Britton, Beato, Egan in line for mid season promotions?

[wildcard]

The O's are so conservative with the promotion of the their minor leaguers I don't know what to think. I look at the stats:

Britton, 5-3, 2.96 ERA

Beato, 2-0, 1.61 in relief

Egan, 5-1, 1.80 in relief

I wonder if they will promoted to Norfolk later this month.

June 22nd marks the 71st game or halfway through the season.

[TGO]

Egan moving up wouldn't surprise me. He pitched at 3 levels last year and finished at Bowie, and with his control and consistency I think he can keep moving up pretty quickly. It may be time soon to see if AAA hitters challenge him.

I would be wary of moving Beato too soon because of his past struggles and inconsistency, but I will defer to those who have seen him this year. He actually pitched well at Bowie last year, too, just had a worse ERA. Other than a few more homers his line is pretty similar, so you might say he is going on a year of pretty good performance in the Eastern League.

I think they will give Britton almost a full season at Bowie. They don't really need to rush him.

[QBsILLEST1]

I don't think Britton or Beato has dominated. If they are trying to accelerate his ascent to the majors, I could understand a promotion for Britton, but we've seen pitchers (Matusz) go to Baltimore straight from Bowie so I don't think it's imperative. Despite the gaudy ERA, Beato has been good/solid, not great. Egan is a more curious case, and probably the most deserving of a promotion.

I would like to see Zach make a few more really strong starts, and by that time, it would be mid-season, so yes, I could definitely see him getting the promotion, same with Egan. We need bullpen help, if Egan get promoted and pitches well, he is a very good option during the end half of the MLB season...

[Frobby]

Thought it would be interesting to compare Britton's Bowie numbers to Arrieta's before his promotion last year.

Britton: 12 G, 67.0 IP, 64 H, 31 R, 22 ER, 4 HR, 23 BB, 49 K's, 3.19 GO/AO, 2.96 ERA, .245 BAA

Arrieta: 11 G, 59.0 IP, 45 H, 21 R, 17 ER, 4 HR, 23 BB, 70 K's, 0.67 GO/AO, 2.59 ERA, .208 BAA

In his last 8 starts, Britton has a 2.09 ERA.

One thing that has always been very noteworthy about Britton is that he gives up a huge number of unearned runs.

2007: 33 R, 26 ER (21% unearned)

2008: 68 R, 51 ER (25% unearned)

2009: 64 R, 42 ER (34% unearned)

2010: 31 R, 22 ER (29% unearned)

He has the misfortune of being a heavy GB pitcher on a team with a lousy defensive infield featuring Ryan Adams and others. I've always wondered how he'd fare with a major league infield behind him, though this certainly wouldn't be the year I'd want to find out. My theory is that even his earned runs would go down because major leaguers would snare more of those grounders that he induces.

As to whether Britton should be promoted at the break, my inclination is yes, if he has made as much progress with his change-up as people have suggested.

[Can_of_corn]

One thing that has always been very noteworthy about Britton is that he gives up a huge number of unearned runs.

2007: 33 R, 26 ER (21% unearned)

2008: 68 R, 51 ER (25% unearned)

2009: 64 R, 42 ER (34% unearned)

2010: 31 R, 22 ER (29% unearned)

He has the misfortune of being a heavy GB pitcher on a team with a lousy defensive infield featuring Ryan Adams and others. I've always wondered how he'd fare with a major league infield behind him, though this certainly wouldn't be the year I'd want to find out. My theory is that even his earned runs would go down because major leaguers would snare more of those grounders that he induces.

Who are you suggesting the O's trade him to?

Honestly the state of the O's defense has me worried with a pitcher like Britton.

[BaysoxFan39]

The O's are so conservative with the promotion of the their minor leaguers I don't know what to think. I look at the stats:

Britton, 5-3, 2.96 ERA

Beato, 2-0, 1.61 in relief

Egan, 5-1, 1.80 in relief

I wonder if they will promoted to Norfolk later this month.

June 22nd marks the 71st game or halfway through the season.

I wonder what the O's will do with Jim Hoey. Except for the 5 run meltdown in Trenton a while back he has pitched very well. Consistently in the 95 to 96 mph range with good control. What are your thoughts?

[BowieMike]

I wonder what the O's will do with Jim Hoey. Except for the 5 run meltdown in Trenton a while back he has pitched very well. Consistently in the 95 to 96 mph range with good control. What are your thoughts?

He has shutout the opposition over his last 12 1/3 innings with 17 strikeouts during that stretch. Had that outing In Trenton not occurred, he would have a 0.51 ERA.

One of the scouts I talked with last week said he's another guy that should help the Orioles at some point this year. Of course, with Hoey, it seems like his confidence takes a hit every time he dons the big league uni. He should definitely be in Norfolk at the least.

[wildcard]

I wonder what the O's will do with Jim Hoey. Except for the 5 run meltdown in Trenton a while back he has pitched very well. Consistently in the 95 to 96 mph range with good control. What are your thoughts?

When we last saw Hoey at the major league level his fastball had no movement. Straight as an arrow. Doesn't matter how fast it is if it doesn't move major league hitters will hit it.

[Frobby]

Interesting to see Bascom getting a promotion to AAA while Britton remains at Bowie for now. I take this as a pretty definitive sign that the O's are going to take their time with Britton and make sure he is good and ready for the next step developmentally regardless of what his numbers may say.

[eb45]

As they should. I'm worried that they might have moved Tillman too fast, and I really don't want them to make the same potential mistake with Britton.

[Frobby]

6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K's for Britton last night, lowering his ERA to 2.84. He had 9 GB outs to 3 FB. He's pressing pretty hard for that promotion. Stay tuned at the all star break.

[AgentOrange]

6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K's for Britton last night, lowering his ERA to 2.84. He had 9 GB outs to 3 FB. He's pressing pretty hard for that promotion. Stay tuned at the all star break.

Why not let Britton stay in AA, master the pitches he is working on, and then give him a shot at the rotation next year?

[Frobby]

Why not let Britton stay in AA, master the pitches he is working on, and then give him a shot at the rotation next year?

I think AAA has been shown to be pretty important in most cases. In hindsight, I kind of wish Matusz had had a stop there.

[AgentOrange]

I think AAA has been shown to be pretty important in most cases. In hindsight, I kind of wish Matusz had had a stop there.

Given the fact that I believe we have a legit AAA pitching coach, I believe you. I think coaching is very important in the minors and it seems we have a good one.

[QBsILLEST1]

Given the fact that I believe we have a legit AAA pitching coach, I believe you. I think coaching is very important in the minors and it seems we have a good one.

I agree here. There are certian cases where you may draft a really polished college arm that you can skip AAA, but guys like Britton who are polished yes, but are still refining major apsects of their game need to stop in AAA. I would promote him and see how he does with the idea of having him ready for 2011 at some point....