A Round of Sound

The Calvary

[Photo courtesy The Baltimore Sun]

The title of this post was the famous (atleast for Orioles fans) quote by O’s manager Dave Trembley during spring training this year.  He was referring to the abundance of young arms in the Orioles minor league system that are all a year or so away from making a splash in the majors to hopefully bring the Orioles out of the cellar in the AL East.  Well, as I sit here and watch the O’s/White Sox game (thank you mlb.tv) and the first of that calvary, Brad Bergesen, make his major league debut, I figure this is a perfect time for my first Orioles post on the new blog.

Brad Bergesen was the Orioles minor league pitcher of the year in 2008 after splitting time between Class High-A Fredrick and Class AA Bowie.  Before this season, the 23 year old had never pitched above AA, but in spring training he was dominant and got the attention of the O’s coaches and cemented his case to be a part of the major league rotation at some point this season.  He was sent down to AAA to start the season, but it was evident he would be the first call up if needed.  Well, when #3 starter Alfredo Simon went down with a degenerative elbow problem (that sounds bad), Bergesen was on his way…and here we are tonight.  However, heading into this season, Mr. Bergesen was thought of as just the 7th or 8th best pitching prospect in the O’s system.  Yes, the O’s minor league pitcher of 2008 isn’t really considered one of the O’s elite pitching prospects (we’ll get to that later).  His upside really isn’t more than just a #4/5 starter in the majors, with his main attribute being fantastic command.  He’s not a strikeout pitcher by any means with a fastball that sits in the low-low 90’s.  His sinker does induce loads of groundballs, but he isn’t a guy who’s going to set the world on fire.

Brad Bergesen

[Photo courtesy mlb.com]

So why am I so excited to see this guy make his debut?  Well, because this is just the beginning and it shows the depth of the O’s minor league system.  Only the Rays can boast minor league pitching of this caliber, and I honestly think the O’s have passed them now with the progression of guys like Bergesen.  Any Orioles fan (and soon to be any baseball fan) knows that the “calvary” Dave Trembley was really eluding to is what is known as the Big 3 in the form of Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta, and Brian Matusz.  These guys are 3 of the top 20 pitching prospects in all of baseball…and they’re all in the O’s system.  At this point they’re spread throughout the O’s system really in reverse order of how ready they are for the majors. Tillman, aquired from the Mariners in the Bedard trade, is only 21 years old in AAA but dominated AA last year as a 19/20 year old.  His command is holding him back now, but hey, he’s only 21. Jake Arrietta split his time last year between Fredrick and the Olympic team and Dave Trembley actually thinks he’ll be the best of the 3.  At 23 years old, he could easily see the majors later this summer.  And finally down at Class High-A Fredrick right now is last year’s first round draft pick (and best pitcher taken in the draft) Brian Matusz.  The most polished of the 3, Matusz could easily hold his own in the majors right now.  He already has four major league ready pitches, and has drawn comparisons to Cole Hamels.  He should move up very fast through the system, but I think it’s more likely we’ll see him next year at the earliest.

So as Brad Bergesen makes his debut tonight and you maybe hear a blurb or two about how impressive an O’s youngster was in his first game (5 2/3 Innings, 1ER), keep in mind this is just the beginning.  Bergesen’s game tonight signifies something O’s fans haven’t had for a while…hope.  So yes, the calvary is well on its way to Camden Yards, and it’s about time.

(ps. Even though he’s not a pitcher, I guess it’d be okay to mention this guy as part of the calvary.  You didn’t expect me to go an entire Orioles post without mentioning Matt Wieters right?)