Early Look At The Minor Leaguers

Since the present isn't especially bright (what with Matt Albers blowing a 4-3 lead as the O's lost 6-4 to Texas), maybe a look to the future via the Orioles' minor league affiliates would be better.

Triple-A

• Nolan Reimold is just destroying the ball, hitting .417/.486/.750 with 6 HR and 3 SB to boot. Now the O's just need to find a place for him.
• Scott Moore isn't exactly tearing the cover off the ball (.288/.348/.475), but that kind of line might translate into fine numbers for a utility player at the major league level.
• Matt Wieters was hurt and is hitting a lowly .270/.400/.405, but he has hit a 5 run HR. Twice.
• David Pauley had a tough spring, but he has an ERA of 3.00 with a 0.94 WHIP and an 8:3 strike-out to walk ratio in 18 innings. Then there's the 53% groundball rate.
  
• David Hernandez just keeps striking people out; he has 23 K's in 14 IP with just 5 walks. Wow.
• By comparison, Chris Tillman's 15 K's in 14 IP (with 7 BB's) seems unimpressive. At least he has a 1.29 ERA.

Double-A

• Brandon Snyder's bat is back (.355/.397/.548), but I don't know if it's back enough to play at first-base at the major league level.
• Jake Arrieta continues getting K's (22 in 18 IP) while working on his control (8 BB). The 2.00 ERA is shiny though.
• Not as shiny as Troy Patton's 0.55 ERA, despite just 10 K's and 6 BB in 16 IP. I have to think he'll see Triple-A in the fairly near future, with a call-up to the majors later in the year a possibility. It's just nice to see him back healthy.
• Brandon Erbe is still just 21, and he's acquiring himself quite well in his first go-around at this level. 1.29 ERA, 14 IP, 16 K, 7 BB, 2 HR. And yet he's somehow 0-3.

A+

• 2008 draft-pick Caleb Joseph is hitting .327/.327/.462, which is pretty good for a catcher. The zero walks is a cause for concern though.
• Ryan Adams has a higher OBP than SLG with his .364/.462/.455 line. If only he could play shortstop.
• Pedro Florimon can play shortstop (though he has 8 errors) and he's showing some pop (.297/.352/.516) after not doing anything at all last year (.595 OPS).
• Billy Rowell has been moved to the outfield, where his bat will play even less (.274/.366/.419). I went down to Frederick a little while ago, and he looked bad both at the plate and in the field. Not much confidence that he'll make it to the big leagues.
• Brian Matusz may be a little too advanced for this level (26 K's in 21.2 IP). I was expecting better control though (9 BB's) and hopefully the HR (3 already) don't become an issue.
• Pedro Beato is on his way back after 5.85 ERA last year. His ERA is still high (4.50), but he does have 18 K's in 20 IP. And 5 HR. Oh well.
• Zach Britton has a nice 1.93 ERA, but his control (8 BB's in 14 IP) and groundball tendencies (48% after an excellent 65% last year) are less than ideal.
• Rich Hill has made one appearance, striking out 3 in 3 IP and not allowing a walk (though he did hit a guy, which is way more satisfying). Looking forward to seeing him in Baltimore soon.

A

• Xavier Avery is hitting .140/.140/.160 and has 20 K's in 50 AB. I'm just saying, I didn't think he was a particularly good pick in the draft.
• Rick Zagone has a 1.72 ERA with 11 K's and 6 BB"s in 15.2 IP. And an 81% groundball rate. At least the infielders get a lot of practice.
• Maybe it's the ballpark since Oliver Drake has a 60% groundball rate to go along with 11 K's to 2 BB's in 13 IP.

The Big Three pitching prospects are all off to good starts, with Brandon Erbe and David Hernandez providing some depth behind them. Reimold and Snyder are showing that the system isn't all pitching, and of course Matt Wieters is just awesome. The O's should see some reserves showing up sooner than later.