Baby Birds Make Yet Another Top Prospect List

Baseball America released their 2010 Top 100 Prospects List and four Orioles made the list. LHP Brian Matusz (5), 3B Josh Bell (37), LHP Zach Britton (63) and RHP Jake Arrieta (99) all made the list.

A couple of notes from Jim Callis' "top tools" column...

Zach Britton (Orioles) doesn't dazzle on the radar gun like Strasburg, Feliz or Chapman, but his 88-92 mph fastball stood out for our panel, who anointed it the best sinker in the minors. It's a heavy pitch with late sink and run, and Britton can carry the life on his sinker into the late innings as a starter. He had a 3.4 groundout/airout ratio last year, when he was the high Class A Carolina League pitcher of the year as a 20-year-old....

The top changeup artists all stand out for their well-rounded repertoires. Brian Matusz (Orioles) has lived up to his billing as the top pitcher in the 2008 draft thanks to his plus-plus changeup—as well as his curveball and slider, both of which drew votes as ranking among the best in the minors, and a low-90s fastball that touches 95.

So the O's have the prospects with the best sinker and the best changeup. There has never been a time in my fandom when the Orioles has had so much nationally acclaimed talent in their system.

So we got that going for us. Which is nice.