It's starting to come together, Pepper. It's starting to come together. For the Orioles, that is.
You can build your farm system to be as strong and deep as you want, but if you cannot get the guys to arrive in one big clump, you probably will not win. The Orioles could be on the verge of a Rays-like rise for 2010 and beyond.
Right fielder Nick Markakis, center fielder Adam Jones, catcher Matt Wieters and left fielder Nolan Reimold look like they can be championship-contending pieces in the lineup. With veteran Brian Roberts setting it all up, the Orioles can score runs. Now, if they could just pitch.
They will, eventually, thanks to the likes of Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta (airy-et-uh), Troy Patton and Brian Matusz (Mat-uhz). Perhaps only the Red Sox (Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden and Junichi Tazawa) or the Giants (with Madison Bumgarner and Timothy Alderson) can boast a comparable set of potentially elite arms.
You can never be sure which ones wind up front-line starters, the closer or merely staff depth, but we are pretty sure at least one of the O's quartet will be big time for Fantasy owners, perhaps even two of them. With Brad Bergesen already proving capable and Chris Ray working his way back from Tommy John surgery, the Orioles have young depth to fall back on as well. David Hernandez and Jason Berken might not be slouches either.
The O's front-liners are making a collective move right now, albeit a little too slowly to help us in Fantasy leagues immediately.
Tillman is our pick to make the biggest Fantasy impact this year, despite being the youngest at 21 years of age. Had he not had an unfortunately timed leg injury at the end of May, he might have arrived in Baltimore already. He is the lone one of this quartet to not have made a level jump this June.
He is healthy now and building an impressive Triple-A resume, making him a candidate to arrive any time now. At 5-3 with a 2.33 ERA and .232 batting-average against in 54 innings (11 starts), he certainly seems to be ready. Armed with a fastball that has hit triple digits, he's struck out 63 batters and walked just 16. You can't take him deep either: He has given up just three homers.
Tillman is our No. 1 O's prospect, but many might prefer the 2008 first-round pick Matusz. He recently moved to Double-A, striking out 10 in six shutout innings in his debut there. That was after he went an unchallenged 4-2 with a 2.16 ERA and .225 BAA in 66 2/3 high Class A innings (11 starts). He struck out 75 and walked 21.
That is not a bad way to start your pro career.
Then we have Arrieta third, another one who could easily be a No. 1 in many other organizations. The 23-year-old TCU product went 6-3 with a 2.59 ERA, .208 BAA with 70 strikeouts to 23 walks in 59 Double-A innings (11 starts), before joining Tillman in Triple-A. He allowed just two hits and one run in six innings in his first start there.
Patton, a key piece in the Miguel Tejada trade, is coming off shoulder surgery and the oldest of the group. He will turn 24 later this year. Too good for Double-A as well -- going 6-2 with a 1.99 ERA, .211 BAA in 63 1/3 innings (11 starts) -- he proved human in his Triple-A debut Monday. The important news here is he is pitching healthy and moving closer to a major league return.
All four of these guys are good enough to make a rotation of Jeremy Guthrie, Koji Uehara, Bergesen, Rich J. Hill and Berken look like child's play. We don't see all four being in the Orioles rotation by the end of the season, or even next spring, but one or two of them will be.
A's GM Billy Beane likes strength in numbers with pitching. In the O's case: One will hit, one will disappoint and one will get hurt (take your pick on any one). The fourth one is the wild card the O's hope can also hit.
With a little experience and luck, the Orioles could be building a modern-day Braves dynasty.
Prospect watch
Every Thursday, we break down all the minor leaguers who are owned in at least 1 percent of our Fantasy leagues. This will be your essential guide to unearthing the elite prospects before they hit the big time.
Rookie watch
Top AL rookies to date
- Rick Porcello, SP, DET -- Early 20s right-hander leads all rookies with seven victories.
- Nolan Reimold, OF, BAL -- Despite delayed arrival, he leads rookies with seven homers.
- Andrew Bailey, RP, OAK -- It is rare rookies are trusted in the closer's role; he deserves trust.
- Brett Gardner, OF, NYY -- Time-share center fielder leads all rookies with 14 steals.
- Josh Outman, SP, OAK -- He has overshadowed the A's more elite pitching prospects.
- Honorable mentions: David Price, SP, TB; Matt Wieters, C, BAL; Brad Bergesen, SP, BAL; Clayton Richard, SP, CHW; Scott Richmond, SP, TOR; Ricky Romero, SP, TOR; Trevor Cahill, SP, OAK; Elvis Andrus, SS, TEX; Vin Mazzaro, SP, OAK; Jeff Niemann, SP, TB; Matt Palmer, SP, LAA; Koji Uehara, SP, BAL; Ryan Perry, RP, DET; Daniel Bard, RP, BOS; Alfredo Aceves, RP, NYY; Phil Coke, RP, NYY; Michel Hernandez, C, TB and Jose Morales, C, MIN.
Top NL rookies to date
- Colby Rasmus, OF, STL -- His power is a bit surprising, considering his poor 2008 in Triple-A.
- J.A. Happ, SP, PHI -- At 4-0 with a 3.53 ERA, he has been one of the Phillies' saving graces.
- Andrew McCutchen, OF, PIT -- He really hit the ground running, helping Pirates fans forget Nate McLouth.
- Sean West, SP, FLA -- He has solidified himself as a major league starter and a nice Fantasy sleeper.
- Tommy Hanson, SP, ATL -- This is Triple-A achievement award. He will eventually dominate this level, too.
- Honorable mentions: Dexter Fowler, OF, COL; Chris Coghlan, 2B, FLA; Robinzon Diaz, C, PIT; Micah Hoffpauir, 1B, CHC; Jason Jaramillo, C, PIT; Casey McGehee, 2B, MIL; Gerardo Parra, OF, ARI; and Omir Santos, C, NYM.
You can e-mail Emack your Fantasy Baseball prospect questions to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Prospects in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we cannot guarantee personal responses to all questions.
