Orioles in the Desert: Arizona Fall League 2010

Let's go Scottsdale Scorpions!

There are still some Orioles playing baseball in October and this year they are doing it for the Scorpions of Scottsdale. Unlike previous years, there are no big prospects or even many prospects that may make it to Baltimore next season but there are still some interesting players in representing the Birds in Arizona.

RHP Oliver Drake

Drake is a 23-year-old righty who pitched for Frederick this season. His stats are nothing special although his control seems good (2.6 BB/9, 7.0 K/9 in 2010) and his numbers seem to scream Brad Bergesen. Of course, being Brad Bergesen in Frederick is not exactly impressive but it will be interesting to see how he fares in an offensive environment like the AFL. I would imagine he gets shelled but maybe he learns a few things that will help him in Bowie next year.

RHP Pat Egan

The 25-year-old Egan was impressive for Bowie and unlucky in Norfolk in 2010. Egan showed impressive control and kept the ball in the park and has throughout his minor league career. The 2006 36th-round draft pick has an odd hurky-jerky motion that keeps hitters off-balance. Limiting walks and homers can lay the groundwork for success and, again, it will be interesting to see how he performs in a high-offense environment like the AFL.

RHP Kam Mickolio

Due to injury, Mickolio only threw 44 innings in a disappointing 2010. Mickolio was thought to be a potential late inning reliever before the season and he'll have to try to recapture his control and ridiculous strikeout rate to force himself back into the 2011 bullpen picture. He and Egan are probably the Scorpions most likely to pitch in Baltimore next year.

RHP Wynn Pelzer

Pelzer is the player Baltimore got back from the Padres in the Miguel Tejada trade. He walks too many batters and gives up a bunch on hits per 9. If he doesn't get knocked around too badly in Arizona, it'll be a success for him.

C Caleb Joseph

I'm very interested to see how Joseph fares in the AFL. Joseph had a disappointing season for Bowie in 2010  but is still considered a decent enough catching prospect. Will the 24-year-old get his stroke back this fall? If so, it could be a springboard to his development in his inevitable repeat of AA in 2011.

2B Ryan Adams

The 23-year-old Adams had something of a breakthrough in the power department at Bowie this year (43 doubles, 15 homers) and is certainly destined for Norfolk in 2011. Looking at the roster, Adams should play a fair amount of second and perhaps at third during his AFL stint and it will be interesting to see if the power keeps coming.

SS Greg Miclat

The diminutive, light-hitting shortstop had a bit of a career resurrection in Frederick this season but hit a roadbump in Bowie. Still just 22, the extra work could help make or break him as a prospect in 2011. The Orioles could use another legitimate shortstop prospect.

1B Tyler Townsend

Since being drafted in the 3rd round of the 2009 amateur draft, Townsend has only played in 83 during his Orioles career due to injury. He has show flashes of brilliance (.563 slugging percentage in 2010) and the Orioles could definitely use a power bat like his in the system. It's a good chance for Townsend to make up for lost time. He's only going to be 23 next year and there's no reason he can't get to Bowie and perhaps Norfolk in 2011 if he stays healthy.

CF Xavier Avery

I thought LJ Hoes would be the Frederick player to take a step forward this year (and he had a decent year) but it was the 20-year-old Avery that blossomed and advanced all the way  to AA Bowie. I don't take the hitting performances in the AFL too seriously but it would be fantastic if Avery showed well for the Scorpions. With 38 stolen bases combined in 2010, expect Avery to be testing arms in Arizona.

Arizona Fall League Update: 11/9/2009

I watched the AFL Rising Stars Game on Saturday. The quick stats for the Oriole prospects:

1B Brandon Snyder: 1-4 with a walk
3B Josh Bell: no official at-bats but a walk and an RBI sac fly in 2 plate appearances
P Brandon Erbe and 1B/DH Brandon Waring did not play.

Beyond the numbers, Brandon Snyder's bat looked a bit slow against the hard throwers. He was late a lot. On the other hand, Snyder made a great play diving to his right in the first inning, flipping the ball to the pitcher at first for the out, robbing Mike Moustakas of a base hit. Snyder looked very good in the field all night.

Josh Bell demonstrated a pretty good eye and a lot of ink on the forearms. I can't think of another Oriole who has sported tattoos that were visible while they were in uniform.

Jason Castro: Big arm. The 22-year-old Astro catcher looked great behind the plate.
Yonder Alonso: Big power
Jemile Weeks: fast, fast FAST!
Dustin Ackley: Plays a great centerfield. Makes it look easy.

Oriole Prospects

Brandon Snyder continues to hit well psoting a .355/.453/.597 line for the Desert Dogs.

Josh Bell has cooled a bit but is still hitting .309/.397/.473. Snyder and Bell continue to be intriguing possibilities to fill the holes at the corner infield positions, maybe as early as next season.

CF Matt Angle continues to get on base. His .298/.370/.362 line is pretty impressive when you consider that he has stolen 6 bases and not been caught yet. There is a place in the bigs for a leadoff guy who gets on base at a .370 clip and steals bases. He is a guy to watch closely at Bowie next season.

Brandon Waring is hitting .290/.361/.613 in limited action.

P Brandon Erbe has pitched the best of the Oriole prospects albeit only over 3 starts and 9.0 innings pitched. A 1.11 WHIP, a 2.00 ERA and a 4.5 K/BB ratio so far.

Out of the pen, RP Eddie Gamboa pitched well before getting hurt, posting a 3.86 ERA. RP Josh Perrault sports a 2.70 ERA but has walked 4 while only striking out 3. Those numbers will need to improve is Perrault hopes to break camp with the Orioles out of Spring Training.

P Ryohei Tanaka has served as a swingman of sorts for the Desert Dogs and got knocked around during his last outing to rasie his ERA to 5.54. But before that, he had pitched fairly well and still boasts 10 Ks to only 3 BBs over 13.0 IP.

Other Prospects

Toronto hitting prospect is getting exposed in this hitter's league and is hitting a measly .167/.281/.250.

Oakland 2B Jemile Weeks is hitting .300 with 5 stolen bases and leads the Dogs with 3 triples.

CF Grant Desme continues to own Arizona hitting .354/.433/.754 (!) this fall.

At 13-9 and a 3.5 game lead on the rest of the AFL East (with 10 games to go), the Desert Dogs are virtual locks to play int he AFL Championship. The game will be on MLB Network Saturday, November 21st at 2:30 PM. There should be Orioles-a-plenty in action for that game.

AFL Update: 10/26

I told you that this was an interesting crop of AFL prospects for the Orioles...

Oriole Prospects

The future corner infielders for Baltimore continue to rake. 3B Josh Bell is posting a .464/.531/.786 slash line and 1B Brandon Snyder is sporting a line of .400/.436/.714. As we know, both corner infield positions in Baltimore are essentially vacant. These guys may force their way into Baltimore before the All-Star break.

CF Matt Angle continues to do what he has always done (get on base, steal bases) albeit in a more spectacular fashion. Angle has strung together 5 consecutive multi-hit games and has a line of .406/.486/.500 in AFL play. In 7 games, he has stolen 6 bases without being caught.

3B/DH Brandon Waring has only gotten 16 ABs but is hitting .250/.368/.563.

In a league that has been all about offense, the O's pitching prospects have held their own.

Ryohei Tanaka leads the team in innings pitched (with 8.1) and has struck out 8, walked 2 and posted a 3.24 ERA. Brandon Erbe (1.93 ERA), Josh Perrault (2.08 ERA) and Eddie Gamboa (3.86 ERA) have also pitched well in limited action.

Other Prospects

Stephen Strasburg got tagged in his last start against Peoria (and then Tanaka came in and shut the Javelinas down) and now has an ERA north of 10.00.

After a hot start, Adam Loewen is now hitting .179.

AFL Update: 10/19/2009

Oriole Prospects

Most of the O's prospects now have a couple games under their belts. The highlights so far:

1B Brandon Snyder is posting a .385/.429/.615 line, picking up where he left off last fall but has just a lone extra base hit (home run).

3B Josh Bell has hit the tougher pitching well. Hitting .400/.536/.600 with a couple of doubles.

CF Matt Angle is hitless in 7 ABs but has drawn three walks and stolen two bases.

RP Josh Perrault has a 0.00 ERA over two games. RP Eddie Gamboa has a 3.86 ERA over two appearances.

Others of Note

Nationals SP Stephen Strasbourg pitched 3.1 scoreless innings in his AFL debut on Friday.

Blue Jays OF Adam Loewen is hitting .444/.538/.556 over three games.

The Desert Dogs are a juggernaut! They have won 4 straight and at 4-1 lead the AFL East by two games already.

MLB.tv will not be televising any of the AFL games, save for the All-Star game and the championship game. Bummer.

AFL Update: 10/14/2009

Oriole Prospects

SP Ryohei Tanaka started the game for the Desert Dogs and promptly surrendered a home run to center off the bat of Mesa leadoff hitter Rene Tosoni. However, he did not allow another run over the three innings he pitched. Final line: 3 IP, 3 hits, 4 Ks, 1 ER. Tanaka pitched well but Phoenix did not score until the 5th inning and he took the loss.

1B Brandon Snyder went 2-5 with a 2-run homer and finished with 2 RBI and a strikeout hitting third.

3B Josh Bell went 0-3 with a walk and a strikeout.


Others of Note:

Former Oriole Randor Bierd started for the Mesa Solar Soz and held the D.D.'s hitless over three innings.

Fellow desert Dog Adam Loewen played leftfield and went 0-1 with a strikeout but drew 3 walks and scored twice.

Mesa beat the Desert Dogs 10-6

The game wasn't televised on MLB.tv, nor was there a radio feed and, for this game, no PitchFx data. No word on if and when AFL games will be televised this year. Lousy...

Desert Dog Fever...Catch It!

I have always loved following the Oriole prospects in the Arizona Fall League. In past seasons, I have had to endure the watching Oriole "prospects" like Dustin Yount or Brandon Fahey. But this season, all of the Oriole prospects who have showed up to play in Phoenix are worthy of following. And their teammates on the Desert Dogs from other organizations bring some interesting storylines of their own. Here's the rundown with the Oriole prospects listed first:

3B Josh Bell - Bell came over from the Dodgers in the George Sherrill trade and gave the Orioles their best third base prospect since...I don't know, Leo Gomez? He is also the only player listed as a third baseman for the Desert Dogs so he should get plenty of at bats this fall.

RP Eddie Figueroa - The 2008 21st round pick has gone from the rookie leagues all the way to Bowie in under a season and a half of pro ball. Can he keep mowing them down and killing worms (or scorpions) in Arizona?

SP Brandon Erbe - Coming back from injury, Erbe showed signs of life in Bowie over 14 starts. This will be the toughest competition the 22-year-old Erbe has faced in his career...should be a good test.

RP Josh Perrault - The AFL'er most likely to break camp with Baltimore out of spring training. Perrault pitched 32 innings in Norfolk and struck out 33. A good showing in Arizona will go a long way toward getting him a long look in Sarasota this spring.

SP Ryohei Tanaka - The Orioles' forgotten Japanese import. Tanaka put together a nice season in Bowie as a swingman in '09 winning 4 games, saving 3 and posting a 3.00 ERA. Will his junk fool the rest of the AFL? I'm curious to see what kind of stuff he has. Tanaka makes the season opening start for Phoenix today versus Mesa at 2:35 EDT.

1B Brandon Snyder - Last fall, Snyder's good showing led to a white-hot run in Bowie and gained him a mid-season promotion to Norfolk. Will this fall help ignite similar success in AAA?

1B/3B Brandon Waring - The Carolina League MVP. He beat up on the pitchers in A-ball but can he mash against the top pitchers in the minors?

OF Matt Angle - Frederick centerfielder hasn't shown much at the plate except that he can a) get on base and b) steal a lot of bases. If he can do that in the AFL, those skills could play in Bowie and beyond.

OF Adam Loewen - Former Oriole top pitching prospect arrives as an outfielder for the Jays. Loewen hit pitifully in Dunedin so I'm surprised he's here at all. He will either affirm his status as a hitting prospect or get completely exposed.

RP Drew Storen - The top pick of the Nationals in 2009 and heir apparent to the closer job in 2010. Drew dominated minor league hitters in '09 and along with Stephen Strasburg will give Nats fans something to cheer for in 2010.

SP Stephen Strasburg - No player will be more closely scrutinized this fall than Strasburg. The pitcher described by his agent as a "once a generation" talent will have to prove it against the best hitters in the minors this fall. Nats fans will be watching with baited breath while sport writers across the country will be hoping he fails.

2B Jemile Weeks - Ricky Weeks' little brother raked in the high-A California league while stealing bases at will. The Athletics hope he continues that success against tougher competition since they haven't produced an impact position player from their farm system in years.

P Katayama/Mishimura/Yanuki - A trio of pitchers from the Nippon Professional Baseball league will be playing for the desert Dogs in 2009. This is the first time I have seen players unaffiliated with MLB play for teams in the AFL (I have seen them in the Hawaiian Leagues.) There are five total and three will play for Phoenix. They are:

P Hiroshi Katayama - Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

P Ken Mishimura - Hanshin Tigers

P Toshiyuki Yanuki - Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters

I always love to see the NPB players get a shot against North American competition especially since the Orioles seem to have turned their eye toward Japan when it comes to scouting. It's a good way to get a sense of how competitive those guys can be.

I don't know about you but I'm excited! I'll be a die-hard Desert Dog fan for the next two months.

Base Hits: The AFL Rosters, Nagging Injuries and Happy Birthday to Cal.

The rosters for the Arizona Fall League have been, by and large, released. The Orioles who will be taking the field for the Phoenix Desert Dogs:

1B Brandon Snyder
3B Josh Bell
3B Brandon Waring
OF Matt Angle
RP Eddie Gamboa
SP Brandon Erbe
SP/RP Ryohei Tanaka

I'm very interested to see how Josh Bell and Brandon Waring fare against top notch pitching. Snyder proved himself in the AFL last season and that success carried him to the cusp of the majors this season.

The pitchers are intriguing too. Has Brandon Erbe recovered? Will fast-rising reliever Gamboa show the stuff to get top level hitters out? Does Tanaka have more promise than originally thought?

Interesting teammates for the Oriole players too. Top Nationals prospect Steven Strasburg will be on the squad as well as former Oriole pitcher turned Blue Jays hitting "prospect" Adam Loewen. (Loewen is posting a .245/.348/.371 line a high-A Dunedin...)

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From this roundup article from the Boston Globe:

8. Dave Trembley, manager, Orioles - A scout who watched the Orioles-Rays series last week noticed a bit of apathy from the Baltimore bench. “They have good talent, a couple of good young pitchers, but there’s no fire over there whatsoever,’’ said the scout. “You’ve got to show your players you’ve got the fire no matter where you are in the standings, and you don’t see that with the Orioles. That really stands out.’’ Trembley has managed the tough times in Baltimore, but will he be around to manage the upswing?


If what the scout says is true, it could be a bad omen for Trembley. As I said last week, if Trembley gets let go, it'll be because he has lost his players and not because he lost a lot of games.


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The Examiner takes a look at where some Orioles that started the 2009 season with the team have ended up.

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Monday was the 49th birthday of Hall of fame shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. In a reminder of the arrogance of the New York sporting community, here's the article from the New York Times that suggested that Ripken take a day off before breaking Gehrg's record in 1995.

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Orioles-Inflicted Grimace of the Day. In honor of Baltimore's first series win since the All-Star break, I present Mark Buerhle:

This grimace comes courtesy of a Nolan Reimold 2-run shot on Sunday.

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I don't like back injuries for young stars like Adam Jones and although the condition is not considered serious, it gives one pause to poner the Oriole lineup without him.

In the same article, Nolan Reimold may have offseason surgery to repair a fraying Achilles tendon. If that turns out to be the path he chooses, let him do it now! It's a good 4-5 months of recovery time and that's if everything goes well. The O's will need Reimold healthy for 2010...2009 is a lost cause.

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Love the interviews with minor leaguers over at Right Off Russell and the two latest are Frederick pitcher Zach Britton and Frederick 1B/OF Robbie Widlansky.

Good Ravens coverage over there too, if you're inclined to that sort of thing.

Base Hits: 10/2/2008

Well, the one last thing I was rooting for the last week of the season was for Nick Markakis to walk 100 times this season. Sure, it was just a way to keep interested during the last few games of yet another losing season but I was pulling for him nonetheless!

Nick lost his bid to become the third player in Oriole history to join the 100-100 club by one walk. 99 walks for the season. Still, the season was another nice step forward in his career. But more on that later...

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It's this time of year when I put away my Oriole loyalties and start following...the West Oahu Canefires and the Surprise Rafters!

Yes, it's time for the fall and winter leagues and the Orioles continue to play, albeit as different entities.

2007 4th round pick Tim Bascom heads the list of players playing in Hawaii this winter and the Canfires are undefeated on the young season at 4-0.

The real glamour players for the O's minor league system are in Surprise this year. C MAtt Wieters, OF Noland Reimold (for the third straight fall) and top 2008 pick Brian Matusz will all represent the Orioles against the best talent in the minors this fall in Surprise, Arizona. Games start next week.

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Win Shares on the trade monitor are complete for the year. Again, I always like these trades in the long run but had no idea that Adam Jones would outperform Erik Bedard by himself in the first season of the trade! Likewise, I liked the addition of Luke Scott but had no clue that he would nearly make up for the Miguel Tejada's offense by himself. An there are 8 other players we got back in those trades. We may be able to point to those trades in three years as the point where the Orioles turned the corner to becoming a winning organization again.

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At long last, Desert O of Weaver's Tantrum has finished his hike of the Appalachian Trail. More than 2000 miles from Georgia to Maine that took him the better part of the baseball season. Congrats to him!

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I'll be quiet with posting (probably for the next week and a half) while I am in Belgium next week. If you're interested in such things, you can follow along at Bottles of Barley. But you never know, a layover at an airport, a delayed flight might prompt me to do some Oriole blogging during the trip as well.

Umm...There Are Still Some Orioles Playing Ball...

...you know, the future of the organization. So if everyone can lighten up about Kevin Millar and his supposed "slap in the face" to Baltimore Oriole fans everywhere (sarcasm) maybe we can start talking about on the field performances. Great.

Hawaiian Winter League

Remember all the drama over whether Matt Wieters would get signed? Well now he's playing his first professional games and the Oriole blogosphere seems not to notice. (OK, OK, I'll get off my soapbox...) Wieters is playing for the Honolulu Sharks along with a few other young Orioles this winter and has been for almost three weeks now. For those of you not familiar with the Hawaiian League, it's where major league franchises are sending some of their top low-level talent for seasoning. Nobody there has played above A-ball. So how is everyone doing?

Matt Wieters - Matt's not exactly tearing the cover off the ball yet but is hitting a very respectable .298 and OPS'ing 829. No homers yet but he does have 6 doubles and is being very patient at the plate (8BB to 5K's so far) which is always encouraging for a young hitter.

Brandon Snyder - The O's former catcher-of-the-future has distinguished himself so far (an understatement) by hitting .378 (good for third in the league) and slugging .568 so far. Only 1 homer through 12 games but has rapped 2 doubles and a triple for the Sharks. I guess he's really gotten over his injuries?

Others of note: A couple of lefty pitchers are shining in relief as Brett Bordes has posted a 2.70 ERA and Chad Thall has a 2.13 ERA. Thall has 10 K's and 5 BB to boot...Reliever Ryan Ouellette has struck out 11 over 12.1 innings but is sporting a rough 7.30 ERA as well...IF/OF Miguel Abreu is hitting a mere .200 but is among the league leaders in steals with 5 and has yet to be caught.

Arizona Fall League

There is less to look at here since most of the Oriole's upper level prospects are perhaps not really very good but there are a couple bright spots. The AFL features top prospects from various organizations who are usually at the AA or AAA level.

Jake Arrieta - 2007 draftee has been pitching well in relief (although I think the O's envision him as a starter) for the Phoenix Desert Dogs. Over 8 innings Arrieta has a 0.00 ERA, 6 K's and 3 walks. It speaks volumes that Baltimore sent him to Arizona and it will speak volumes more if he continues to find success against the best players in the minors. He could be in Baltimore sooner than anyone realizes.

Nolan Reimold - He's only hitting .206 at the moment but is slugging .500 with 3 HR in just 11 games. Reimold is a long shot to be on the big club for sure but in 2009 he could be the answer in leftfield...if he stays healthy.

Jim Johnson - I can't figure out if I'm just selling this guy short but he continues to have success at almost every level he pitches. (Well, relative success for expectations...) Another Oriole starter being deployed in relief, Johnson is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in 5 appearances for Phoenix.

Others of Note: Hayden Penn has been lit up in two starts (that only lasted 3.0 innings total) and is stuck with a 21.00 ERA...Jeff Fiorentino is hitting just .100 and a weak one at that...Bob McCrory has gathered 4 saves in the early going and has posted a 1.93 ERA

It's certainly no consolation but O's fans still have something to root for! The Phoenix Desert Dogs are leading their division with an 8-3 record and Honolulu is 10-8 and leading the East division in Hawaii. It's not much but it's still more constructive that griping about Kevin Millar.