Kyle Bradish is set to start for the Baltimore Orioles Saturday against the Colorado Rockies. The Orioles will look to extend their three-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays atop the AL East. Baltimore's offense has led the way in the team's surge to the top of the 2023 American League standings, but Kyle Bradish has been as important as any player in making the Orioles a legitimate World Series contender.

Starting pitching was the biggest question surrounding Baltimore at the start of the 2023 season. It remains the Orioles' biggest weakness with the playoffs fast approaching, though Bradish's emergence as a No. 1 starter has answered many of those questions.

Bradish leads the Orioles' rotation with a 3.03 ERA and a 3.5 WAR. Bradish struggled with a 4.90 ERA as a rookie in 2022. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde sees a major difference between the 2023 version of Bradish and last year's pitcher.

“So impressed with the progress he’s made,” Hyde said, via The Baltimore Sun. “You just don’t see the arm-side up misses. You don’t see the spray misses to [raise] the pitch count. Everything’s around the strike zone with cut or with sink.

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“He’s been wonderful this season.”

Bradish has only gotten better as the season has progressed. His ERA would be well below 3.00 had it not been for a 6.14 ERA in April. Bradish pitched at least six innings in all five of his July starts, pitching to a 2.25 ERA. The Orioles' pitcher has a 1.92 ERA in four August starts, allowing less than one baserunner per inning in the month.

Bradish's emergence as a potential AL Cy Young candidate coincided with the Orioles moving past the Rays for first place.