Bergy's first half

[Hank Scorpio]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bal-sp.orioles13jul13,0,1444361.story

"The thing about him is he's really made some nice adjustments," Kranitz said. "He's learned the curveball. He really got two big outs on it today. He pounds that strike zone. You never expect a guy to come out and be this good, but you got to give him credit. He's battled hard and he competes on every pitch."

I knew I had seen it.

[AlbNYfan]

Don't forget Wieters...I have a feeling that before all is said and done, that he will be in the discussion.

This is not a Wieters put down, but I have seen nothing that indicates he'll be in the running for ROY. The ML is just a step too quick for him right now. He'll make the adjustment, but it might take a little longer than everyone expected. Bergy is the O's only legit contender unless Reimold gets out of his current funk. But, it's nice to be talking about 3 players with upsides.

[Mackus]

This is not a Wieters put down, but I have seen nothing that indicates he'll be in the running for ROY. The ML is just a step too quick for him right now. He'll make the adjustment, but it might take a little longer than everyone expected. Bergy is the O's only legit contender unless Reimold gets out of his current funk. But, it's nice to be talking about 3 players with upsides.

Wieters has been hitting very well over the last month, before this past week at least.

He's gonna be in the conversation at the end of the year, no doubt. He's the most talented player in the organization, and we've got a lot of good talent. He's making his adjustments, but its easy to see he's got all the skills you need. He'll be right there in the debate at the end of the year.

[bluedog]

And here's the relevant part of the quote:

I'd say Bergesen has done a little better than you hoped. I'm very, very pleasantly surprised that he has come so far so fast. Now he will need to prove he can continue doing it as the innings pile up and teams start seeing him multiple times. It won't be easy.

Not to belabor the point, but Bergesen has actually performed less well than I'd hoped. I had hoped he'd have been able to adjust to major league pitching more quickly and avoid the string of poor outings after his first start.

I expected him to put up a 3.00 to 4.00 ERA at the major league level and be an upper rotation starter. I hoped he'd be able to put up a sub 3.00 ERA, pitch like a #1 starter and win rookie of the year.

So while I am very pleased with how he is doing thus far, I think he can do better in the second half than his current numbers suggest, not worse. I fully expect him to improve as he gains experience and learns how to pitch at the major league level. I think he'll lead the team in complete games, wins, ERA and innings pitched.

[Frobby]

Not to belabor the point, but Bergesen has actually performed less well than I'd hoped. I had hoped he'd have been able to adjust to major league pitching more quickly and avoid the string of poor outings after his first start.

I expected him to put up a 3.00 to 4.00 ERA at the major league level and be an upper rotation starter. I hoped he'd be able to put up a sub 3.00 ERA, pitch like a #1 starter and win rookie of the year.

So while I am very pleased with how he is doing thus far, I think he can do better in the second half than his current numbers suggest, not worse. I fully expect him to improve as he gains experience and learns how to pitch at the major league level. I think he'll lead the team in complete games, wins, ERA and innings pitched.

Well, you certainly are all in on this one. I'd argue with you, but I'd rather have you be right than wrong.

[Goop]

This is what I posted in the "O's 1st half MVP" thread:

We all knew that AJ, BRob, Kakes, and Scott would be good. But Bergy was a bit of a surprise. He has been this teams ace since the day he came up, and I don't think anyone saw that coming. I think we all figured he'd fall into the rotation as the #4 or #5 guy and be decent. But he has come up, pitched well and has enabled this team to win when he takes the mound. We knew he would be good, but I don't think we knew he would be this good.

[Flosman]

Bergy has been a really nice piece that the O's have developed over the past couple of seasons. He has shown that he can have good success at the ML level. But what is the most exciting thing about this development is that he has to be considered a step behind atleast 3 pitchers that should be making thier debut within the next year. Bergy should be projected has a back of the rotation starter for the O's has early has the end of next season. I find it incredible that many in the talent gap thread fail to see this as the real progress that the O's have made.

[QBsILLEST1]

Bergy has been a really nice piece that the O's have developed over the past couple of seasons. He has shown that he can have good success at the ML level. But what is the most exciting thing about this development is that he has to be considered a step behind atleast 3 pitchers that should be making thier debut within the next year. Bergy should be projected has a back of the rotation starter for the O's has early has the end of next season. I find it incredible that many in the talent gap thread fail to see this as the real progress that the O's have made.

Yes, it is a sign. His strength is his polish, I couldnt expect Tillman and Arrieta to come up and perform that well that quickly, but they will catch on pretty quickly as I said in another thread. IMO Matusz would be the one to catch on like Bergy has, right out of the gates, but we shall see. You cannot forget about the admirable performances Hernandez has posted so far either. Even if in the current rotation, Bergy and Hernandez stick, the Big 3 will fill out the remaing 3 slots and would make a very young and exciting rotation. I cannot wait....

[Sports Guy]

Bergy has been a really nice piece that the O's have developed over the past couple of seasons. He has shown that he can have good success at the ML level. But what is the most exciting thing about this development is that he has to be considered a step behind atleast 3 pitchers that should be making thier debut within the next year. Bergy should be projected has a back of the rotation starter for the O's has early has the end of next season. I find it incredible that many in the talent gap thread fail to see this as the real progress that the O's have made.

Progress has been made...A LOT more has to be done though.

[Mackus]

The best thing about Bergesen seemingly being a hit is that we now no longer need all 3 of Matusz, Tillman, and Arrieta to hit. Most of us were counting on those 3 all being successful in order to compete. That was and likely still is a very doubtful scenario, despite how talented and close all 3 are right now.

Now if all 3 do hit like we all hope, we'll have a true surplus. Hopefully Hernandez can also continue to pitch well and we'll have another "backup" in case one of the big 3 falls short of reaching out expectations.

[Flosman]

Progress has been made...A LOT more has to be done though.

This is true but I really do not know if it could be done much faster without greatly increasing the risk of failure.

[QBsILLEST1]

The best thing about Bergesen seemingly being a hit is that we now no longer need all 3 of Matusz, Tillman, and Arrieta to hit. Most of us were counting on those 3 all being successful in order to compete. That was and likely still is a very doubtful scenario, despite how talented and close all 3 are right now.

Now if all 3 do hit like we all hope, we'll have a true surplus. Hopefully Hernandez can also continue to pitch well and we'll have another "backup" in case one of the big 3 falls short of reaching out expectations.

Yes, we will have many many options. Our future really does hinge on the Big3. we really need atleast one of them to develop into a legitimate 1/2 pitcher, it would really be nice if all thee did like what happened in Oakland all those years back. If we could have them all develop into #2's and have Bergy and Hernandez, we would be moster strong, but the chances of that happening arent necessarily likely. But on the same token, I dont see any of the Big 3 failing to be successful after watching the ones that have made it, make it....

[QBsILLEST1]

Progress has been made...A LOT more has to be done though.

Actually, it depends on what you consider a lot more. Really all we need to do now is wait and acquire a good 3B and possibly a SS. Thats not THAT much more that needs to be done. We need to get all of the Big 3 and Snyder up to Baltimore and give them their time to get used to the Majors. That right there is a competitive team, and the SS and 3B would just sned us over the top and be contenders.....We really arent THAT far, we have the pieces, we just need to give it time to blossom into what we are expecting it to....

[Frobby]

Bergy has been a really nice piece that the O's have developed over the past couple of seasons. He has shown that he can have good success at the ML level. But what is the most exciting thing about this development is that he has to be considered a step behind atleast 3 pitchers that should be making thier debut within the next year. Bergy should be projected has a back of the rotation starter for the O's has early has the end of next season. I find it incredible that many in the talent gap thread fail to see this as the real progress that the O's have made.

Just as Bergesen has been a pleasant surprise and has done better than expected, there's a decent chance that at least one of the Big Three turns out to be an unpleasant surprise and doesn't do as well as expected. You never know about these things, but to have three talented pitchers come up and all meet the very hgh expectations that have been set for them, won't be that easy. If and when they are all in the majors pitching well, then we can talk about the talent gap closing. We've seen highly touted Yankee/Red Sox prospects like Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain and Clay Buckhholz not live up to their expectations that quickly, so why would we assume that our guys will just sail along without any issues arising?

[notfast]

His strength is his polish, I couldnt expect Tillman and Arrieta to come up and perform that well that quickly, but they will catch on pretty quickly as I said in another thread. IMO Matusz would be the one to catch on like Bergy has, right out of the gates, but we shall see. You cannot forget about the admirable performances Hernandez has posted so far either. Even if in the current rotation, Bergy and Hernandez stick, the Big 3 will fill out the remaing 3 slots and would make a very young and exciting rotation. I cannot wait....

Although Tillman is young, he has 82 games 77 starts in the minors.

Bergesen had 93 games, 82 starts.

Both were drafted out of high school.

I don't see how Bergesen has/had more "polish" than Tillman. Matusz has years of college but its always debatable whether that level of competition is similar to the minors.

Bergesen seemed to take more time at each level, but its not as if Tillman skipped levels and was advanced before he was ready.