Baltimore Orioles 2011 Top 20 PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review

Baltimore Orioles Top 20 2011 PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review

It is time to review our PRE-SEASON list of Top 20 prospects for 2011 for each organization, continuing today with the Baltimore Orioles. This list was originally published December 11, 2010.  Tomorrow we will do the Arizona Diamondbacks.

This is a review of the 2011 Pre-Season Top 20 list. IT IS NOT A NEW LIST.

The 2012 list and new grades won't be ready until the season is over and I start writing the book.

1) Manny Machado, SS, Grade A-: .276/.376/.483 in 38 games for Low-A Delmarva, .240/.333/.387 in 21 games for High-A Frederick, .264/.362/.450 combined with 34 walks, 42 strikeouts in 220 at-bats. Strong reviews on defense. Still an elite prospect.

2) Zach Britton, LHP, Grade A-: 4.05 ERA with 64/39 K/BB in 104 major league innings, 103 hits, 1.74 GO/AO. Went back to Double-A a couple of weeks ago but major league performance was solid overall and he'll be back soon.

3) Dan Klein, RHP, Grade B-: 1.11 ERA with 37/6 K/BB in 32 innings of relief between Frederick and Double-A Bowie, went on the disabled list in early June with shoulder trouble and may not pitch the rest of the year.

4) Mycal Givens, SS-2B, Grade B-: Struggled for Delmarva, .195/.260/.229. Sent back to New York-Penn League in June and has rebounded, .297/.365/.384 for Aberdeen. No one is giving up yet.

5) Xavier Avery, OF, Grade C+:  .271/.322/.355 with 26 walks, 108 strikeouts in 391 at-bats for Bowie. 30 steals in 41 attempts. Fast, toolsy, still very raw.

6) L.J. Hoes, 2B, Grade C+:  .241/.297/.342 in 158 at-bats for Frederick, .311/.357/.363 with 11 steals in 190 at-bats for Bowie. BABIP luck main difference between levels.

7) Jonathan Schoop, SS, Grade C+: Hit .316/.376/.514 in 51 games for Delmarva, then .221/.293/.263 in 35 games for Frederick. Very young for High-A at age 19.

8) Ryan Adams, INF, Grade C+: .285/.358/.422 with 27 walks, 78 strikeouts in 270 at-bats for Triple-A Norfolk, 5-for-23 (.217) in nine major league games. Contact issues the main trouble here.

9) Ryan Berry, RHP, Grade C+: Spent most of the season in the DL, just got back into action in late June/July, 14.1 innings so far with a 12/10 KBB and a 6.28 ERA between the GCL Orioles and Aberdeen. 1.81 GO/AO stands out in a small sample.

10) Wynn Pelzer, RHP, Grade C+: 4.11 ERA with 62/42 K/BB in 70 innings for Bowie, 70 hits. Ineffective as a starter, but has a 2.25 ERA in 24 relief innings with a 2.25 GO/AO. Bullpen looks like his destination.

11) Joseph Mahoney, 1B, Grade C+:  .288/.356/.506 in 156 at-bats for Bowie, 16 walks, 39 strikeouts. Missed most of April and May with a quad injury but hitting well now.

12) Tyler Townsend, 1B, Grade C+: .318/.355/.588 in 245 at-bats for Frederick, with a 9/63 BB/K. Numbers are great on the surface but I really don't like that BB/K ratio.

13) Matt Hobgood, RHP, Grade C+: Recently activated after shoulder problems, 18.1 innings so far between GCL and NY-P, 4.42 ERA with 12/5 K/BB, 4.57 GO/AO. Sample too small to mean much but at least he's on the mound.

14) Brandon Cooney, RHP, Grade C+: Another recent activation, 18.2 innings for Bowie, 19/15 K/BB, 16 hits, 4.82 ERA.

15) Bobby Bundy, RHP, Grade C+:  3.11 ERA with 91/30 K/BB in 107 innings for Frederick, 97 hits, 1.28 GO/AO. A very fine season, stock is moving up quickly.

16) Connor Narron, SS, Grade C+:   .233/.370/.283 in 120 at-bats for Aberdeen, 24 walks, 22 strikeouts. Excellent command of the strike zone so far, lacks power. Playing third base this year, glove rough so far with 11 errors and just one double play in 34 games.

17) Brandon Waring, 3B, Grade C:   .203/.278/.395 with 12 homers, 25 walks, 85 strikeouts in 271 at-bats for Bowie.  Has lost 120 points of OPS while repeating the league.

18) Eddie Gamboa, RHP, Grade C:  3.00 ERA with 27/8 K/BB in 39 innings for Bowie, 32 hits, 1.90 GO/AO. I still think he can be a useful utility pitcher if given the opportunity.

19) Jarrett Martin, LHP, Grade C:  4.84 ERA, 71/47 K/BB in 74 innings for Delmarva, 67 hits, 1.46 GO/AO. Gets strikeouts with some grounders but walk rate too high. Lefties have hit just .181 against him.

20) Trent Mummey, OF, Grade C:   .292/.373/.478 with 19 steals, 16 walks, 19 strikeouts in 113 at-bats between Delmarva and Frederick. Out with hamstring injury since early June.

There seems to be a lot of roster churn in this system, guys shuffling between levels, along with injury attrition. Feel free in the comments section to ask about guys who weren't on the Pre-Season Top 20 but who are doing well this year.