The Baltimore Orioles are why we love this stuff. Are they all the way back? Take a deep breath, buster. Besides, this isn’t about that. Not yet anyway. This is about a group of guys having the time of their lives, banging doubles off the wall and scoring runs in bunches.

This is about a bunch of young players getting a chance to prove themselves after being shown the door by other clubs. Three of the O’s core position players -- second baseman Hanser Alberto, third baseman Rio Ruiz and catcher Pedro Severino -- were acquired via waiver claims. So were a couple of key members of the bullpen in closer Cole Sulser and setup man Shawn Armstrong.

This is also about manager Brandon Hyde making it all work by instilling confidence here, moving pieces around there. Of all the decisions that president of baseball operations Mike Elias has made, few were better than the hiring of Hyde.

Never mind that the O’s (12-10) have the lowest payroll in the game. Never mind about those predictions of a 10-50 season. Because the Orioles were 54-108 last season, expectations were low -- which was annoying to some in the home clubhouse at Camden Yards.

“No, I'm not surprised at how we're playing,” right-hander Asher Wojciechowski said. "We all believe in each other. We all push each other. We're getting familiar with each other.

“We're gonna keep on getting better each day. Just don't listen to any of the outside noise, and at the end of the season, we’ll see where we are.”

When Elias was hired in November 2018 after helping rebuild the Astros, his mission was to overhaul the whole thing. Seeing how the Orioles were coming off a 47-115 season, his work wasn’t going to be done in one or two offseasons.

While most of the focus has been on a string of high Draft choices and a handful of prominent international signings, Elias and his staff have focused on finding talent in every nook and cranny.

He targeted low-cost players with skills that he believed could be improved with the work of his baseball staff and analytics department. And the Orioles could be patient and allow those players to develop and figure things out.

Now, here they are with an offense that’s fifth in the Majors in OPS, fourth in slugging, sixth in total bases and tied for second in doubles. Severino, Alberto and Ruiz all have an OPS of .826 or better. Shortstop José Iglesias, signed to a one-year, $3 million guaranteed deal, is sporting a .977 OPS.

The Orioles are unlikely to be buyers at the Aug. 31 Trade Deadline no matter their record. But regardless of whether they squeeze into the postseason, they’ve been wildly fun to watch while identifying players capable of being building blocks or trade chips.

“You’ve got to pick your times and cycle guys in and cycle guys out and keep the talent flow going,” Elias told the Baltimore Sun. “We’re still at a point in our cycle where we’re going to prioritize stuffing the talent pipeline as much as possible ..."

Elias has dramatically upgraded the club’s Minor League system. Baltimore has four of MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects, including the No. 4 overall prospect in catcher Adley Rutschman, who could make his debut in 2021.

“But by no means does this mean that we don’t hope this team continues to win,” Elias told the Sun. “It’s an anything-goes kind of year, and we’re going to go out and win every game every night.”

Although the O’s began a stretch of 14 straight games against the American League East with Monday's 7-2 loss to the Blue Jays, here are some of Elias’ best acquisitions:

Waiver claims
C Pedro Severino (.995 OPS)
2B Hanser Alberto (.826 OPS, 11 doubles)
3B Rio Ruiz (.838 OPS, 6 HR)
RHP Cole Sulser (0.97 WHIP)
RHP Shawn Armstrong (1.80 ERA, 0.70 WHIP)
RHP Travis Lakins (2.70 ERA)

Free agency
SS José Iglesias (.977 OPS)

Trade
RHP Thomas Eshelman (0.89 WHIP)

Purchased
RHP Asher Wojciechowski (.239 opponents' BA)

Perhaps Hyde’s most impressive accomplishment is in attitude. The Orioles play aggressively and fearlessly. In the AL East, that’s no small accomplishment.

“We have a lot of guys that have come here from other places and been taken off 40-man rosters,” Hyde said. “And that's a tough pill to swallow. We have some tough guys in that room that have dealt with a lot of experiences.”

Also, nothing succeeds like success. With both the Marlins and Orioles, the more they win, the more they know they can win.

“Winning does help,” Hyde said. “You have to learn to win here.”

He pointed to Sunday’s game in which the Orioles trailed Max Scherzer and the Nationals, 5-1, but came back to tie it up before losing, 6-5.

“We caught up to Max Scherzer,” Hyde said. “That doesn’t happen very often. Most teams down 5-1 to Max Scherzer, you can just chalk up an 'L.'”

Even in a loss, the Orioles learned a bit more about themselves. As Armstrong said, “Yes, we’re hot right now. The vibe’s great, the atmosphere’s great. It’s a lot of fun being here. We’re trusting each other day in and day out.”