Wieters watch

[Ruzious]

9 walks vs. 3 strikeouts. But it's been a while since he homered. We should be worried.

[Frobby]

Wieters went 0-2 today but he had 3 walks.

Geez, his OBP is creeping down towards .600!

[Three Run Homer]

For years, people on this board have complained that "we never have a phenom", meaning a prospect who puts up unbelievable numbers, rockets through the system, gets lots of attention from Baseball America...a Jay Bruce or Brandon Wood type. Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts had good numbers in the minors and have turned out to be excellent major league players, but they were never phenoms.

I think we've got a phenom.

[theonestevewh]

For years, people on this board have complained that "we never have a phenom", meaning a prospect who puts up unbelievable numbers, rockets through the system, gets lots of attention from Baseball America...a Jay Bruce or Brandon Wood type. Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts had good numbers in the minors and have turned out to be excellent major league players, but they were never phenoms.

I think we've got a phenom.

Brandon Fahey?

[Hank Scorpio]

Another guy who's looked like a phenom so far this year as well : Brandon Erbe.

Keep it up, kid!!!!!

[dkdc]

I don't believe the Orioles have ever had the #1 prospect per Baseball America.

McDonald was #2 in 1990, and Hammonds was #3 in 1994.

Wieters was ranked #12 this year, and most of the players ranked ahead of him won't be eligible next year:

#1 Jay Bruce (At AAA, but expected to be called up)

#2 Evan Longoria (Just called up)

#3 Joba Chamberlain (On opening day roster)

#4 Clay Buchholz (On opening day roster)

#5 Colby Rasmus (At AAA, but expected to be called up)

#6 Cameron Maybin (At AA, may be called up)

#7 Clayton Kershaw (At AA, big wild card)

#8 Franklin Morales (On opening day roster)

#9 Homer Bailey (At AAA, but expected to be called up)

#10 David Price (Injured, will almost certainly not see majors this year)

#11 Travis Snider (At single-A, will probably not see majors this year)

Of those guys, Kershaw, Price, and Snider are the only players likely to be eligible for the #1 spot next year. The other players are far along enough in their development cycles that the only way they won't make the majors is due to injury or poor performance, both of which would knock them out of the running for #1.

A draftee like Pedro Alvarez could also be in the running, and there are a handful of players who could leapfrog Wieters (especially teenage phenoms like Andrus and FMart). There's also a chance that a Japanese free agent steals the #1 spot.

Since the field is so big (and the season is so long), Wieters probably has no better than 10-to-1 odds of being ranked #1 next year. However, at this point, 10-to-1 may be good enough to be the favorite.

If he stays healthy and keeps raking, I don't think anyone can keep up with him.

[Three Run Homer]

Brandon Fahey?

Sheesh...how could I have forgotten about Fahey?

And that reminds me...I also forgot Ed Rogers.

[wickedwitch]

Wieters

In the very early going, Wieters is slugging over 1.000 and has a BB/K ratio of 5/1.

Were the Orioles too conservative with him by putting him at Hi-A? Will he see the majors this year?

by dkdc on Apr 11, 2008 12:44 PM PDT reply reply actions actions 0 recs

wieters

If he keeps this up he will be in Double-A by mid-May I'd imagine, and perhaps the majors in the second half. We will know more about how ready he is when he moves up to Bowie. I suspect he will see the majors this year, yes.

by John Sickels on Apr 11, 2008 3:01 PM PDT to parent up reply reply

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2008/4/11/391791/all-questions-answered-thr#4478173

I can't wait.

[Patient O.T.]

Wieters went 1/1 last night with a pinch-hit bases loaded single up the middle to tie the game 2-2. Unfortunately, go-ahead runner Chris Amador was thrown out at the plate and the game remained tied until the 12th when the Keys won it.

Here's video of Wieters' entire AB last night, unfortunately, I'm no good at following the ball once its been hit and I accidentally zoomed in instead of out so its impossible to follow whats going on. You can sort of see a play at the plate near the end. I hope to get better as the season progresses

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-odim9Z-cCk&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-odim9Z-cCk&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

[Frobby]

Wieters went 1/1 last night with a pinch-hit bases loaded single up the middle to tie the game 2-2. Unfortunately, go-ahead runner Chris Amador was thrown out at the plate and the game remained tied until the 12th when the Keys won it.

Here's video of Wieters' entire AB last night, unfortunately, I'm no good at following the ball once its been hit and I accidentally zoomed in instead of out so its impossible to follow whats going on. You can sort of see a play at the plate near the end. I hope to get better as the season progresses

That is a great piece of Americana right there! Minor league baseball in all its glory. And what an AB by Wieters!

[Moose Milligan]

That was a hell of an at bat, thanks for posting that!

[ScottieBaseball]

That is a great piece of Americana right there! Minor league baseball in all its glory. And what an AB by Wieters!

It's worth mentioning that Wieters was away from the team to attend a family funeral yesterday. He flew into town, drove to the ballpark, and arrived just before the 7th inning. He literally stepped out of the car, into the clubhouse, got dressed, went to the dugout, sat down for a few minutes, and Tommy Thompson said, "Wieters! Get a bat!" He promptly went to the plate for a 10-pitch at-bat that resulted in an RBI single to tie the game.

That's the stuff legends are made of.

[Fan4Life]

I don't believe the Orioles have ever had the #1 prospect per Baseball America.

McDonald was #2 in 1990, and Hammonds was #3 in 1994.

Who was ranked ahead of McDonald?

[byrdz]

Who was ranked ahead of McDonald?

Steve Avery

Ahead of Hammonds were #1 Cliff Floyd and #2 Chipper Jones

[Stotle]

From Law's chat today. Good for a smile, I thought...

Ryan (Langhonre, PA): Keith Wieters went 0-3 yesterday with a K. I was under the impression it was against single A rules to get him out. How much of a crime he slipped to 5 and how hard are the Pirates still kicking themselves?

Keith Law: (1:35 PM ET ) The Pirates can't kick themselves. All the decision-makers involved in that call are gone.