Dean Kremer

There were a lot of other factors at play, many of them more attention-grabbing, but Kremer's second-half surge last year certainly aided the Orioles in their surprise push to the American League East title. He had a 5.04 ERA as of the end of June, but went on to register a 3.09 ERA with 75 strikeouts over his final 81.2 regular-season innings, and the O's went 13-2 across his final 15 starts. Kremer began utilizing his cutter more often, and in doing so saw a spike in groundballs along with less and less hard contact from opposing hitters. The overall numbers don't jump off the page -- Kremer owns a career 4.35 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 7.6 K/9 in 370.1 major-league innings -- but that should only serve to make him a value pick in fantasy drafts this spring. Just keep those cutters coming.

Kremer arrived seemingly for good in the majors last year, logging 22 games (21 starts) for the Orioles. He wasn't expected to do much, but he ended up being a serviceable starter with a 3.23 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 87:34 K:BB across 125.1 innings. Kremer boasts a five-pitch arsenal after adding a sinker to his repertoire, though he primarily relies on his four-seamer and cutter, which accounted for nearly two thirds of his pitches in 2022. His curveball was a bit more effective -- he racked up a 31.4 percent whiff rate with it, but opposing hitters also tagged him for a .527 slugging percentage on the pitch. Kremer should again be a lock as a middle-of-the-rotation starter this season, though the Orioles' ongoing youth movement could see him face challenges from top prospects Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall. His lack of one dominant put-away pitch and fairly low strikeout rate in the majors (18.6 percent in his career) make Kremer more of a late-round flier in fantasy.

Kremer entered the season as one of Baltimore's better upper-level pitching prospects, one received from the Dodgers in the Manny Machado trade. He pitched at three levels in 2019 and made four starts for the big-league club in 2020. He throws an assortment of pitches, highlighted by a fastball that makes up with movement what it lacks in velocity. Despite not lighting up radar guns, Kremer sports a career 10.9 K/9 in the minor leagues in over 350 innings of work. He has just under 40 innings of professional experience above Double-A, and in another organization, he would likely be headed back to the minors in 2021. However, it's audition time for the Orioles' young players and Kremer has the potential to be a serviceable back-end starter if he can stay consistent. He bears watching, especially if he improves his changeup.

Baltimore has assembled a strong farm system, with Kremer one of the top pitching prospects, acquired as part of the haul for Manny Machado. It may seem like the 24-year old righty is a little behind in his development, having thrown only 19.1 innings at the Triple-A level, but Kremer didn't focus on pitching full-time until junior college. The first ever Israeli drafted into MLB throws four pitches with his curve the best offering. His fastball sits low 90s but touches 96. Kremer also throws a plus slider but needs to improve his change to help handle lefthanded batters. He'll likely begin the season with Triple-A Norfolk, looking to improve upon the 8.84 ERA and 1.78 WHIP in four starts to close out 2019. Kremer's tendency is to improve the second time at a level so don't judge the small sample. Camden Yards is a tough place to pitch but Kremer has the potential to be a fantasy asset down the line.