Zach Britton promoted to Triple-A

[LookinUp]

One thing I'll say -- it appears that Britton is the last bullet in our arsenal for a while. Erbe has taken a big step backwards this year, and while I have some hopes for Spoone, I think there's not really a lot of rotation prospects for the next 2-3 years after Britton.

Last starter bullet that is. I have a feeling (hope) that Erbe's fortunes change when he's moved to the bullpen (assuming this injury isn't MAJOR). I also see Bascom, Johnson and Egan as potentially nice bullpen arms, though Bascom might even profile as a decent #4/5 starter (e.g., better than Berken).

I do agree that the next wave of starters is probably 2 years away.

[Frobby]

Last starter bullet that is. I have a feeling (hope) that Erbe's fortunes change when he's moved to the bullpen (assuming this injury isn't MAJOR). I also see Bascom, Johnson and Egan as potentially nice bullpen arms, though Bascom might even profile as a decent #4/5 starter (e.g., better than Berken).

I do agree that the next wave of starters is probably 2 years away.

Yes, starters is what I meant. We have some decent BP arms. I might add Beato to your list, and Wilfrido Perez and Luis Lebron if they are healthy. Maybe Cooney as well.

[DuffMan]

Hopefully these guys pan out well so we won't need another starter from the minors for a few years.

[Sports Guy]

Great news...I am susprised the Orioles actually made this move but it was the right move.

[RVAbird]

One thing I'll say -- it appears that Britton is the last bullet in our arsenal for a while. Erbe has taken a big step backwards this year, and while I have some hopes for Spoone, I think there's not really a lot of rotation prospects for the next 2-3 years after Britton.

This is mostly true, though I suspect you'll see Ryan Berry creep up into our top 10 list. He'll be 22 years old in Bowie next year (same age/level as Britton this year). He's got mid-rotation upside. He misses bats at a similar rate and, while not approaching Britton-esque levels, he still gets a good amount of ground balls and has better command. He's clearly on an innings limit and has an injury history, so they'll probably be cautious with him for a little while.

All of our other legit pitching prospects will be at A+ or lower, though. It will be interesting to see if Dan Klein or Dixon Anderson can make any waves in their debuts. Beal has the chance to turn into something.

It's still unclear to me whether the Orioles intend to develop Ashur Tolliver as a starter or as a reliever, but he's another college guy who gets ground balls and can miss some bats. If he stays healthy he could move quickly.

[Owatcher]

Darn! I was planning to see him in Bowie tomorrow night. I kept hoping he'd still be there by the time I could make it down to see him. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to wait until he comes north.

Anyway congratulations Zach! Good luck in Norfolk!!

[Frobby]

This is mostly true, though I suspect you'll see Ryan Berry creep up into our top 10 list. He'll be 22 years old in Bowie next year (same age/level as Britton this year). He's got mid-rotation upside. He misses bats at a similar rate and, while not approaching Britton-esque levels, he still gets a good amount of ground balls and has better command. He's clearly on an innings limit and has an injury history, so they'll probably be cautious with him for a little while.

Yes, I agree Berry could be on the radar screen if he continues to pitch well and stays healthy for the rest of 2010. However, I don't see any further promotions for him this year and he probably won't be asked to stretch his innings out until 2011. So, he's not big-league ready until mid-2012 even in an optimistic scenario IMO.

[QBsILLEST1]

One thing I'll say -- it appears that Britton is the last bullet in our arsenal for a while. Erbe has taken a big step backwards this year, and while I have some hopes for Spoone, I think there's not really a lot of rotation prospects for the next 2-3 years after Britton.

I think Berry can be a decent ML pitcher. I was definitely a skeptic after Tony saw him about a month ago, but Tony happened to catch him in a bad game. Since then and even before then, he has been pitching well, missing bats and minimizing earned runs.....At best though IMO he is a mid rotation arm if you consider his command and his strong feel for pitching.

You mentioned Spoone already, but until I see his walks come down, I am not gonna pencil him in anywhere.

Cowan WAS looking pretty good and would have possibly been on a similar pace as Berry.

IMO what we are gonna see will be some guys like Beal, Cowan(when healthy), possibly Wirsch all move at a quicker pace than 1 level per year. I say this about them because their game is more refined than the other guys. I'm expecting both Beal and Wirsch to add some more MPH to the FB and as that happens in correlation to further refinement of their other secondaries, they will quickly become too good for whatever level they were tabbed at, and we will see dominating performances hopefully. Cowan is further along than the rest of the guys but due to his inability to stay on the field, hasn't progressed a ton since being signed. He though could have probably been at Fredrick to start the year, but they are taking it easy on him because he hasn't had much injury-free playing time in the system and they don't want to rush him, so they seem to be pretty conservative with him. He was actually sporting a low 2 ERA with more than a K an inning until he came down with the sore shoulder and seemed to try to pitch with the bum arm which made his ERA shoot up a run.

Also, don't forget about Klein, Anderson and Bywater, all guys from this past draft who could move pretty quickly to varying degrees.....

[QBsILLEST1]

This is mostly true, though I suspect you'll see Ryan Berry creep up into our top 10 list. He'll be 22 years old in Bowie next year (same age/level as Britton this year). He's got mid-rotation upside. He misses bats at a similar rate and, while not approaching Britton-esque levels, he still gets a good amount of ground balls and has better command. He's clearly on an innings limit and has an injury history, so they'll probably be cautious with him for a little while.

All of our other legit pitching prospects will be at A+ or lower, though. It will be interesting to see if Dan Klein or Dixon Anderson can make any waves in their debuts. Beal has the chance to turn into something.

It's still unclear to me whether the Orioles intend to develop Ashur Tolliver as a starter or as a reliever, but he's another college guy who gets ground balls and can miss some bats. If he stays healthy he could move quickly.

Forgot about Tolliver. Judging by his K's since returning, I'd assume his stuff is atleast somewhat back to normal. I would still try to bring him through as a starter because he could move quickly, but he just cannot seem to stay healthy. Randy Henry is another one to remember. I know he didn't look to good earlier this year out of the pen, but he sure was missing a ton of bats. Its hard to determine(because so many of them went down with injuries) if some of the mediocre stats we saw from some of our recent draftees are due to pitching through injury or not. I remember seeing Seiler say that Henry actually may end up being a better pitcher than Hobgood(and this was when HObgood was still apparently able to touch 95MPH). Henry was only 1 year older than Hobgood but is now on the DL....We certainly have some ones to watch, it'll be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

[BaysoxFan39]

I agree. I was honestly hoping for this becuase he has proven he deserves it, and also this means he will be seeing Baltimore pretty surely next season at the latest. I am hoping that he was dominating as of late because of the extra use of the changeup that we heard about recently. If so, then he does need to step up to tougher competition to complete the process of refinement of the pitch. When the AA hitters are being overmatched by you, it is no longer a challenge, its time to challenge ZB again and see what that new improved changeup(and the way he is now using it) can do against tougher hitters....

On a personal note, I am going to attempt to make it out to his first game assuming it is at Harbor Park. Now Britton will be pitching just 30 minutes from where I live....SWEET!

In my opinion we moved Tillman to fast. I would hope we don't rush ZB to the majors. Player development must be looked at closely to ensure we are instructing and developing them properly. The O's do not have a good track record with prospects being successful over the last 10 years as a group.

[BaysoxFan39]

I think Berry can be a decent ML pitcher. I was definitely a skeptic after Tony saw him about a month ago, but Tony happened to catch him in a bad game. Since then and even before then, he has been pitching well, missing bats and minimizing earned runs.....At best though IMO he is a mid rotation arm if you consider his command and his strong feel for pitching.

You mentioned Spoone already, but until I see his walks come down, I am not gonna pencil him in anywhere.

Cowan WAS looking pretty good and would have possibly been on a similar pace as Berry.

IMO what we are gonna see will be some guys like Beal, Cowan(when healthy), possibly Wirsch all move at a quicker pace than 1 level per year. I say this about them because their game is more refined than the other guys. I'm expecting both Beal and Wirsch to add some more MPH to the FB and as that happens in correlation to further refinement of their other secondaries, they will quickly become too good for whatever level they were tabbed at, and we will see dominating performances hopefully. Cowan is further along than the rest of the guys but due to his inability to stay on the field, hasn't progressed a ton since being signed. He though could have probably been at Fredrick to start the year, but they are taking it easy on him because he hasn't had much injury-free playing time in the system and they don't want to rush him, so they seem to be pretty conservative with him. He was actually sporting a low 2 ERA with more than a K an inning until he came down with the sore shoulder and seemed to try to pitch with the bum arm which made his ERA shoot up a run.

Also, don't forget about Klein, Anderson and Bywater, all guys from this past draft who could move pretty quickly to varying degrees.....

What are your thoughts on Tanaka at Bowie? Where could this guy end up?

[Frobby]

Steve Melewksi has a story up about Britton's promotion, in which Melewksi says he learned of the move from Mike Miller's post here on OH. http://masnsports.com/steve_melewski/2010/06/britton-gets-the-call-to-go-to-triple-a.html

[Tony-OH]

Left-hander Zach Britton received word from Orioles director of player development John Stockstill during Monday's Baysox doubleheader that he has been promoted to Triple-A Norfolk.

He will join the Tides on Tuesday in Charlotte and make his Triple-A debut on Thursday.

EDIT:

Reaction from Britton and Baysox coaches can be found HERE

This is what I like about John. He'll move a prospect once he things he's mastered that level.

[McLovin]

This is what I like about John. He'll move a prospect once he things he's mastered that level.

He's definitely doing things a little differently. Miclat and Angle really stand out as examples.

[BowieMike]

The move will not become official until Wednesday when LHP Rick Zagone is promoted from Frederick to make the start for the Baysox.