based on three games, but you can still learn something. And since the Orioles have a new manager and and saw a sizable influx of offseason talent, there is plenty to be gleaned from each day at the ballpark.

So, let’s go that route and dig into what we learned about the 2026 campaign during the Orioles’ season-opening series win over the Minnesota Twins.

The ABS system is electric…and game-changing

The Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) is not brand new to many of the players. Testing began with the Atlantic League back in 2019, expanded to affiliated baseball in 2021, and has been available throughout Triple-A parks since 2023. But this past spring may have been the first introduction to it for most fans, and possibly even some more experienced big league players.

However, teams are still trying to learn the best approach to the system. Challenges are unlimited if you keep getting them right. But if you miss twice, you have none left for the remainder of the game.

Through the first two games of the weekend, the Orioles only challenged twice. Then, on Sunday, they asked for six reviews. Good thing they did, because they were right on five of them and, according to one outlet, those successful challenges were worth more than two runs.

The ninth inning was particularly impacted. Orioles closer Ryan Helsely went from walking Josh Bell on two occasions and putting the tying run on base with one out, to striking him out and causing Twins manager Derek Shelton to fly into a rage that eventually got him ejected. Camden Yards erupted. It was fun! And the system is fairly non-intrusive since reviews are completed in just seconds.

The Orioles were on the right side of ABS this weekend. That won’t always be the case, and you can imagine future instances where we, as a fanbase, “argue with the robots” as MASN’s Kevin Brown put it. But for now, it seems like a change for good.

Defensively, the Orioles outfield is a work in progress

The Orioles came into the season with concerns in their outfield. While there is plenty of promise in the offensive potential of the group, their fielding is another discussion. And we saw those worries rear their head almost immediately to begin the year.

On Opening Day, both Tyler O’Neill and Taylor Ward made poor plays in the field. O’Neill, charging in from right field, made a late call to take a shallow pop up away from second baseman Blaze Alexander. The ball ended up popping out of O’Neill’s glove for an E9. Later on, Ward seemed lackadaisical in left field, playing what should have been a double for Byron Buxton into a triple. Buxton wound up scoring and giving the Twins late life.

On Sunday, Dylan Beavers started in center field, his first big league action at the position. He didn’t have many chances out there, but one that did come his way would end up getting lost in the sun and falling in for a weak double. Colton Cowser, the normal center fielder, battled the sun on Opening Day as well, but was able to make all of the necessary catches.

These sorts of misplays are going to happen throughout a season. But to have three of them in the first three games of the year is an issue. Hopefully as more games pass it will seem more like an anomaly than a feature of the roster. And we probably won’t complain too much if O’Neill and Beavers account for five out of every eight runs driven in, like they did on Sunday.

Coby Mayo might be just fine at third base

The loss of Jordan Westburg for an undetermined amount of time hurts. He’s a former all-star and Gold Glove-caliber third baseman. His replacement, Coby Mayo, comes into the season as a promising but unproven hitter with questions in the field. In fact, it seemed like the club had decided at the end of 2025 that he was going to be a first baseman full-time. That changed with the signing of Pete Alonso and subsequent injury to Westburg.

Mayo now has an opportunity to be the Orioles everyday third baseman for the foreseeable future. Westburg’s injury presents a murky recovery timeline. Missing the entire season is on the table. So internal pressure on Mayo will be limited to his own performance. If he plays well enough, he’s going to be the guy. Through the first weekend, the results were encouraging.

At the plate, Mayo went 2-for-9 with a double, an RBI, two walks, two strikeouts, and a stolen base. This followed a spring where he hit .378/.405/.622 with five strikeouts and three walks in 15 games. Overall, he looks like someone with a better idea of the strike zone and fewer jitters at the plate. He has matured and isn’t putting as much pressure on each individual pitch.

In the field, he has been impressive, making a few nice snags and turning several key double plays on Opening Day. Rather than a liability, Mayo’s glove has been a crucial element of the Orioles wins to begin the season. There is more to learn about what is working for him, but so far, so good.

Bridging the gap from the starters to Helsley is going to be an experiment

The decision to pursue Helsley as their closer is looking like a wise one from the Orioles’ front office. He already has two saves and has struck out four across two innings. Opening Day looked a lot better than Sunday, including a noticeable difference in fastball velocity, but the outcome was the same. The Orioles won.

We will see how the rotation works out. Trevor Rogers was brilliant. Kyle Bradish battled. And Shane Baz had one nightmare inning. Ultimately, talent should shine through, and the group will be fine.

The middle innings, however, are going to be a work in progress, particularly with Andrew Kittredge on the shelf. For now, manager Craig Albernaz will have to test out a few different combinations to figure out what works. It was, predictably, a mixed bag to begin the year.

Tyler Wells was used a set up man twice. In both instances, he gave up a run. The struggles that Dietrich Enns had in the spring have carried over to start the year. He coughed up a run in his 1.2 innings on Saturday. Yaramil Hiraldo has already given up a home run, something he struggled with last year.

Fortunately, there were positives as well. Anthony Nunez looked amazing, striking out three over his two innings of relief. Grant Wolfram punched out two in his inning. Rico Garcia got out of a bases loaded jam. And Yennier Cano is looking like the all-star version of himself.

There does seem to be enough talent here to build a rock solid bridge from the rotation to Helsley in the ninth. That bridge might just be paved with some hard-learned lessons along the way.

The Orioles were not perfect to begin the year. This team has flaws, and they were apparent at times this weekend. But the club’s upside was also apparent, and they won a series while their best player (Gunnar Henderson) scuffled. There’s plenty of room for this team to grow.

What we learned about the 2026 Orioles in season’s first series

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