Question: I don’t want to jinx him, but it seems that Adley Rutschman has returned to his previous All-Star form. Hopefully the league is noticing. Your thoughts? From: Stanley Snarski

Answer: Stan, I agree that Rutschman looks great so far. Most impressive is that his 10-day stint on the injured list didn’t seem to slow him down. He looks strong defensively, and I think, yes, people around baseball have noticed the return to form.

Question: What started out as a promising year for the Orioles has quickly turned into a nightmare. The pitching is just this side of horrific. The offense is horrific. The defense is bush league. Managerial decisions are questionable, i.e. placing batters with less than a .199 average in the cleanup position. The playoffs are a mere ethereal dream at this point. Sure, injuries are a part of the problem, but the issues are far deeper than that. Unlike last year, can the Orioles turn things around enough to salvage at least a .500 record this year? From: Ken Carter

Answer: Ken wrote this on Tuesday, just after the Yankees series and before the Marlins series.

Reaching a .500 record or more is quite possible, and I think a playoff spot is attainable. Entering Thursday’s games, only the Yankees and Rays had records over .500.

The Orioles have enough talent to play with the other teams in the American League. I think there will be many times during the season when fans become disheartened and many other times when they’ll get more optimistic.

I think some teams will get hot, and I’m confident that there won’t be just two teams among the 15 AL teams above .500 at the end of the season, and I can certainly see the Orioles as a contender.

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