One of the big reasons that the Baltimore Orioles offense went down the tubes late in the 2024 regular season was the absence of third baseman Jordan Westburg.
An All-Star in his first full season as a Major Leaguer, he was hit in the hand by a pitch, suffering a fracture that sidelined him from Aug. 1 through the final week of the regular season.
It was a huge loss because Westburg was one of the better power hitters in the lineup and always came through in the clutch. He was incredibly productive with men on base, recording a .309/.348/.577 slash line with nine home runs, 16 doubles, two triples and 54 RBI.
Being without that productivity in the middle of the order was too much for the team to overcome when taking into consideration the other players who were struggling to produce at the time, such as catcher Adley Rutschman.
Despite the injury, Westburg put up some big numbers during the 2024 season, cementing his status as a building block moving forward.
He finished the campaign with a .264/.312/.481 slash line, hitting 18 home runs, 26 doubles and five doubles. His 128 OPS+ was well above average, adding 63 RBI to round out his impressive stat line.
It was enough to earn his first trip to the All-Star game, setting the bar high heading into his second full season as a Big Leaguer.
Unfortunately, he has yet to get going in the same fashion in 2025 as he did in 2024.
Through his first 57 plate appearances, Westburg has a .231/.298/.404 slash line. He has hit three home runs, which is tied for the most on the Orioles. His 5.3% home run rate is an impressive number, but it is the only raw statistics that looks good right now.
Alas, his performance at the plate has been much more impressive than his numbers would suggest.
“However, Statcast says he’s earned a .282 average and a solid .536 slugging. So he’s been a top-50 expected hitter vs. about No. 100 in actual stats,” wrote Michael Salfino of The Athletic (subscription required).
Based on those numbers from Statcast, Westburg is actually performing at a high level out of the gate this year than he did during his breakout in 2024; the numbers have just not yet been reflected in the stats on the back of the baseball card.
His actual numbers looking more like the advanced stats he is putting up would be a huge help to a Baltimore lineup that is showing too many of the inconsistencies it did at times last year, which led to its unraveling.