Q&A with Shorebirds Broadcaster Brett Lasky

Delmarva Shorebirds Director of Broadcasting Bret Lasky was kind enough to answer a few questions about some of the Baby Birds. Obviously, nobody saw more of the Shorebirds last season than Lasky so I was curious to hear his perspective on some of the players coming through the Oriole farm system.


Dempsey's Army: Who was the most impressive position player you watched last year?

Brett Lasky: Amongst the guys that we’re in Delmarva for the whole season, I’d have to say Ty Kelly. He’s a switch hitter with deceptive power. His splits weren’t great last year but I think they will improve with experience. He was also the best defensive infielder that the Shorebirds had. I was impressed with Trent Mummey when he came to Delmarva late in the year. His statistics weren’t gaudy but you could tell when you watched him take batting practice that the ball just flies off his bat. Obviously, he also has good speed.

DA: The most impressive Shorebirds pitcher from 2010?

BL: Tough one here, but I’ll say Bobby Bundy. He’s competitive, young and really determined. He was outstanding in the second half of the season. He tossed a nine-inning complete game against the Hickory Crawdads – it was the first nine-inning complete game by a Shorebirds pitcher in a couple years. Bundy has a really good head on his shoulders and he is a tireless worker. One of the hardest working pitchers I’ve seen.

DA: Jonathan Schoop, Manny Machado and Mychal Givens: where are all these middle infielders going to play?

BL: I don’t think anyone but Ryan Minor and the Orioles brass know the answer to this one. What I will say is that Ryan does a great job of making sure everyone gets his repetitions. I was here when they began to convert L.J. Hoes to a second baseman. The roving instructors and the staff really do a nice job of teaching – especially when guys are unfamiliar with certain positions.

DA: Assuming his health is fine, is Matt Hobgood expected to come back to Delmarva to start the year?

BL: I know the off season injury set him back a little, so I’m not sure. Matt showed some good stuff at times last season. I vividly remember a nasty breaking ball he throw against the Lakewood BlueClaws at First Energy Park. It had some serious movement. I’m definitely interested to see how the Orioles decide to progress Matt.

DA: Outside of Manny Machado, who is the player you are looking forward to seeing play in Delmarva this season?

BL: Mychal Givens – I only had the chance to watch Mychal play a handful of games before the injury last season in Greensboro so I’m eager to see him play on a consistent basis. I talked to him a couple times around the cages and he was very mature for his age. Obviously he has a cannon for an arm and I’m looking forward to seeing what his bat will produce.

DA: Inexplicably, I am a big Justin Dalles fan. What's the word on his health this offseason?

BL: I’m a huge Dalles fan as well. I haven’t had a chance to talk to Dalles this off season. Last year was a tough year for Dalles because of all the setbacks. Hopefully, he stays healthy and has an outstanding year. One thing that I will say about Dalles is that he is a really good clubhouse guy – he got along with all of his teammates.

DA: 3B Tyler Kolodny. Great control of the zone, great power. Any word on a possible position change for him? Will he come back to Delmarva after finishing the season in NY-Penn League?

BL: No word yet on Tyler Kolodny. Raw power, hard working kid. Two things that come to my mind when I hear his name. He was always first to the clubhouse and last to leave two years ago here in Delmarva. If he were to be assigned here, I would be very interested to see what Kolodny is like as a 23-year old. Think about this – he led the Shorebirds in home runs last year with 10 and he only played 41 games.

DA: C Michael Ohlman came into the system with a fair amount of hype. At 19, was he just overmatched facing Sally league competition last season?

BL: He had his growing pains, no doubt. However, you could definitely see the potential. I remember a game last year against Lakewood when Ohlman smacked a couple doubles into the gaps and deep up against the wall. Another guy that would be an interesting watch because he has been here before.

DA: Most impressive non-Shorebird player you saw in the Sally last season?

BL: I’ll give you a couple. Everybody ranted and raved about Phillies prospect Jonathan Singleton. He’s got all the god given talents and he’s smooth at the plate and in the field. He’s definitely up there. Two guys that hurt the Shorebirds last year that not as many people talked about were Justin Bloxom and Destin Hood of the Hagerstown Suns. In 16 games against the Shorebirds, Bloxom batted .412 with 12 RBIs. Hood hit .337 with 10 RBIs against the Shorebirds.

DA: Delmarva is going to be hosting the Sally League All-Star Game this year. Are you going to get to call the game?

BL: Yeah, I’ll be on the call on our flagship radio station 960 The Sports Animal. I’m really looking forward to it. I was in Myrtle Beach back in 2008 when they hosted the California v. Carolina All-Star Game and I remember all the excitement that surrounded that game. Pablo Sandoval, now of the San Francisco Giants, won the home run derby. I’m wondering who will be the first to the majors from the 2011 SAL All-Star Game.


The Shorebirds kick off their season on April 7th at Perdue Stadium in Salisbury. Hey, you can meet Chris Hoiles too! Lots of interesting talent at Delmarva this season, get out there and check them out.

Matt Hobgood Left His Fastball in High School...Or Did He?

This from ESPN, Kevin Goldstein runs down a list of 10 prospects who need to have big years in 2011. Oriole pitching prospect Matt Hobgood is included:

Matt Hobgood, RHP
Baltimore Orioles


Hobgood looked like a budget-minded selection when Baltimore nabbed him with the fifth overall pick in the 2009 draft, and while the Orioles said he was at the top of their board at the time, he's looked like a mistake so far by any measurement. His beefy (or chubby, depending on the observer) frame was a concern for many, and he's simply never matched the stuff he showed in high school, as what was once a low-90s fastball now never escapes the 80s, while his regressing command and control has created further issues. He's gone so far backwards that he's already facing a pivotal year in his development.


First, I have a hard time believing that a 20-year old kid needs to have a big season or fall by the wayside. He has one professional season under his belt and evidently, it wasn't a fully healthy one.

Second, Goldstein (and others) imply that the stuff that Hobgood showed in high school has never shown itself in the minors, that his fastball can't break 90 in the pros. I don't dispute that point as it applies to how he was pitching for most of the season. But I saw that live fastball in 2010.

Here were my observations on Hobgood when I watched his first start for Delmarva against Greenville in 2010:

You can see why the Orioles like Hobgood so much. Though only 19, he was sitting at 92-93 mph all night and hitting 95 with his fastball on occasion. He has a wicked 79 mph curve that was buckling the knees of the opposition and his stuff was dominant when he was putting it over the plate. Only two batters made solid contact and he only gave up 3 hits while striking out 4.


Unfortunately, he wasn't putting it over the plate consistently. At one point in the 3rd, he walked three straight batters. Early in his career, this will be his Achilles heel. He has the stuff to dominate low-A, he just needs to throw strikes more consistently.

There's more if you follow the link but the point is...there it was. A fastball that was sitting in the low 90's and hitting 95. Breaking stuff that befuddled the opposing hitters. There is a danger in believing the stadium gun but I don't think it was off by that much. Hobgood didn't leave his velocity in high school, he had it, if ever so briefly, at the beginning of 2010.

Thirdly, Goldstein points to "regressing command and control". For the season, Hobgood had a 3.6 BB/9 and a 5.6 K/9 rate. But his last 10 games he posted a 3.1 BB/9 rate against a 5.2 K/9, this with declining velocity.  It's not great control but it hardly looks like he was regressing as the season went along.

Other positives include his GB/FB ratio of 2.07 (2.39 over his last 10 games) and his 0.6 HR/9 rate.

There's a lot to be concerned about as far as Hobgood's development goes. The control is not good at this point and the shoulder injury isn't exactly encouraging. But there's no need to overstate other deficiencies or overlook the things he has done well. The guy the Orioles drafted did show up in the pros...whether he makes it back to that ability is another story.

Around the Oriole Blog-O-Sphere: Who's On First Edition?

The Orioles' top pick in the 2009 Amateur Draft, SP Matt Hobgood, will miss the start of the season as he rehabs from shoulder issues. Hobgood will remain in extended Spring Training before joining his assigned team. Let hope he doesn't need surgery...he can't afford to lose anymore speed on that fastball.

The Orioles, along with a local business, sent jerseys and softball equipment to service members who play in a softball league in Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan.

Dan at Camden Crazies breaks down the J.J. Hardy acquisition, a move he has championed all offseason.

The Wayward O does his annual recap of the Oriole season in his own inimitable style. A must read.

Winter blues got you down? The Oriole Post has some photos from a fall tour of OPACY.

Steve Melewski still likes Matt Hobgood.

Roar from 34 gives tribute to the late Walt Dropo.

Delmarva Shorebirds...Some Video

Nothing soothes my baseball psyche like minor league baseball. And in the midst of the Baltimore losing streak, I could use some soothing.

Here's some (shaky) video from the Delmarva Shorebird's recent swing south.

Matt Hobgood's A-ball Debut:




Mike Devereaux Throwing BP



SP Tony Butler Throwing to C Justin Dalles in the Bullpen:



Shorebirds 2B Tyler Kelly's Grounder With Eyes



1B Tyler Kolodny Hits a Sac Fly



Greensboro SS Get A Ball in the Face



C Justin Dalles Puts One in the Gap

Delmarva Shorebirds @ Greenville Drive - 4/10/2010, Part 2

I gave you the quick game recap, now some observations on the Delmarva players.

RHP Matt Hobgood - Drafted 2009, 1st Round (5th overall)

You can see why the Orioles like Hobgood so much. Though only 19, he was sitting at 92-93 mph all night and hitting 95 with his fastball on occasion. He has a wicked 79 mph curve that was buckling the knees of the opposition and his stuff was dominant when he was putting it over the plate. Only two batters made solid contact and he only gave up 3 hits while striking out 4.

Unfortunately, he wasn't putting it over the plate consistently. At one point in the 3rd, he walked three straight batters. Early in his career, this will be his Achilles heel. He has the stuff to dominate low-A, he just needs to throw strikes more consistently.

He had a great move to first for a righty and nearly picked off runners more than once.

He's a big kid, listed at 6'4" and 250, although I would have guessed 260 and there were unconfirmed reports that he was as heavy as 270 in Sarasota. Given his young age, this has led to speculation that his weight may be a concern going forward. But it isn't yet.

Hobgood was quick off the mound to cover first on multiple occasions and sprinted to cover home on a wild pitch where he beat the speedy Drive runner(lots of speed on this Red Sox farm team) from third. (the ball did not beat the runner, unfortunately.) When he runs he brings to mind a charging defensive end or a pulling guard. He may be big (or even fat, if you want to be blunt) but he is still very athletic and carries his weight well. Whatever the future holds, his weight doesn't look to be a problem at the moment as he demonstrates all the skills to be a complete pitcher when it comes to fielding his position.

CF Steve Bumbry - Drafted 2009, 12th Round

While Hobgood's size makes you sit up and take notice, it's Steve Bumbry's wheels that grab your attention. Both his hits that night were of the infield variety and his speed made neither play particularly close. He bunted for a hit down the 3rd base line in the 4th and beat the throw by a couple steps. In the 6th, he hit a broken bat bounder to the Drive second baseman that the fielder ultimately misplayed but it wouldn't have mattered. Bumbry would have beaten even a good throw by a full step.

His speed is of great help in center but he seems to get good jumps on the ball anyway and looks to be a natural in the field. He backed up plays well, threw to the correct base and looked to know how to play his position like the back of his hand. Given that he is Al Bumbry's son, I suppose this is not a surprise. He had a good teacher.

On the negative side, his arm looks a little weak. The 22-year-old may not hit for much power although early in the season he already has three extra base hits in 4 games (2 triples and a double). He'll be an interesting guy to watch, especially once he gets to Frederick.

1B Tyler Kolodny - Drafted 2007, 16th Round

I like Kolodny's plate approach. He doesn't chase, demonstrates a good eye and when he gets one to hit, he hits it hard. Looking back at his stats, he has always gotten on base at a good clip compared to his batting averages (his OBP is 108 points higher than his batting average for his minor league career. Has good speed for a 6'3", 215 lb corner infielder and has good instincts on the bases.

However, he is 22 and repeating low-A. He needs to continue with his fast start and force his way up to Frederick this season if he wants to get himself some attention in 2010.

LF T.J. Baxter - Drafted 2008, 24th Round

If Stephen Bumbry was the fastest player on the field on Saturday, Baxter was a close second. Baxter stole two bases, got on base all four times he was at the plate and showed some good gap power. At 24, he's not exactly a prospect but he was damn fun to watch. If you head out to Salisbury this season to check out the Shorebirds and their highly touted prospects, take note of Baxter too.

C Justin Dalles - Drafted 2009, 6th Round

The 21-year-old Dalles gets a mention just because of the homerun he hit. Leading off the 7th, Dalles tattooed a 2-1 pitch to dead center where the ball sailed easily over the 30 foot centerfield wall 410 ft away. That shot and the fact that he attended the nearby University of South Carolina had the local media clamoring to talk to him after the game.

He did hit 22 extra base hits in 55 games for USC during his last season there. Might be a sleeper.

RHP Randy Henry - Drafted 2009, 4th Round

Henry won't turn 20 until May 10th but he was the fastest pitcher we saw all night. Henry was sitting at 93-94 mph but hit 95+ several times including 97 in the 8th. Henry was a flamethrower for two inings in relief giving up 2 hits (only one of which was well-struck) and striking out two. Most of the time the batters, were flailing, popping out or grounding out weakly up the middle. Hard to see him spending all season in Delmarva so get out to Salisbury and see him while you can.

Delmarva Shorebirds @ Greenville Drive – 4/10/2010

LF T.J. Baxter went 3-3 and 1B Tyler Kolodny went 3-3 with a HR as the Shorebirds beat the Drive (Red Sox affiliate) 6-4 in Greenville last night. Baxter got on base for all four plate appearances and Kolodny fell just a double short of the cycle during starting pitcher Matt Hobgood's A-ball debut.

The Orioles' top draft pick in 2009, Hobgood looked dominant at times but struggled with his control at others, at one point walking three straight batters. Hobgood walked five but struck out four and only gave up three hits, two solid hits to the outfield (a single and a double) and a weakly hit infield single.

Baxter and Kolodny were the offensive stars of the evening. Kolodny scored three runs and stole a base while Baxter scored two and stole two bases of his own. C Justin Dalles added a solo home run in the 7th, a moonshot that cleared the 30 ft centerfield wall, 410 feet away from home plate with plenty of room to spare.

The Shorebirds' hitters had little problem with Drive starter Manuel Rivera as the lefty gave up 4 earned runs to take the loss.

Nick Haughian, Randy Henry and Josh Dowdy combined for 5 innings of relief. Haughian earned the win with 2 shutout innings and Dowdy picked up his second save of the season.


More observations to follow...

My First Look at Matt Hobgood...

...or "What I Learned On My Spring Vacation".

I went to the Oriole Minor League Camp at the Buck O'Neil Baseball Complex in Sarasota this past Saturday and I think I learned something.

I and others have discussed the troubling reports over the weight of top Oriole 2009 draft pick Matt Hobgood, first reported by MASN's Steve Melewski. Naturally, I was curious to see how the kid looked. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.

Here's Hobgood throwing long toss with fellow top pitching prospect Zach Britton. (Pardon the sound...it was windy...):





He's a big guy, no doubt, but watching him go through the various workouts, he moved well and came off as fairly athletic, at least for his size.

For instance, here's some video of a fielding drill. Hobgood is the first guy off the mound.



This was pretty indicative of what I saw. Through fielding, runs and agility drills, Hobgood did not look like a lumbering hulk, he looked like a good athlete. He looked more athletic than about half of the other pitchers and seemingly was well-conditioned. For lack of a better term, he carried his weight well. (On a side note, RP Eddie Gamboa, the Orioles 29th best prospect according to Baseball America, was probably the most athletic pitcher I saw. He was quick, smooth and threw well in fielding drills. He could probably do a yeoman's job as an infielder.)

It will be interesting to see if his conditioning improves but for now, I am reassured.

If any scouting or conditioning experts are reading, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

More on the minor league camp later...

Is Matt Hobgood's Weight Going to Be a Problem?

Steve Melewski has a two part interview up with Baltimore's 2009 1st round draft pick RHP Matt Hobgood. I found this part interesting:

He worked out at the Athletes Performance Institute in Carson, California from November 9 through late January, then days later reported to Sarasota.

"That was really good for me. The Orioles recommended it. I worked out with some big league guys and minor league guys. It was a good experience and did a lot for me physically.

"About a week into API, I went with a company that delivers your food and was on an 1800-calorie per day plan. I did that plan for about a month."

Hobgood said he reduced his body fat from 22 to 17 percent, a nice reduction for about three months of work. Hobgood is 6'4", 245 pounds and he'll likely play at a similar weight this year.

"I didn't get to where they wanted me weight wise. I lost about 17 pounds of body fat and gained nine pounds of muscle. That's 26 pounds total if I had taken off that muscle.

I am a man who can put on weight like Jimmy Page plays guitar but I remember being 19. I could take off weight with a good workout routine and no change to my diet whatsoever. I could have dropped 17 lbs in a month. I understand that 9 lbs is muscle but that's only 8 lbs net loss. And according to the blurb from Baseball America that Melewski quoted, Hobgood weighed 245 before the draft. He had to lose weight to get back down to his original drafted weight? This does not seem like a good harbinger of things to come.

On the bright side, he is in camp early, will spend the entire season as a professional and be exposed to better training and nutritional habits. And hell, he just got his braces off in January, the kid has a lot of time to learn.

Another Hobgood quote:

"Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays we go the gym and workout with trainers. Sundays we are off. There is a lot of down time. I've been bowling already about nine times since I've been here."

Stay away from the hot dogs and onion rings, son. Bowling alleys are not known for their health food.

Maybe I could get Weaver's Tantrum to weigh in. That guy knows something about training.

Base Hits: 7/10/2009

BJ Ryan revisited.

First, Steve DeClue at the Examiner suggests that the Orioles should bring Ryan back into the fold.

Ryan has struggled to stay healthy and effective with the Blue Jays ever since undergoing Tommy John surgery, but he would be a logical claim for the Orioles.

I'm assuming that he used the word "claim" in error because if the Orioles "claimed" Ryan off of waivers, they would be responsible for the $15 million due to him over the next two seasons. And that would be retarded.

Look, the contract Toronto gave Ryan was crazy, it was a bad move and everyone knew it when it happened. Outside of signing Ryan to a minor league deal to see if he can round himself back into shape, I can't imagine Ryan helping this club in the least.

*****

A few interesting mid-season PrOPS numbers:

              OPS   PrOPS
Scott        .975   .975
Reimold      .801   .843
Jones        .856   .813
Huff         .758   .796
Wigginton    .693   .754
Markakis     .791   .752
Pie          .654   .704
Izturis      .620   .694

Luke Scott matches his PrOPS and OPS exactly, something that rarely happens. Reimold, Huff and Wigginton have swung the bat better than the numbers show so far. Pie too, although in far fewer at bats.

Markakis is underperforming on the field and PrOPS show that he was lucky to reach even those diminished numbers. I picked Nick for a breakout season in 2009 but he's going to have to have a hell of a second half to reach the heights I predicted.

Cesar Izturis: if he can even approach a .700 OPS as PrOPS suggests, he'll be a fine boost to the offense in the second half.

*****

Who is Eddie Gamboa? Find out in this article.

This season Gamboa went 6-0 with a 1.80 ERA as a reliever in Delmarva and in 8 innings pitched in Frederick, he has a 0.00 ERA and 6 strikeouts to one walk. It's guys like this that make your farm system viable and prevents you from having to go out and, I don't know, spend $42 million on relief pitchers some offseason.

*****

Lee County, Florida and the Orioles continue to negotiate to bring Baltimore to Fort Myers for Spring Training.

*****

I found this gem in a Peter Gammons column about international baseball signings:

The Orioles, for instance, selected pitcher Matt Hobgood with the fifth overall pick because he'd sign for slot. The Reds at seven and Braves at eight passed on North Carolina pitcher Alex White because he wouldn't sign for the commissioner's office figure. But the Orioles may go for Dominican shortstop Miguel Sano for more than $3.5 million; Hobgood got $2.4 million. Go figure.

As much as it pains me to say this, that is just lazy reporting. Lazy.

Matt Hobgood was not strictly a signability pick. High school pitcher Zack Wheeler was still on the board (he went to the Giants with the very next pick) and he was highly touted and said to be an easy sign. There were certainly other options if the O's just wanted to go cheap. And, by the way, no analyst ripped Baltimore for the Hobgood pick. Most analysts saw it as a reasonable pick at that spot.

In 2008, Baltimore signed LHP Brian Matusz and gave him a $3.2 million singing bonus and a major league contract. In 2007, the O's signed Matt Wieters for a $6 million signing bonus. They do not have a pattern for going cheap or selecting inferior talent to save cash under the current leadership.

Anyway, the whole point of this article is to bemoan the exorbitant spending in South America on prospects (I guess it's not a good

Alderson and a committee of general managers should propose a system that would cap total spending for amateur and international signings. They need to allow bad teams to get the best players. They ought to allow teams to decide whether they want to spend in the draft or internationally.

Or...you could just add all the international players in the amateur draft. Seems pretty simple to me.

*****

Another interesting prospect, Ryohei Tanaka, began AA in relief but has now started two games and finally gave up his first run of the season. He's a bit wild as a starter but in 22 innings, only the lone run surrendered, 18 strikeouts and 7 walks.

Base Hits: 6/29/2009

A rambling version of Base Hits on this Monday. A lot to talk about...

Some good news from Birdland this weekend. Firstly, they won the series with the Nationals 2-1.
Secondly, The Warehouse came to terms with 2009 1st round pick Matt Hobgood. Here's the video from The Baltimore Sun's website.




The kid sure says all the right things. I imagine he'll end up in Bluefield with the rest of the high school signees.

Also a couple of nice articles about Orioles players from the national media. Marc Hulett writes about the Oriole acquisition of Cleveland farmhand Michael Aubrey this week for FanGraphs.com:

The 27-year-old former Tulane University start has below-average power for a MLB first baseman, but he can hit for a solid batting average with gap power and he is an above-average fielder. It's a very nice low-risk, medium-reward move by an organization that is getting better by the season.

I know nothing about Michael Aubrey in particular but organizational depth at the corner infield positions is something the O's really need and Aubrey can't hurt.

Also at FanGraphs.com, Dave Cameron takes a look at underrated rookie pitcher Brad Bergesen.
When you can command a sinking fastball and have an off-speed pitch to keep opposite handed hitters at bay, you can be an effective major league starter. Bergesen doesn’t have the same potential as some of the more hyped arms in the Orioles system, but don’t discount his strengths and write him off as a no-stuff guy who belongs in the bullpen. Command, sinker, and change-up - it’s the recipe for a solid back-end starting pitcher.

Bergesen takes a lot of criticism from many analysts due to his anemic strikeout rate in the majors. It's a fair criticism but you also have to consider a couple of other stats too.

Ground Ball percentage among AL starters:

                   GB%
Rick Porcello     56.9%
Roy Halladay      56.3%
Brad Bergesen     54.0%
Felix Hernandez   51.3%
 

If Bergesen can keep inducing grounders at this rate, he's going to hang around awhile. Interesting to see fellow rookie Rick Porcello on this list. Halladay and Hernandez strike out a ton of batters but Porcello doesn't have that kind of stuff. Let's take a closer look.

            GB%   K/9   BB/9   K/BB
Porcello   56.9%  5.03  3.09   1.63
Bergesen   54.0%  4.30  2.04   2.11
 

Odd that Porcello is touted for Rookie of the Year and gets none of the criticism that Bergesen gets. He only strikes out one extra batter per nine and walks an extra batter per nine.

If Bergesen keeps the walks and the ball down, he's going to have some success in this league. If he can edge his strikeout rate closer to 6 K/9, he could be a great one.

Shysterball had a funny post regarding Sindney Ponson's positive test for a stimulant during the WBC.

It includes the killer line, "The only non-natural substances in Ponson's pee-pee are Yoo-Hoo and failure."

Well played, sir.

Speaking of Shysterball, he also has a post up about Matt Wieters at the NBC baseball blog, Circling The Bases questioning the divinity of the Oriole's rookie catcher.

But a funny thing happened on the way to immortality: Wieters has proved human.

Twenty-one games into his big league career he's at .243/.300/.405. Yesterday he dropped a ball at home plate, turning a sure out into a run for the Nationals. Overall, he's thrown out just two of 15 base stealers and has committed three errors in less than a month.

Now, this post is mostly tongue in cheek but I wonder about Dan Connolly:

Sunday, though, it was back to work at the old ballpark. And let’s just say my Saturday was a whole lot better than Orioles catcher Matt Wieters' Sunday.

The phenom went hitless in three at-bats, made his third throwing error in four games and dropped a ball to wipe out what would have been a sure out at the plate.

Afterward, Wieters was typically calm -- saying he’s working on his defense, and he’s not worried about a bad game...

But, here’s the funny thing: The way things are going right now, Wieters (.234 average, two homers, six RBIs) is not the Orioles’ best candidate for Rookie of the Year. Outfielder Nolan Reimold (.286, 9 homers, 20 RBIs) is, with pitcher Brad Bergesen (5-2, 3.76 ERA) also ahead of the backstop.

Look, it's not even June yet. It's certainly fun to dream on Matt Wieters but who really thought he was going to show up and start dominating right away? Wieters dominated High A immediately, struggled for a couple weeks in AA before taking off and was overmatched his first month in Norfolk before beginning to bludgeon opposing pitching.

Based on that, you had to figure for an adjustment time of at least 2 months in the majors. And you have to forget his cumulative numbers at this point; even with his recent struggles he is OPSing .786 the last two weeks. It's in fits and starts...but he's coming.

Besides, Jesus wandered in the desert for 40 days before showing up in Galilee and dropping miracles on everybody? We'll call Wieters first 40 games his "desert period".

Koji Uehara goes on the DL and David Hernandez gets recalled from Norfolk. One has to wonder if Uehara's future on this team is as a reliever. He can't go more than 5 innings, at least not while staying healthy. Of course, the prospect of Hernandez and Jason Berken going up against the lineups in the AL East for the rest of the season is frightening.

Speaking of pitching, Braves 22-year-old rookie pitcher Tommy Hanson continues to dominate all comers. On Sunday, he shut out the Red Sox for six innings and Atlanta eventually won 2-1.

I bring this up to compare and contrast Hanson against Chris Tillman. Both started the season in the International League.

           IP     K   BB  WHIP  ERA
Hanson    66.1   90   17  .859  1.48
Tillman   72.2   75   21 1.142  2.97
 

Not quite as dominant but he's still striking out more than 1 batter per inning. And look at the tiny walk rate of 2.6 per nine. The concern about Tillman was always his control but he seems to be addressing it. How long until he shows up in Baltimore?

Adam Dunn launched a monster shot off of David Hernandez on Sunday, way out on Eutaw Street. At first, I thought he had actually hit the warehouse on the fly but it wasn't even the longest shot in Eutaw Street history. For more, we go to Eutaw Street expert, Roar from 34:

Adam Dunn stroked a 442-foot home run in the second inning of Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Nationals that one-hopped the warehouse. Dunn's blast was the second-longest Eutaw Street home run during game action, missing Henry Rodriguez's 443-foot shot on June 17, 1997, by just a foot.

I never saw the Henry Rodriguez shot but Adam Dunn's shot was an absolute monster. The biggest Eutaw shot I've ever seen..by a lot!

A plug now for Roar From 34:

Roar from 34's Eutaw Street Week

Monday, June 29 through Sunday, July 5 will be "Eutaw Street Week" on Roar from 34. All content posted during the week will have a Eutaw Street theme or connection, including additional entries to The Eutaw Street Chronicles and an interview with Greg Bader, director of communications for the Orioles, about the new 2110 Eutaw Street promotion.

I'm a big fan of The Eutaw Street Chronicles so some good stuff to look forward to this week.

While I'm beating the drum for marginal players (Oscar Salazar...), I've got to say some nice things about RP Matt Albers. He's really been pitching well since his latest callup. A 1.29 ERA over 14 innings for the month of June. If only he could cut down on the walks. A nice 7-8-9 inning combo would be Albers-Johnson-Sherrill (at least as long as Sherrill's here...).

Tough week as the Orioles return to the AL. Boston in for three at the Yard and then another road trip west to take on the Angels. Can they manage .500? Eh...

Base Hits: 6/17/2009

Technically, it was a quality start for Jeremy Guthrie but sloppy play behind him doomed the Orioles in a very winnable game. What does Ty Wigginton have to do to get off the bench against a lefty pitcher?

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Wanted to give some more draft news since John Sickels put his evaluation of Baltimore's draft up last week:

Baltimore: I don't have a problem with Hobgood at fifth overall. He's signable, and in my opinion the difference between him and the other elite prep arms isn't all that great. He might not be as projectable as some of them, being more physically mature, but I really like his arm and I don't think this is a huge overdraft....Randy Henry in the fourth round and Ashur Tolliver in the fifth provide more live arms, Tolliver in particular being a good value in that round. 8th round pick OF Devin Harris (East Carolina), 9th round pick RHP Ryan Berry (Rice), and 10th round pick RHP Jacob Cowan (San Jacinto JC) all offer very good value for their draft slots. Harris has tons of tools, and both Berry and Cowan were considered possible second or third round picks if not for injury questions. This may not be a spectacular draft class, but I think it is solid.

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Speaking of the draft, a good article in the Sun about top draft pick Matt Hobgood. Some good quotes from Hobgood too:

"I'd like to get to the pros as quick as I can and help the O's start kicking butt in the American League East," he said. "Striking out A-Rod would be a nice way to start."

and


"Call it my alter ego," Hobgood said of his competitive streak. "I'm a nice guy off the field, but out there that'll get you run over. Nolan Ryan once said he was an SOB on the mound, and if it works for him ... "


If this kid was a Scott Boras guy, I would be suspicious that he was prepped; that's how mature and level headed his quotes are. But he seems really genuine and if he really does have his head on straight, that's one less obstacle for him to overcome to get to Baltimore.


Regardless, it looks like he's set to sign with the O's on June 27th and will report to either Bluefield or Aberdeen.


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Ken Rosenthal thinks the future looks bright for the Orioles.

Then he criticizes Nick Markakis for being selfish for not ending his 65 consecutive games played streak and Nick fouls a ball into the press box and shatters Ken's laptop.




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The minor league hurler shuffle...

Over the past few days, Brian Matusz has reported to Bowie, Jake Arrieta moved up to Norfolk, so did Troy Patton and Tim Bascom came up to Bowie from Frederick.

Keep 'em coming...

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You know, one of these days I have to get out to Bluefield to take in a Bluefield Orioles game. Bluefield has been a Baltimore affiliate for 52 years and is a living piece of Oriole history. The season kicks off on June 23rd against the Elizabethton Twins. Einar Diaz will be the manager this season. The 24th is Hardee's Night! Gotta love the rookie leagues...

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Sammy Sosa reportedly tested positive for steroids? See previous post.

The Oriole Draft 2009: What They're Saying

I am no draft expert and I'm no scout. So I won't pretend to be an expert about the first three picks the Orioles made yesterday. But what I will do is offer a layman's opinion on the picks and gather up opinions from the baseball blogosphere.

1st Round - Matt Hobgood - RHP - Norco HS (CA)

This guy was nowhere near the Orioles during mock drafts leading up to the draft. I only heard his name connected to the O's for the first time yesterday. If Brian Matusz was a pick that was going to move quickly through the system, Hobgood will be the opposite.

ESPN's Keith Law, a guy whose opinion I respect a lot, has said that, all things being equal, he would lean toward drafting high school pitchers these days because college coaches tend to overwork their best pitchers and drafting a guy out of high school gives a team more control over his development. That's what the O's have now in Hobgood.

Hobgood had been projected to be a 2nd or 3rd round pick so this pick may be a bit of a reach but the last two drafts have been good for Baltimore so I'll trust Andy MacPhail , Joe Jordan and the scouting staff for now.

Roch Kubatko gets Joe Jordan's first quotes about Hobgood:

Joe Jordan, the Orioles' director of scouting, deliberated between Matt Hobgood and Zack Wheeler before settling on the California high school product earlier this afternoon. He said signability wasn't an issue, but also believes Hobgood will be pitching "early in the summer" and could start out one level higher than normal for a prep selection.

If Jordan is telling the truth about Wheeler, this move is not a pure "signability" concern because Zack Wheeler (who pitches just down the road from me in Dallas, GA) wasn't considered to be a tough sign either. There's more:

"This is not a money saver," said Jordan, who compares Hobgood to Kevin Millwood. "I knew I would be asked that because this wasn't a name guy that people kept seeing every day in the paper. We scouted this guy all year long. I saw him the first time early in February and saw him a few times after that. It had nothing to do with money. Look at what we've done lately. This isn't about money. It's who I want and who our staff wants."

That seems pretty definitive. It is nice to see that they think this kid will sign before the deadline and play some ball this summer, probably in Bluefield or Aberdeen.

MASN's Steve Melewski has a link (that i guess was on Oriole's Hangout originally) to a video of Matt Hobgood and family leading up to his drafting.

You know you're getting old when 18-year old high school seniors look like middle schoolers to you. Dude still has braces!

From the Baseball Analysts live draft blog:

Rich: Hopgood was named the 2009 Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year yesterday. He is a big bodied pitcher who can also hit. Baltimore clearly liked him better than any other team. He is committed to Cal State Fullerton but is likely to be a fairly easy sign at this spot.

Marc: It's the first of the really surprising picks... but BA (Jim Callis) nailed it within an hour of the draft. A surprise that BAL went with signability this year after taking prospects like Wieters and Matusz in recent years.

In the Oriole blogosphere, nobody does the draft better than the guys at Camden Depot:

Not a huge fan of the pick, as we had Hobgood down in the Mid- to Late-1st Round range. We'll have more on Hobgood this evening -- to Jordan's absolute credit the raw materials are there for Hobgood to be a Joba Chamberlain-type talent. It will be interesting to see if he can follow Joba's lead with regards to trimming down some and attacking the pro lifestyle with vigor. Remember, Chamberlain didn't start to whip himself into shape until after a knee injury and three years of college. Jordan trusts his scouts, and I've liked his picks in the past, so he gets the benefit of the doubt from me -- I'd be curious to know why Wheeler was not the selection.

ESPN's Keith Law on today's chat:

Prep pitchers are unpredictable enough that calling taking the number-18 overall guy instead of the number-8 overall guy "embarrassing" would be wrong. Sure, I liked Wheeler more, and I would have taken him, but Hobgood is in the discussion.

And finally, Baseball America's Jim Callis from an ESPN chat today:

I think we were light on Hobgood all spring. Don't know if I'd put him right with the elite HS pitchers (Matzek, Turner, Purke, Wheeler, Miller), but he's not far behind. The Orioles say ability drove that pick, but his signability relative to the other HS arms couldn't have hurt.


2nd Round - Mychal Givens - SS - Plant HS (FL)

I'm a big fan of taking the best talent available (and givens may have been, I have no idea) but this origanization needs middle infielders and now we have one.

He was announced as a pitcher but Joe Jordan later stated they see him as a shortstop.

"We have a fallback plan, but that's what we're doing," Jordan said. "It's shortstop tools. He's a close to, if not above-average, runner. And he obviously has enough arm to play shortstop. I think there's power there down the road. He's an athletic kid."


3rd round - Tyler Townsend - 1B - Florida International

He played some outfield at FIU but these guys usually slip toward the wrong end of the defensive spectrum when they hit the pros. I'm calling him a first baseman.

Camden Depot:

Pure hitter with power upside. Almost certainly a 1B/DH, I'd imagine. Fine pick -- looks like Jordan and Baltimore had the same thought in looking for a power corner bat here.

Frost King Baseball has a thorough rundown of links about the Oriole draft.

Weaver's Tantrum isn't familiar with Matt Hobgood's body of work but isn't that impressed with the work he puts toward his body.