When Jorge Guzman entered for his first Major League appearance in the fifth inning of the Orioles’ sloppy 8-7 loss Thursday night at Oriole Park, the Marlins right-hander became the fourth Miami player to debut in this week’s four-game set. Circumstances are different for every team, and the Marlins have faced some more extenuating than most, having been forced to revamp their roster after their recent COVID-19 outbreak.

But a juxtaposition was clear nonetheless, and especially when you broaden your scope a bit. More than 80 rookies have debuted across MLB so far in 2020 -- none for the rebuilding Orioles, who through 12 games have been content stashing 12 of their top 30 prospects (per MLB Pipeline) at their alternate training site in Bowie, Md. Many of those blue-chippers are young and not too far along their development paths, but several entered the year considered at least almost big league ready, namely Ryan Mountcastle, Dean Kremer, Keegan Akin and unranked Isaac Mattson.

Now that the 60-game regular season is one-fifth complete and the Orioles’ hot start has faded: Where are they?

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The question came more into focus by the time the Orioles dropped Thursday’s back-and-forth affair, as they were swept by the Marlins and their many new faces. Baltimore’s bats came alive after three listless nights, buoyed by two Renato Núñez homers and additional solo shots from Chance Sisco and Dwight Smith Jr. But veteran left-hander Wade LeBlanc allowed six runs in 3 1/3 innings and was hurt by shoddy defense behind him.

“It’s frustrating when you feel like you have something good going, you show up, and one day it's there, and the next day it’s not,” LeBlanc said. “The frustrating part is the guys behind me fighting to give me those leads, then to roll out there and give them right back is something that makes a guy lose some sleep at night.”

Three times in the middle innings, the Orioles tied the game or took a lead. Thrice, they gave it back. Miami got three hits from former Oriole Jonathan Villar, including a leadoff homer, then went ahead for good on Jesús Aguilar’s sac fly and Brian Anderson’s RBI triple in a two-run seventh.

Baltimore's ninth-inning rally fizzled after it pulled within one on Pedro Severino’s pinch-hit RBI single. The outcome may have been different had it not been for three misplays throwing to bases, two of which were ruled errors.

“We just didn’t play very well defensively tonight,” manager Brandon Hyde said.

That’s the development area being emphasized in Bowie with Mountcastle, a natural infielder who the Orioles have been giving binge reps to in left field since early summer. As recently as this past Sunday, general manager Mike Elias expressed belief that Mountcastle was benefiting as much from hands-on instruction (which also includes the use of pitch-recognition technology) as he would from in-game reps at the big league level, saying, “There is no script or plan or date for anybody.”

The question now is how long that remains true, with the Minor League season canceled and competitive reps nonexistent outside of intrasquad play. Hyde likely wouldn’t have trouble finding ample at-bats and innings for Mountcastle, Kremer, Akin or other prospects at the current moment, given Chris Davis' struggles, the hits to their starting-pitching depth and DJ Stewart’s recent demotion.

“We have game reports and we do have stats and we do have video,” Hyde said. “We are very aware of what’s going on at our secondary site.”

As it stands, the Orioles are content committing regular at-bats to several young players already in the fold, most notably Anthony Santander, Austin Hays and Sisco. Sisco, in particular, stands out after hitting his first homer of the season Thursday, as he's batting .455 with a .647 on-base percentage in six games.

“Everybody is aware of the opportunity they have here,” Hyde said. “If guys are up here and they play well, they are going to continue to play. I hope we don’t put undue pressure on them. Maybe it’s the situation we’re in here, but guys don’t have to wait their turn. The opportunity is in front of them. I am hoping they take advantage of it.”