Erbe rocked again.

[Chollie Eckman]

You got to be kidding me right?? Bergesen was good at Delmarva but at Frederick he had 1 very good game and then a poor one which has been the scenerio of late with all our pitchers. I think there is something wrong in the developing of pitchers at Frederick. Hernandez was strong in April and May and hasn't be heard since, Spoone has been very inconistent and Erbe just isn't getting it done. I just think it has to be the instruction or lack of from their pitching coach. I know I was a strong supporter earlier in the year, but after watching our prospect pitching poorly lately, something is wrong!! It's frustrating seeing them pitch this poorly when you know they have the potential to better.

Who would you pick if you needed a win and 7 strong innings? Right now.

[JohnD]

I suspect I'm taller than most of you guys and yet I haven't once felt the sky hit my head at all yet. And I don't think that's strange.

[Moose Milligan]

I suspect I'm taller than most of you guys and yet I haven't once felt the sky hit my head at all yet. And I don't think that's strange.

Thats just an amazing post. And no, I'm not kidding.

The chicken little act is a bit old.

[Jammer7]

I suspect I'm taller than most of you guys and yet I haven't once felt the sky hit my head at all yet. And I don't think that's strange.

Excellent post! Thanks John.

Development is a process. The focus is where they will be performance-wise in about 3-5 years, not where they are at this moment in 'A' ball. There will be highs and lows as these guys move through the system over the years. It is inevitable that the vast majority of the best prospects will struggle at some point as they move up. There are adjustments to be made along the way and struggling makes it necessary for these guys to find solutions and respond to what the pitching coach is relating to them. I take it as a good thing when they have to work through adversity. Let's see how they respond to it. That will determine whether they are Major Leaguers or just failed prosects in several years. A few rough starts, or even a few rough months for that matter, is not reason enough to start sounding any loud alarms. Loewen, Bedard, Guthrie and many many other ML star pitchers all struggled at times early in their careers in the minors.

There could be a number of things going on here for Erbe, Beato and so on. Any guesses here are just that...guesses. Injuries, tired arm, working on secondary pitches, whatever...it's all just speculation on this board. (That is unless the guys on the team or close to the team with inside knowledge want to offer up some scoop?) The fact remains they are very very talented.

[mikezpen]

Agree w/Chollie and RZNJ.Erbe wasn't just good before, he was utterly dominant.Now, all of a sudden, he is terrible...TERRIBLE. Something is wrong, folks.Plenty of pitchers refuse to acknowldedge that they have physical problems and try to pitch through it.I think that's what we have here.I pray it's not an arm problem, but something isn't right.

I simply cannot believe that they wouldn't have this kid examned with a fine-toothed comb from stem to stern. I hope they've done it by now.

[OriolesBaseball]

there very well could be something else going on, but I wanted to share this. I live close to the Potomac Nationals and went to see the Keys play the Nats the last time Frederick was down. Erbe had pitched the day before I was there and I had a brief chat with Chris Marrero. He said, "Yeah, Erbe pitched yesterday, he's got a great curve, got me on it." "Did he throw the heat, Chris?" "Nope, I don't think he threw a single fastball the whole game, at least not to me". Take that for what it's worth, but I think that at least supplements the arguement that he is working on secondary pitches. however, as others have said, for a guy to go from being dominate last season to well below average this season, something else besides learning and refining new pitches is definitely going on.

[orioole28]

Who would you pick if you needed a win and 7 strong innings? Right now.

You have a good point because they are all struggling now. But it would be interesting to see how Bergesen does after his rough last start. As I stated in another thread, I believe there is something wrong in the development of our pitchers in Frederick!

[tywright]

Theres not much chance he's gonna stay on any of the top 100 lists this offseason barring a major turnaround.

I'm still a big fan of the kid and think he's gonna be a stud if he stays healthy, but he's clearly taken a major step back this year. He's still got enough time to take another major step back next year, spend two years getting back to even, then two years making strides forward, and still hitting the majors at a young age. Hopefully he can turn things around down the stretch this year and then have a real solid year next year.

Maybe him getting hit harder is due in some part to lifting the restrictions that were on him his first two seasons. He had gotten used to the low pitch counts and innings and perhaps stretching him out longer than that has had an adverse affect on his arm in following starts. If so, he should be able to adjust to a normal workload eventually, just need to retrain his arm to handle it, which will only take time.

He made the top 25 Baseball Prospectus' midseason list

[BoysofArbutus]

It may be physical, or it may be a mental block.

I've known Brandon since he was 8 and he's had the world of expectations placed on his shoulders since he started with the Maryland Orioles team when he was 10. He was viewed as a prodigy and all through high school he was hailed the next big thing.

He has never known struggles like this before and it's very possible that his confidence has been shaken a bit. He's 19 years old and pitching in High A ball.

Move him down to Delmarva and let him get some confidence back. At 19, he's still young for the SAL, so it wouldn't be much of a set back. As far as potential goes, he's still one of the best we've got. Don't rush him through. He doesn't need to be in the bigs at 21

[Baltimoron]

He made the top 25 Baseball Prospectus' midseason list

??

On July 13, 2007, Keith Goldstein reviewed his pre-season list of the top 100 prospects in baseball. Erbe *was* 27 this pre-season list. Goldstein's updated commentary:

27. Brandon Erbe, RHP, Orioles, 19

Eligible Next Year? Yes

Stock Movement Since Ranking: Down

Erbe has a 5.27 ERA, but consider this: On May 16, he gave up 12 runs on 12 hits in three innings. Two weeks later, seven runs in 3.2 frames, and last week he surrendered eight runs without getting out of the third. Take those three starts away and you have this:

IP H BB SO ERA

74.1 57 38 64 3.15

Now that’s not necessarily fair, and he's still down, as his control has regressed, and he’s yet to develop usable secondary stuff. However, he’s still 19, in High-A, and still in possession of a high ceiling.

link

There's still a lot of potential, but he has fallen way off. Certainly this last outing hasn't improved any of these sentiments.

[Elon Os Fan]

He made the top 25 Baseball Prospectus' midseason list

What was the date on that one...

[Chollie Eckman]

You have a good point because they are all struggling now. But it would be interesting to see how Bergesen does after his rough last start. As I stated in another thread, I believe there is something wrong in the development of our pitchers in Frederick!

Agreed.

[napbow]

Who would you pick if you needed a win and 7 strong innings? Right now.

Bascom!!!!

[tywright]

What was the date on that one...

I was wrong...it was the preseason list

[NoVaO]

I just wonder by he occassionally just gets absolutely crushed. It isn't like he is consistently bad or anything just once in a while he gets hammered. I can't figure out why that is.