OH Top 10 Recap

[orioole28]

Not a banner year for the Hangout's 2006 top 10:

1. Billy Rowell: .273/.335/.426 at Delmarva. Solid enough for an 18 year-old playing in this league, but not really eye-popping. Grade: B.

2. Brandon Erbe: 6-8, 6.26 ERA, 111 K's vs. 62 BB's in 119.1 IP. A huge step back for this highly touted youngster, even considering that he's only 19 playing in the Carolina League. Grade: D.

3. Nolan Reimold: .306/.365/.565 at Bowie. A big bounce-back year has many wondering if he can jump to the big club next spring. Grade: A.

4. Pedro Beato: 7-8, 4.05 ERA, 106 K's vs. 59 BB's in 142.1 IP. Nothing earth-shattering here one way or the other. Grade: C.

5. Garrett Olson: 9-7, 3.16 ERA, 120 K's vs. 39 BB's in 128 IP. Excellent season in the minors, now the question is whether that translates to major league success. Grade: A.

6. Jim Hoey: 1-0, 0.00, 28 K's vs. 4 BB's in 18.2 IP at Bowie; 2-0, 1.33 ERA, 41 K's vs. 10 BB's in 27 IP at Norfolk. Clearly he's got the stuff; does he have the confidence to pitch to major league batters. Grade: A.

7. Radhames Liz: 11-4, 3.22 ERA, 161 K's vs. 70 BB's in 137 IP. Would like the BB ratio a bit lower but a very solid season. Grade: B+.

8. Brandon Snyder: .283/.354/.422 at Delmarva. A nice bounce-back season and he hit well in the second half. Grade: B-.

9. Kieron Pope: Who? Grade: Incomplete but I have no idea why he was on the list to begin with.

10. Pedro Florimon: .197/.257/.272 at Delmarva. Never hit a lick from beginning to end. Grade: F.

I'd feel a little better about this list if Olson, Hoey and Liz had translated their minor league success over to the majors. Maybe they'll make progress in September.

My Top 10 for next year would be as followed:

1)Weiters

2)Rowell

3)Liz

4)Reimold

5)Spoone

6)Erbe

7)Synder

8)Tripp

9)Hernandez

10)Beato

Olson and Hoey should be on the 25man roster next year. If not then something is wrong!! Henson, Bergeson, Bascom, Davis, Moore, Vinyard, Perez, and Berken would follow in no particular order.

[blazer]

My Top 10 for next year would be as followed:

1)Weiters

2)Rowell

3)Liz

4)Reimold

5)Spoone

6)Erbe

7)Synder

8)Tripp

9)Hernandez

10)Beato

Olson and Hoey should be on the 25man roster next year. If not then something is wrong!! Henson, Bergeson, Bascom, Davis, Moore, Vinyard, Perez, and Berken would follow in no particular order.

While I agree that both Olson and Hoey should be on the Opening Day roster, there is no way Hoey reaches 50 IP (22 IP in 2006 and 2007 so far), and Olson will be very close, as he is at 28.2 IP so far. Thus, Hoey will be eligible for the top prospect lists, and Olson may be as well. Where would you place those two on your list?

My top 10 right now is...

1. Weiters

2. Rowell

3. Liz

4. Olson*

5. Reimold

6. Erbe

7. Snyder

8. Arietta

9. Spoone

10. Hoey

*Henson would replace Olson if not eligible

Next 10 in no particular order: Moore, Hernandez, Bergesen, Bascom, Beato, Perez, Tripp, Britton, Angle, Mahoney

[orioole28]

While I agree that both Olson and Hoey should be on the Opening Day roster, there is no way Hoey reaches 50 IP (22 IP in 2006 and 2007 so far), and Olson will be very close, as he is at 28.2 IP so far. Thus, Hoey will be eligible for the top prospect lists, and Olson may be as well. Where would you place those two on your list?

My top 10 right now is...

1. Weiters

2. Rowell

3. Liz

4. Olson*

5. Reimold

6. Erbe

7. Snyder

8. Arietta

9. Spoone

10. Hoey

*Henson would replace Olson if not eligible

Next 10 in no particular order: Moore, Hernandez, Bergesen, Bascom, Beato, Perez, Tripp, Britton, Angle, Mahoney

Ok if you're going to twist my arm!:002_sbiggrin:

1)Weiters

2)Rowell

3)Olson

4)Liz

5)Reimold

6)Spoone

7)Erbe

8)Hoey

9)Tripp

10)Synder

Next 10: Hernandez, Arrieta, Henson, Bascom, Bergeson, Davis, Moore, Vinyard, Perez, and Berken

[oriolescrew]

I'm not sure if I would put a player as the number one prospect when he has yet to play a pro game (Wieters), I am thinking Rowell has dropped considerably, probably to #5 or #6, his stats, and errors are to blame. Tripp in my opinion has moved up to around #4 or #5 depending on where Rowell ends up on the list. Tripp is a tough guy that would've had better stats had he stayed healthy (he sat out 23 games/wrist injury, I don't think he was 100% the rest of the year). Word is Tripp has opened a lot of eyes, and should have been promoted to Fredrick once he was healthy,(not sure why he wasn't) hopefully he will work on cutting down on the K's and and walk a little more. His stats are: OPS-.908, SLG-.531, OBP-.377 with 19 HR, 25-2b and 4-3b. (Impressive to say the least) He runs extremely well from 1st to 3rd, and only made 2 errors all year. Anyways, just my opinion. Thanks

[Tony-OH]

Not a banner year for the Hangout's 2006 top 10:

1. Billy Rowell: .273/.335/.426 at Delmarva. Solid enough for an 18 year-old playing in this league, but not really eye-popping. Grade: B.

Rowell was not overly impressive, especially when you take into consideration all of those strikeouts and not of walks or power. We'll give him a mulligan of sorts due to starting off the year injured and for playing in the Sally League at 18-years old. However, top end talent should have shown a little more, but he won't slide much for no other reason then there's not too many guys with his actual ceiling.

2. Brandon Erbe: 6-8, 6.26 ERA, 111 K's vs. 62 BB's in 119.1 IP. A huge step back for this highly touted youngster, even considering that he's only 19 playing in the Carolina League. Grade: D.

Probably the biggest bust of the year this year. Again, the Orioles will oint to the fact that he was 19-years old in the Carolina League, but the fact remians he spent an entire year at Delmarva the year before and performed quite well. He was ready but not up to task this season for Frederick. Still, he's got a great arm and is two years younger than Spoone.

3. Nolan Reimold: .306/.365/.565 at Bowie. A big bounce-back year has many wondering if he can jump to the big club next spring. Grade: A.

Hit like we thought he could but you have to wonder if there are inury concerns with him. This is two years in a row he's battled injuries. Still, the results were there when he was on the field and that's more then we can see about the previous two for the most part.

4. Pedro Beato: 7-8, 4.05 ERA, 106 K's vs. 59 BB's in 142.1 IP. Nothing earth-shattering here one way or the other. Grade: C.

I really would like to know what the deal was with this guy this season. The stuff I saw last year at Aberdeen did not suggest such a so-so year at Delmarva this year. I thought he would be on the fast train for promotions when I saw him last year but he appears to have regressed. We're looking into some thoughts on why, but he was a dissapointment this year but he's got a ton of potential still.

5. Garrett Olson: 9-7, 3.16 ERA, 120 K's vs. 39 BB's in 128 IP. Excellent season in the minors, now the question is whether that translates to major league success. Grade: A.

I wouldn't give him an A due to his major league meltdown with mechanics. For a guy who was bulled as a good talent with a major league head, it's discouraging to say the least to see how he completely unravelled in the majors. It's tiring to continually see people make excuses for young pitchers struggling when they come up to the bigs. Can young pitchers struggle and then make adjustments, absoutely, but Olson was a real mystery.

6. Jim Hoey: 1-0, 0.00, 28 K's vs. 4 BB's in 18.2 IP at Bowie; 2-0, 1.33 ERA, 41 K's vs. 10 BB's in 27 IP at Norfolk. Clearly he's got the stuff; does he have the confidence to pitch to major league batters. Grade: A.

You hate to call a good guy a head case but gheesh almighty, talk a bout guy who suddenly becomes a different guy in the majors compared to Triple-A. He's goot too good an arm and slider to struggle like he has in Baltimore and I don't like hearing him talk about how nervous he is all the time.

7. Radhames Liz: 11-4, 3.22 ERA, 161 K's vs. 70 BB's in 137 IP. Would like the BB ratio a bit lower but a very solid season. Grade: B+.

Great year for the flame thrower. Has struggled a bit in the big leaguers but he was jumping from Double-A. Since he's a three-pitch pitcher, I think he'll be able to make the adjustments sooner then later. I like the fact he added the ability to go deeper in games this year.

8. Brandon Snyder: .283/.354/.422 at Delmarva. A nice bounce-back season and he hit well in the second half. Grade: B-.

Nice comeback year for Snyder after a lost campaign. Still, the K:BB ratio is still a flag of concern but overall he did a good job over at first base. His offense though would play better behind the plate than at first base.

9. Kieron Pope: Who? Grade: Incomplete but I have no idea why he was on the list to begin with.

I struggled over and over whether to put both Pope and Florimon in the top ten and they both proved that I should have gone with my instincts instead of the information I received on them. Although he was injured most of the year, his inability to make contact will most likely doom him.

10. Pedro Florimon: .197/.257/.272 at Delmarva. Never hit a lick from beginning to end. Grade: F.

Swing and a miss for us here and the Orioles. Scouts were split on whether he could be a Tony Fernandez type guy or a complete bust. The O's were real high on him and he had great plate discipline at Bluefield so we took a chance.

I'd feel a little better about this list if Olson, Hoey and Liz had translated their minor league success over to the majors. Maybe they'll make progress in September.

I agree. Their lack of success in the majors, espeically Olson's and Hoey's has been extremely dissapointing.

[Frobby]

I agree. Their lack of success in the majors, espeically Olson's and Hoey's has been extremely dissapointing.

FWIW, here is my assessment:

- Olson is just going through a fairly normal adjustment to the big leagues. He's a control pitcher, and (1) the ball is a little different, (2) the batters are more disciplined, and (3) the umps don't give close calls to rookie pitchers. I'm a little worried about the small speed differential between his fastball (89), curve (82) and change-up (80), but I saw him make a lot of batters look foolish with that curve. Once he figures out what he has to do to get ahead of hitters, he'll be fine. He had rough spots when he first got promoted to AA and AAA, and eventually figured it out.

- Hoey has the stuff, for sure, but he needs a serious shot of self-confidence. A guy who has his K-rate and K/BB rate in AA and AAA can get major league hittters out. He needs to stop fooling around and throw strikes, and fix his mechanical problem of starting out too open so that he tips his slider. I gather that's a relatively new flaw, not a chronic problem. He should be able to fix things but I'm worried about his mental makeup. Frankly, I'd just keep throwing him out there.

- Liz has great stuff, but he is nowhere near ready to pitch in the big leagues. His mechanics are terrible and he doesn't have sufficient command to pitch in the majors yet. He needs most if not all of next year at Norfolk. By the way, I reall am beginning to wonder about Scott McGregor's skills as a pitching coach. A guy who has been through AA shouldn't have such obvious mechanical inconsistencies.

[Ruzious]

- Liz has great stuff, but he is nowhere near ready to pitch in the big leagues. His mechanics are terrible and he doesn't have sufficient command to pitch in the majors yet. He needs most if not all of next year at Norfolk. By the way, I reall am beginning to wonder about Scott McGregor's skills as a pitching coach. A guy who has been through AA shouldn't have such obvious mechanical inconsistencies.

I don't agree with you on Liz. Just because his mechanics are unusual - doesn't mean they mean fixing. As long as he gets people out, I wouldn't make drastic changes that are likely going to cause his fastball to drop a few MPH's. Perhaps part of his problem so far with Baltimore is that he's been listening to new people - instead of using what made him successful with Bowie - or just not knowing yet how to pitch to major leaguers.

[hoosiers]

Didn't Olson struggle in his initial starts at AA and AAA? Hopefully, he can make the adjustments to get major league hitters out as quickly.

I think McGregor deserves a lot of credit for Liz's improvement this year.

Nice report, Tony. I admire the fessing up with Pope and Florimon though the next few guys also did not perform as well - especially Adams.

[Tony-OH]

Didn't Olson struggle in his initial starts at AA and AAA? Hopefully, he can make the adjustments to get major league hitters out as quickly.

I think McGregor deserves a lot of credit for Liz's improvement this year.

Nice report, Tony. I admire the fessing up with Pope and Florimon though the next few guys also did not perform as well - especially Adams.

You're right Adam, I took a little too much "info" from the organization and because I wasn't overly enamored with the rest of the prospects I went with guys like Pope, Florimon, Adams, and Britton. Britton had some success but the other three were busts this year. There's still hope for Adams and of course Britton who is very young, but there are mixed feelings about Adams within the organization.

However, if you look at the guys behind them, only Spoone took a major step forward so really, they were worth a shot if you ask me.

[Frobby]

I don't agree with you on Liz. Just because his mechanics are unusual - doesn't mean they mean fixing. As long as he gets people out, I wouldn't make drastic changes that are likely going to cause his fastball to drop a few MPH's. Perhaps part of his problem so far with Baltimore is that he's been listening to new people - instead of using what made him successful with Bowie - or just not knowing yet how to pitch to major leaguers.

First, let me say that I've only seen an inning or two of Liz's work. However, last night I was driving home and Joe Angel was going on and on about Liz's mechanical flaws -- before he had even thrown a pitch. He was describing how he starts out too open, recoils after letting go of the ball instead of following through, and doesn't put himself in proper fielding position.

I'm not a fan of fixing "flaws" just to fix them. But whenever a pitcher with poor mechanics also has control problems (which is most of the time), they need to be addressed early on. And Liz has serious control problems. That was true at AA despite his overall success, and it will be a much bigger problem at the major league level. Just ask Daniel Cabrera.

[Greg Pappas]

Nice recap Fobby, as usual it was well thought out.

2008's Top Twenty Players List (as I see it):

Hitters:

Wieters

Rowell

Reimold

Tripp

Snyder

Kolodny

Henson

Angle

Pitchers:

Penn

Liz

Erbe

Beato

Hoey

Olson

Bascom

Spoone

Bergesen

Hernandez

Berken

Arrieta

[orioole28]

Nice recap Fobby, as usual it was well thought out.

2008's Top Twenty Players List (as I see it):

Hitters:

Wieters

Rowell

Reimold

Tripp

Snyder

Kolodny

Henson

Angle

Pitchers:

Penn

Liz

Erbe

Beato

Hoey

Olson

Bascom

Spoone

Bergesen

Hernandez

Berken

Arrieta

My list for pitcher and I'm assuming that your list is in order.

Penn*

Olson

Liz

Spoone

Erbe

Hoey

Hernandez

Bergeson

Bascom

Arrieta

*Penn I accidently ommited him from my previous list, oops:eek: I have a question, is Penn no longer considered a prospect because no one here listed him in the top 10 or 20, including myself, which I accidently omitted.

[blazer]

Penn has pitched 58 innings in the Major Leagues and is no longer considered a rookie. Thus no prospect list ranking.

http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=435140