The Baltimore Orioles enter the American League Wild Card series against the Kansas City Royals with big expectations. While the regular season was disappointing for Baltimore, they can put that behind them with a great postseason. Before the series begins, we'll make our Orioles Wild Card bold predictions.

The Orioles are in year two of their competitive window after a lengthy rebuild. Their stars are mostly the results of their horrendous seasons, namely Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson. Rutschman was the number-one overall pick in 2019 and Henderson was a second-round selection. With these two stars, they have a great chance to win in the postseason.

Last year was a poor start to the competitive window for the Orioles. They got a bye past the Wild Card as the top seed in the AL and hosted the Texas Rangers to start the ALDS. The eventual champions swept the up-and-coming Birds and ended their season prematurely.

With another young team across from them in the Royals, this series could truly go either way. Before the series begins, let's look at the Orioles Wild Card predictions.

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Corbin Burnes will shine in Game 1 pitcher's duel

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes (39) throws a third inning pitch against the Detroit Tigers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Tuesday's Game 1 features a matchup of two aces and two of the best pitchers in the American League. Corbin Burnes will face up-and-coming lefty Cole Ragans. The Royals were led by unknown pitchers all season, namely Ragans who was second on the team in wins, ERA, and innings pitched. It will be Burnes, however, that leads the Orioles to victory.

It's easy to forget that Burnes started the All-Star Game for the American League this season. In the second half, Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers took hold of the AL Cy Young race and won the Triple Crown. During that stretch, Burnes went 6-5 with a 3.69 ERA. While those numbers are solid, he must get back to his first-half numbers for the Orioles to succeed.

Burnes will pitch seven innings and not allow a run against the blistering-hot Tigers, leading the Orioles to victory. Detroit is only in the playoffs because of their ridiculous stretch to end the season. They went 30-13 after August 10 to capture the final Wild Card spot from the floundering Twins. Burnes will put an end to that on Tuesday

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Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman will both hit home runs

Adley Rutschman ended the regular season with a massive slump. The catcher hist .207 after the All-Star break, only managing three home runs and 20 RBIs. As a switch-hitting catcher, he is one of the most valuable players in the entire league but not when he is hitting like this. It has been especially bad against righty pitchers, a .219 mark for the entire season.

Shortstop Gunnar Henderson has been the opposite, leading the Orioles through a rough second half with MVP-type numbers. He hit .279 with a .799 OPS after the All-Star break and played a smooth shortstop in the process. He has done better against righty starters, which makes sense as a lefty, but can hit left-handers as well.

Both Ragans and Game 2 starter Seth Lugo are left-handed, which is a good thing for Rustchman. They will not win this series without a great performance from Henderson. Expect both of the stars to hit a home run at some point during this series. Henderson hit one long ball last year against the Rangers but Rutschman did not.

Orioles will win the Wild Card series

With those great performances from their three most important players, the Orioles will win the American League Wild Card series against the Royals. While Kansas City has stars of their own and has had a great season, they will not advance past the mighty Orioles. The Henderson/Rutschman era must include playoff success for new owner David Rubenstein to keep this core together.

If they do win, they will face the AL East champion New York Yankees in the ALDS. While the Bronx Bombers did survive to win the division, the Orioles fared well against them this year. That can be a favorable matchup for the Birds as they look to make the ALCS for the first time since 2014.

Each of the games will begin at 4:07 p.m. Eastern and will be played at Camden Yards.