Ryan O'Hearn

The Orioles' 101-win season and American League East title was possible in large part due to their collection of young talent starting to blossom. However, they also got some surprise contributions from veterans and O'Hearn is included among that group. The 30-year-old didn't make Baltimore's Opening Day roster but was up for good by early May and was often manager Brandon Hyde's preferred choice at first base versus righties while also seeing some time in the outfield and at designated hitter. O'Hearn put up an impressive 51.5 percent hard-hit rate while also cutting his strikeout rate down to a respectable 22.3 percent. He had posted a lowly .633 OPS over his last four seasons with the Royals, so O'Hearn's track record is working against him. He's earned an initial shot versus righties this season, but the leash will be short. Read Past Outlooks