Kuzul

The Baltimore Orioles‘ fantastic start to the season is even more surprising when one considers the injuries they have had, but with several key players set to return sooner rather than later the Orioles could improve on their already impressive record.

A few players the Orioles were counting on to have big seasons have yet to even suit up for Baltimore this summer. Other key contributors started the season healthy but ran into problems early.

It doesn’t really matter when they got hurt but one thing is clear, the O’s are winning without them so who knows how good they can be with them.

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The following slideshow touts the top 15 waiver-wire pickups right now, a countdown of the best free agents from the majority of 12-team roto leagues. For the most part, this list rewards players who have already fostered productive starts to the 2012 season.

Savvy readers will notice the rankings are different from last week’s offering; and that can be attributed to the waiver-wire graduations of Zack Cozart, Jordan Schafer, Henry Rodriguez, Danny Duffy and Lance Lynn—forgotten assets on draft day but now invaluable pieces with their current teams. And that’s how it should be with this list: Here today, gone tomorrow.

Enjoy the show!

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Any success the Baltimore Orioles have this year depends heavily on the performance of several young players trying to prove that they belong in the MLB.

If all of these players improve and have solid seasons, the Orioles will win.

If all of these players regress and have bad seasons, the Orioles will lose.

In all likelihood some of these young players will meet expectations and others will fall short.

Here is a look at five of these players and whether they will step up to the challenge or fall flat on their face. 

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Former professional hitter Manny Ramirez is trying to make a comeback after abruptly retiring a few games into the 2011 season due to a second positive PED test and subsequent suspension.

Originally, it was thought that the Baltimore Orioles, Oakland A’s and Toronto Blue Jays were the final three in on Manny. O’s GM Dan Duquette would never commit one way or another when asked by reporters, saying things like “Manny is an interesting player,” or “we’re looking to at opportunities to add more bats” or other statements of the like.

However, yesterday Duquette finally quieted those rumors with these remarks to Baltimore reporters yesterday, courtesy of Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports:

“I don’t think there’s going to be a fit for Manny,” Duquette said. “We’ve looked at that all winter and I’m not sure there’s a fit there for the Orioles. I wish Manny a lot of luck, but I just don’t think he fits in our ballclub right now.”

To O’s fans, this is some of the best news, perhaps the best news, they have heard all season. An overwhelming majority of Birds fans were opposed to a one-year marriage of Manny and their beloved team, and for good reason. Manny’s a clubhouse cancer, and who knows if he can even swing the bat anymore.

The Orioles’ roster is full of young players. Having Manny around all those young players didn’t seem like the best idea, as his negative attitude could have poorly influenced the clubhouse. That’s the last thing the young minds need in Baltimore while they’re trying to improve their game and reach the lofty expectations thrust upon them.

Plus, due to his positive PED test in 2011, Manny would have to sit out the first 50 games of the season. With the loss of those 50 games in addition to the fact that Manny would probably need to ride the bench every so often to rest up, the team that signs him is looking at roughly 100 to 105 games of service from him during the 2012 season, if they’re lucky. Of course, that would be assuming he doesn’t get injured.

Looking at the situation, it certainly doesn’t seem like a good idea for the O’s. Manager Buck Showalter would love to leave the DH spot relatively open for him to rotate his players through in order to play the best defensive alignment each game and rest who needs to be rested (such as the ability to keep catcher Matt Wieters’ bat in the lineup while giving him a break from the catching gear), and with Manny on the team, he couldn’t do that if he wanted Manny in the lineup.

Any team that signs Manny is essentially signing him to be a full-time DH, since he was never effective in the field during his career to begin with and would only be worse now due to his age.

Essentially, this is a good move by the Orioles simply by not making a move. The O’s don’t need Manny, and I would almost bet that they’ll get better production out of the DH spot this season by rotating the likes of Wieters, utility man Wilson Betemit, left fielder Nolan Reimold, etc. through it than they would having Manny there full-time.

I’m just happy that I won’t be entertained by Ramirez’s “Manny being Manny” antics this season with him in the orange and black.

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On Sept. 1, the roster for every baseball team in the MLB expand for the last month of the season. For some, it doesn’t change much; those are the teams that are in pennant races. 

However for teams that are already looking towards 2011, like the Baltimore Orioles, the occasion allows the team to look at the prospects who could possibly be the future of the organization.

Though the Orioles are on a bit of a roll (they are about to finish with a winning record in the month of August for the first time since 2003), manager Buck Showalter will certainly look to take advantage of the opportunity to see his youngsters in action before next year’s Spring Training.

Here are some of the faces you could see over the next month; some of them may seem familiar.

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In the month of August, the Orioles, under new manager Buck Showalter, have become one of the hottest teams in the league.

MASN is getting its best rating all year, and fans are already starting to tune back in. However, the recent buzz in the big leagues has masked the success of a familiar name in AAA Norfolk: Nolan Reimold. 

After a tremendous rookie season was shortened by an Achilles tear, many thought Reimold would come back strong and be amongst the team leaders. Unfortunately for the organization, Reimold found it more difficult to come back than was expected and once he did, he was not even close to the same guy fans watched last season.

Reimold was eventually sent down to AAA to work on his issues, but it only got worse there. In May, Reimold batted .122 and questions of whether he would be able to rebound were floating around Baltimore.

The Tides tried just about everything, including trying him out at first base. Reimold now switches back and forth from the outfield to first. However, none of that mattered until August.

Since August 1, Reimold has turned it on and is looking a lot like the guy that was on pace to be the AL rookie of the year in 2009. He is batting .333 with two home runs and nine RBIs this month and is starting to get back into the discussion of being called up.

Although there are tons of theories on why he struggled in May, June and July, the best explanation is that he was rushed back after his surgery on the torn Achilles tendon. Throughout Spring Training, Reimold was seen limping and was shuffled in and out of the lineup to help his foot rest. He was so focused on being able to play on opening day, that he didn’t realize that it was in his best interest to wait until he was truly ready. 

While getting sent back down is never a good thing, there is a silver lining in the situation. With the emergence of Cory Patterson, the O’s now have four solid outfielders (Patterson, Felix Pie, Adam Jones, and Nick Markakis). With that big of a log jam, finding a spot in the outfield for Reimold would be tough. By being in AAA, Reimold has been able to work on switching to first base and might be able to avoid further cluttering the Orioles outfield.

The original hope of the Orioles was that Brandon Snyder would be the guy to fill that void, but Snyder has been up and down this year and the certainty of him contributing to the big league club has diminished. If Reimold can learn the position, then he can provide another option for the team’s future at first base. 

Assuming Reimold stays hot throughout August, there is no doubt that he will be one of the first people called up when rosters expand on September first. When that happens, it will be interesting to see if he can be the player we all thought he could be.

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Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com