Orioles have more prospects on horizon


Posted: Sunday, July 11, 2010 12:43 pm

By Josh Land, Orioles Analysis | 0 comments
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Matt Wieters, Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, Brad Bergesen, David Hernandez, Jason Berken.

The reinforcements the Orioles had been waiting for have all pretty much arrived in Baltimore with only Tillman still shuttling up and down, and he might now be in the big leagues to stay.

Of course it’s way, way, way too soon to call that wave a bust with the players still so young and in only their second years in the major leagues. It’s still quite possible that several of those youngsters develop into stars and compose part of the core which could lead Baltimore closer to respectability.

For now, however, Baltimore’s still floundering, owning the worst record in the majors.

So what’s left in terms of prospects?

There are no Stephen Strasburgs, Jason Heywards, or Bryce Harpers in the system. But there are some guys with plenty of potential, perhaps none more than left-hander Zach Britton.

The 22-year-old has followed a breakout 2009 season with an exceptional campaign split between Class AA Bowie and Class AAA Norfolk.

Britton was named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Year last season, and so far this year has gone 7-4 with a 2.49 ERA in 17 games (16 starts) split between the top two levels of the minors.

He was the Orioles’ third-round pick in 2006 and has progressed so far that on Friday, Baseball America named him the 10th-best prospect in the minors in the publication’s Midseason Updated Top 25.

Britton has a power sinker and an improving slider, and he has spent most of this year working to improve his changeup. He throws hard, he commands his pitches and that could lead to a major-league call-up in September, or sooner.

Next up is third baseman Josh Bell, who was given a surprising taste of the majors the last couple of weeks. Bell hadn’t been torching minor-league pitching at the time of his recall, batting .266 with 10 homers and 44 RBIs in 74 games with Norfolk.

But Bell had hit better the two months before his promotion.

“In a lot of respects, he's exceeded our expectations,” Orioles president Andy MacPhail said. “Quite honestly, we felt coming out of spring training that he was going to have a tough year at Triple-A. He was going to get exposed to a level of pitching that he hadn't seen. They are going to try to exploit weaknesses that they may perceive. We thought he might be in for a struggle and he's actually performed at a higher level than I think we expected.”

Bell entered the season as Baltimore’s second-best prospect, according to Baseball America, because he’s a switch-hitter with power potential.

It now seems logical that the Orioles gave Bell his first experience at the major-league level, as he’ll likely take over a starting role if Baltimore is able to trade Miguel Tejada or Ty Wigginton or Cesar Izturis or more than one of those infielders.

Bell recorded three hits and seven strikeouts in his first 14 big-league at-bats. But now if he’s back with the club later this month, he’ll have a better idea of what to expect.

The organization also has first baseman Brandon Snyder on the way up. After a slow start, the 2005 first-round pick had an excellent start to June (.327 average, three homers, eight RBIs in 15 games), but he has been on the disabled list since June 17.

Pitchers Brandon Erbe, Troy Patton and Tim Bascom are struggling with the Tides, but have big-league potential. Pitchers Chorye Spoone had an exceptional May and June with Class AA Bowie, and there are several younger players a ways off in the lower minors, such as Matt Hobgood, Xavier Avery, L.J. Hoes and Mychal Givens.

But there are more prospects still on the way, including at least a couple who could help before the 2010 season is done.

Reach staff writer Josh Land at 410-857-7875 or josh.land@ carrollcountytimes.com.

On the subject of prospects, the O's next five starting pitchers are: Bergesen, Guthrie, Matusz, Tillman, and Arrieta. Isn't that what all of us have been eagerly waiting for and talking about for the last couple years?