Britton warming up....

[BowieMike]

Zach told me over the phone today that, as of now, he'll be inserted into the last slot in Norfolk's rotation once the second half begins. That means he's not scheduled to start again until next Monday.

"They have some things they want to see play out," Britton said. "They told me just be ready to throw in that last slot, enjoy the Futures Game and we’ll see what happens."

I'll have a brief story on Zach's trip to Anaheim on the front page later today.

[stef]

Zach told me over the phone today that, as of now, he'll be inserted into the last slot in Norfolk's rotation once the second half begins. That means he's not scheduled to start again until next Monday.

"They have some things they want to see play out," Britton said. "They told me just be ready to throw in that last slot, enjoy the Futures Game and we’ll see what happens."

I'll have a brief story on Zach's trip to Anaheim on the front page later today.

Well, that's intriguing. Maybe a trade? I'm probably reading too much into it.

[McLovin]

Yeah, what the heck could that mean? Hang on for the ride!

[Birds08]

Man I really really am against trading Britton. Praying we don't make that mistake. Hopefully they are trying to trade Guts, and may need to bring Britton up.

[Tony-OH]

They are not trading Britton. He's probably referring to a possible promotion to Baltimore if anything. Right now he's going to pitch in Norfolk, but I'd be willing to bet my house that he won't be traded in the next year or so.

[Sports Guy]

Well, that's intriguing. Maybe a trade? I'm probably reading too much into it.

Yeah, what the heck could that mean? Hang on for the ride!

1) How does Tillman look?

2) What if Millwood's status?

3) Is Guthrie dealt?

They may feel that by Monday, some things will be in motion and that Britton needs to come up to Baltimore.

[Birds08]

Tony, if we brought him up in the next week, would you consider that rushing him?

[QBsILLEST1]

Tony, if we brought him up in the next week, would you consider that rushing him?

I would(not Tony of course). But, at the same time, I am not seeing ZB pitch live in Norfolk so I dunno. He seems 100% ready based off of scouting reports and watching him pitch, but at the same time, I could also see reason to keep him in AAA to continue his development. But, this comes back to the age old question, are the things he is working on able to be worked on at the ML level? He of course is working on refining all aspects of his game, but most importantly, he is working on the changeup itself, using it more often in hitters counts(which goes to his pitchability) and his overall command which all has improved over the last year. I'd say these are things he can work on at the ML level, but I'd like to see another good start in AAA first......

[wickedwitch]

Tony, if we brought him up in the next week, would you consider that rushing him?

I would. I think he'd be fine in the end, but he hasn't dominated or had sustained of success in AAA yet.

[Tony-OH]

Tony, if we brought him up in the next week, would you consider that rushing him?

My preference is to give him the rest of July in AAA and if his change up is looking good go ahead and give him his August starts in Baltimore.

Whether he's "rushed" or not is a judgment call, but if his change up is an average pitch that he's willing to use then he's ready for the big leagues.

[Frobby]

My preference is to give him the rest of July in AAA and if his change up is looking good go ahead and give him his August starts in Baltimore.

Whether he's "rushed" or not is a judgment call, but if his change up is an average pitch that he's willing to use then he's ready for the big leagues.

So you don't care about the service time ramifications? I'm more inclined to leave Britton in AAA for this year and the first few weeks next year, to gain the extra year. However, I wouldn't drag him all the way into next June to avoid Super-2 status unless we had 5 healthy guys doing a good job in the rotation.

[Crazysilver03]

So you don't care about the service time ramifications? I'm more inclined to leave Britton in AAA for this year and the first few weeks next year, to gain the extra year. However, I wouldn't drag him all the way into next June to avoid Super-2 status unless we had 5 healthy guys doing a good job in the rotation.

With pitching being the only thing we are good at developing, I would bring up Britton this season and be prepared to have him replaced in 6 years if necessary. The extra year stuff, especially with a pitcher, seems to be gaining too much momentum around here.

[wickedwitch]

It may not even be an issue. If we keep Guthrie or Millwood, and Bergy, Tillman, Matusz, and Arrieta are all pitching fairly well, there won't be a spot for him. And I highly doubt that AM will promote him unless they need another pitcher even if he was completely dominating.

[Frobby]

With pitching being the only thing we are good at developing, I would bring up Britton this season and be prepared to have him replaced in 6 years if necessary. The extra year stuff, especially with a pitcher, seems to be gaining too much momentum around here.

It would be nice if we had a good team, in which case I wouldn't be concerned about service time at all. But so long as we are obvious non-contenders, I just see no reason not to get an extra year out of these guys. You never know which of these guys is going to turn out to be the solid major league starter who will command a $10mm+ salary the minute he's eligible for free agency.

[QBsILLEST1]

It may not even be an issue. If we keep Guthrie or Millwood, and Bergy, Tillman, Matusz, and Arrieta are all pitching fairly well, there won't be a spot for him. And I highly doubt that AM will promote him unless they need another pitcher even if he was completely dominating.

I absolutely hate this thought process, but its true. I mean what do you do? You have Millwood who is on the hook for what $9M? You can't just move him to the pen or keep him on the DL unless he is legitimately hurt, which I don't think he is. It is gonna be hard enough to find space for Tillman who needs to be at the ML level.

One thing we could possibly do is expand to a 6 man rotation for a little while to help keep some of the IP down for the youngsters, otherwise Matusz, Tillman, Arrieta and Britton are gonna all be shut down with another month to go in the season and then we will REALLY compete for the #1 overall pick....