2010 Baltimore Orioles Top 20 Prospects in Review
Here is a review of the 2010 Orioles prospect list, originally published December 4, 2009. THIS IS A REVIEW OF THE OLD LIST AND PRE-SEASON GRADES. THIS IS NOT A NEW LIST. The 2011 list and new grades won't be ready until the season is over and I start writing the book.
1) Brian Matusz, LHP, Grade A: 4-12, 5.28 ERA for the Orioles, 100/51 K/BB, 144 hits in 130 innings. I know Orioles fans are disappointed, but I still believe he's going to be a really good pitcher eventually.
2) Jake Arrieta, RHP, Grade B+: 1.85 ERA, 64/34 K/BB in 73 innings for Triple-A Norfolk, 5.23 ERA with 34/40 K/BB in 72 innings for the Orioles. Command the issue, as expected.
3) Zach Britton, LHP, Grade B: 2.69 ERA combined between Double-A Bowie and Norfolk, 101/43 K/BB in 130 innings, 120 hits, 2.67 GO/AO. I love this guy and I think he deserves more attention than he receives.
4) Josh Bell, 3B, Grade B: .278/.328/.481 for Norfolk, .210/.222/.242 so far in the majors with a horrible BB/K (1/22 in 62 at-bats).
5) Brandon Erbe, RHP, Grade B: 0-10, 5.73 in 14 starts for Norfolk, 50/22 K/BB in 71 innings, 86 hits. Yuck. Sore shoulder.
6) Brandon Snyder, 1B, Grade B-: .264/.331/.412 for Norfolk. Blah.
7) Matt Hobgood, RHP, Grade B-: 4.91 ERA, 49/34 K/BB in 77 innings for Low-A Delmarva, 1.98 GO/AO. Like the grounders, but unimpressive otherwise. Still very young, equivalent to a college freshman. Will cut him some slack for now.
8) Mychal Givens, SS, Grade B-: Just seven games for Delmarva in May, 4-for-18, has missed most of season with hand injury.
9) Brandon Waring, 3B-1B, Grade C+: .254/.350/.481 with 19 homers, 149 strikeouts in 401 at-bats for Bowie. Like the power, but already 24 and the strikeout rate is scary.
10) Kam "The Almighty" Mickolio, RHP, Grade C+: 6.85 ERA with 31/10 K/BB in 22 innings for Norfolk, 30 hits. Blech. If he can't figure things out soon, he should check into this for a new job opportunity.
11) Luis Lebron, RHP, Grade C+: Tommy John surgery.
12) Steve Johnson, RHP, Grade C+: 5.01 ERA, 110/67 K/BB in 124 innings for Bowie, 121 hits, 22 homers, 0.49 GO/AO. The extreme fly ball tendency is notable. I still think he has some sleeper potential.
13) Brandon Cooney, RHP, Grade C+: 0.55 ERA for High-A Frederick, 19/7 K/BB in 16 innings. Promoted to Bowie, 4.41 ERA with 25/18 K/BB in 35 innings. 2.47 GO/AO combined. If he can sharpen the command. . .
14) Ryan Berry, RHP, Grade C+: 3.31 ERA, 99/34 K/BB in 114 innings between Delmarva and Frederick, 103 hits, 1.56 GO/AO. I like him.
15) Ashur Tolliver, LHP, Grade C+: 6.00 ERA, 25/15 K/BB in 30 innings for Aberdeen in the NY-P, 30 hits. Not very good.
16) Caleb Joseph, C, Grade C: .241/.308/.388 for Bowie, 11 homers, 28/51 BB/K in 320 at-bats. 26% of runners caught, passed ball and error rate are high.
17) Troy Patton, LHP, Grade C: 4.79 ERA, 68/34 K/BB in 113 innings, 124 hits for Norfolk. Hasn't been the same since he got hurt.
18) Michael Ohlman, C, Grade C: .197/.299/.293 in 73 games split between Delmarva and Bluefield in the Appy League, 29/79 BB/K in 229 at-bats. Serious contact issues are short-circuiting his power potential.
19) Xavier Avery, OF, Grade C: .280/.349/.389 in 109 games for Frederick, 28 steals, 42/96 BB/K in 447 at-bats. Just promoted to bowie, 4-for-21 so far with two steals. Speed is very intriguing, no power yet.
20) Cameron Coffey, LHP, Grade C: Just coming back from Tommy John, six innings in the GCL thus far, 10 hits, seven runs.
Matusz hasn't done what people expected, but I think he will eventually. Two other pitchers I like a lot are Britton and Berry. There wasn't much hitting on this list to begin with, and most of it has been disappointing. There are also too many people named "Brandon" in this system.
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