Zach Britton Getting Noticed

I thought I would pass this along...Zach Britton is getting noticed outside of Baltimore. Andrew Schwartz of Midwest Sports Fans provided his thoughts on the young pitcher:

A former 3rd round pick, Britton was previously ranked (in 2010) as a top-30 prospect by Baseball America, so his success shouldn’t come as that great of a surprise. But still, after Britton spent the first three months of the season in the minors and then accumulated an 8.35 ERA through his first 4 starts of 2012 season, he didn’t appear to be the most likely candidate to suddenly turn into a late-career version of Sandy Koufax.

So now, the question is whether Britton’s recent dominance is sustainable or whether it is merely “smoke and mirrors.”

You'll find a very thorough analysis of why Schwartz believes this version of Britton might be for real.

Fearless Predictions - Baltimore Orioles 2011

Looking at these predictions, they seem way less fearless than really obvious. At least some of them. But here they are anyway...


If Brian Roberts plays in 130 games, I'm going with 80 wins. If he ends up on the DL, 76 wins.

Zach Britton wins the AL Rookie of the Year. Yeah, Jeremy Hellickson is the odds on favorite but I think Britton comes up on the outside and catches him.

Adam Jones breaks out this season. A mild breakout, something like a .295/.340/.450. 20 home runs. But a breakout nonetheless.

I can't predict playing time but Nolan Reimold will finish the season with a higher OPS than Vladimir Guerrero. So will Luke Scott.

Jeremy Guthrie will, once again, have an ERA lower than his FIP. Probably significantly so.

Nick Markakis will hit 40 doubles. Again. Also will have at least a .360 OBP.

Matt Wieters hits 15 home runs. Anything else he does is anybody's guess.

Luke Scott will OPS north of .850.

Josh Rupe doesn't see May 15th in Baltimore. He sees it from Norfolk.

Zach Britton is in Baltimore before May 15th.

JJ Hardy will be a fan favorite by June 1st.

Matt Albers will outperform most of the Oriole pen while pitching for Boston.

Mark Hendrickson ends up playing a large role in the Oriole season. Take that as you will.

Mark Reynolds hits 30 homers and has 200 Ks.