Why have the Orioles collapsed? | MAILBAG

 Question: It seems to me that the collapse of the Oriole organization from players to the top started all of a sudden last July (2024) and has continued to get worse. What could have happened so suddenly to cause the collapse? From: Joe Meglen

Answer: Joe, Adley Rutschman, who’s still on the injured list, suddenly stopped hitting, and Jordan Westburg missed most of the second half with a broken hand. Those two factors contributed to the offense cratering last season.

Injuries to Westburg and Colton Cowser, as well as the season-long absences of Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez and Tyler Wells and the underperformance of many of the free agents signed are contributing factors to this year’s poor performance.

Question: We hear a lot about the progress of our pitchers in the minors. But I haven’t seen anything recently about the international players and how they’re doing. Given the Orioles’ need for pitching, I was wondering if any of them are doing well this season. From: Larry Schultz

Answer: Larry, three of the Orioles’ top 30 prospects are international pitchers. Esteban Mejia, who was named the organization’s pitcher of the month in June, is No. 4. Right-hander Keeler Morfe, who started the Spring Breakout game in March but is now injured, is eighth, and left-hander Luis De Léon, who’s at High-A Aberdeen, is No. 16.

None will help the Orioles immediately, but they’re prospects to watch for the future.

Question: Last year’s top pick, Vance Honeycutt, has struggled mightily at Aberdeen. He’s striking out close to 50 percent of the time. I haven’t seen his name in the box score since he went 0-for-5 with 5 Ks toward the end of last week. Do you know if he’s injured? From: Dave Gruber

Answer: Dave, I wrote about Honeycutt’s injury, a sprained left ankle, on Monday.

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.