The future of the O's

Haven't written on this blog for a while, but since nobody really reads it...I don't think anybody has missed it.
Memorial Day means summer time, which of course means baseball. I've made it out to two O's games this season, a Mother's Day loss to the Yanks and a win over the lowly Nats down in DC. I can live with a 1-1 record so far this year, now only is the O's were playing .500 ball.
The record is crap as ususal, but the Orioles have a lot of positives mixed in with some big negatives. However, the Orioles' management has been saying since Andy McPhail arrived as General Manager that they were aiming to compete in 2010 or 2011, so this year is part of the current rebuilding plan. Damn...how many rebuilding plans has Baltimore seen since 1998? So here is what I like from the O's so far.

The O's have made it a priority to acquire more depth in the minor leagues, and I think they have been very successful in doing so. One piece of evidence is that the minor league teams are playing well and winning across the board.
Norfolk is 28-14
Bowie is 21-20
Frederick is 22-20
Delmarva is 22-18
And for those that really follow the organization at more than just the Major League level, there are prospects at all of these levels, rather than over the hill prospects and guys who failed at the Major League level. From different message boards and blogs I've read, some fans are agitated that the Orioles aren't calling up these potential "stars" from the minors. I'm sure some of the guys in the Orioles' minor league system could do well in Baltimore already, but I like the idea of creating a winning environment in the minors first. Young players shouldn't be given a spot, and should have to earn it first.

Nolan Reimold has been playing well in left field since he has been called up this month, and I feel he is a good example of a player that has proven he belongs in the Majors. Reimold has been a big name prospect for some time now, and I can remember reading fans calling for him to be in the Majors for most of the last year and a half. He wasn't rushed to spring training in 2008 or when rosters expanded last September. He played well this year in the Spring, but was sent to AAA and forced to perform well there before getting the recent promotion. The way he has been handled has apparently shown him that he will need to compete to get where he belongs, and that appears to be working well for him so far.

Hopefully that mindset is also being instilled in the minor league pitchers, because that is this team's greatest need right now. I think this philosophy was shown with Brad Bergesen this spring. He pitched extremely well in spring training, but was sent to Norfolk to start the year despite the wishes of many fans. I'm sure that nobody in the Orioles front office thought Adam Eaton, Mark Hendrickson, and Alfredo Simon were the answers to the Orioles pitching problems. However, those guys were used to start the season in the rotation so that Bergesen and other pitchers weren't just given spots, but had to prove that they belonged. Bergesen was giving the opportunity first to prove he belongs, and it looks like Jason Berken will be given that chance tommorow. I'm excited for all of the Orioles' pitching prospects, but I think its a smart idea to not rush them all at one time, and allow them time to learn success in the minors.

While its exciting to see some guys like Bergesen and Reimold come up and hold their own with the Orioles, its great to realize that these aren't even the biggest names in the farm system. The most anticipated player is obviously Matt Wieters, who was tabbed as the #1 prospect in all of baseball before this season. He is being compared to Joe Mauer and Mark Teixeira, and any O's fan has to be excited to hear that. Like the other guys I brought up, fans thought he should have been on the O's roster to start the season, or maybe last season. However, he is being brought along slowly and the debut is getting closer, although it hasn't been announced yet. Everybody who pays attention knows that he was being held back about a month because of future contract issues. I don't know when he will be up, but I'll guess that June 9th against the Mariners is a good bet. That will be the first game of a nine game home stand, and it falls on a Tuesday after a day off Monday. I'm sure that announcing Wieters' call up Sunday afternoon will create enough build-up for the O's to sell a lot more tickets on a Tuesday evening than they normally would. With nine games in a row at home, including two series that won't likely draw a lot of interest from opposing fans, the Orioles management would assure themselves a lot of interest from Orioles fans, even if the team isn't winning.

The top pitchers are further away, but Chris Tilman, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, and Brandon Erbe are all 4 and 5 star prospects according to Baseball Prospectus. All of these guys are young and have performed well so far this season. Matusz was a first round pick last year, but was placed in just A ball at Frederick. Again, this speaks to the philosophy of forcing a player to earn a promotion to the next level. Each of these guys is expected to be better than Bergesen and Berken, but they are being forced to earn their promotions over an extended period of time, rather than gifted their opportunities. Nobody knows how many of these guys will wear an Orioles uniform this season, but its exciting to know they are on their way.

The other positives are easier to see. Brian Roberts and Aubrey Huff still have it, and the Orioles have a 23 and a 25 year old outfielder who should both be playing in the All Star game. It will be tough for the last place O's to squeeze two guys into the game, but these guys are two of the best hitters in the AL. Losing for over a decade is incredibly frustrating, and playing in the AL East won't make it easy to turn that around. However, the future is looking brighter than I can remember in a long time. At least that is one reason to be excited for the Orioles.