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National Pastime
AFL Orioles - Season Review
The eight Orioles prospects that suited up for Phoenix benefited from the experience and, in most cases, made a good impression.
AFL Orioles - Week 6
The Arizona Fall League season came to an end Saturday, and so did the Phoenix Desert Dogs' run of five straight championships.
AFL Orioles - Week 5
Phoenix began the week with three Orioles prospects named Brandon but ended it with none.
AFL Orioles - Week 4
Brandon Snyder's outstanding AFL campaign continued as he reached base in more than half his plate appearances.
AFL Orioles - Week 3
The previously red-hot bats of Josh Bell and Brandon Snyder cooled significantly this week, but all four O's pitchers were impressive.
AFL Orioles - Week 2
Orioles fans who happen to peruse the Arizona Fall League statistical leaderboards will notice some familiar names.
AFL Orioles - Week 1
Eight Orioles prospects are looking to sharpen their skills in this year's Arizona Fall League, which kicked off on Oct. 13.
Orioles prospects set for AFL action
The Orioles assigned eight players to the Arizona Fall League, and in each case, there was a specific purpose for doing so.
2010 Prospect Preview
The next reinforcements in the national pastime's youth movement have designs on infiltrating big league rosters in 2010.
Welcome to the show, Madison Bumgarner
Tim Lincecum couldn't make his start for the Giants on Tuesday. Fortunately, they had another freak on speed-dial.
Norris knows there's still work ahead
Washington Nationals minor leaguer Derek Norris was flattered when he learned last week that South Atlantic League managers, general managers, sportswriters and broadcasters had selected him as the Most Outstanding Major League Prospect in the 16-team circuit, but the 20-year-old catcher kept it all in perspective. "It's always nice to get an award for something you've worked hard for, but I'm still in low A-ball. I still haven't really proven a whole lot yet," Norris said.
Prospect Q&A - Josh Bell, Orioles
It appears the deadline deal that cost the Orioles their All-Star closer may very well have yielded their third baseman of the future. Josh Bell was four months into his best pro season to date when the Los Angeles Dodgers shipped him to Baltimore along with minor league righty Steven Johnson for George Sherrill on July 30, and the 22-year-old has carried the momentum with him to his new organization. Bell, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound switch-hitter, has slugged five home runs in his first 27 games for the Double-A Bowie.
September 2009 Orioles Prospect Rankings
Top prospect Brian Matusz made an earlier-than-expected arrival in Baltimore in August and picked up his first three big-league victories. Down on the farm, the returns from the George Sherrill trade - third baseman Josh Bell and right-hander Steven Johnson - impressed for Bowie while Matt Hobgood began to flash the form that prompted the Orioles to select him with the fifth overall pick in June. Fellow draftees including second-rounder Mychal Givens and late-round bonus babies Cameron Coffey and Michael Ohlman agreed to terms, adding depth to an already impressive farm system.
Prospect Q&A - Mike Montgomery, Royals
Royals prospect Mike Montgomery became the advanced Class A Carolina League's second-youngest pitcher upon his promotion last month, and the 20-year-old southpaw has wasted little time in establishing himself as one of its best. Montgomery has allowed just eight earned runs total in his first five starts for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, averaging nearly a strikeout per inning and limiting opposing hitters to a .208 batting average in the process. The Royals knew Montgomery was advanced for high school hurler when they made him the 36th overall pick in 2008, but he has exceeded even their wildest expectations by posting a 2.11 ERA in his first 128 pro innings.
The benefits of signing early
With the midnight Monday signing deadline rapidly approaching, Stephen Strasburg - the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft - has yet to agree to terms with the Nationals. The much-hyped San Diego State right-hander has spent his summer crunching numbers with superagent Scott Boras while the Nats' second first-rounder, Stanford closer Drew Storen, has breezed through the lower levels of the minors. Storen entered the draft with much less fanfare than Strasburg but has a great shot of becoming the first member of his draft class to reach the bigs, possibly as soon as September.
Prospect Q&A - Mike Minor, Braves
Mike Minor posted an absurd 0.08 ERA as a senior at Forrest High School in Chapel Hill, Tenn., and made the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team in 2007 after spurning the Rays - who had selected him in the 13th round of the 2006 draft - to honor his commitment to Vanderbilt. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound southpaw followed that up by leading the Commodores in wins and strikeouts as a sophomore in 2008 and established himself as a truly elite prospect that summer by going 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA and defeating vaunted Cuba twice as the ace of the undefeated 24-0 USA National Team that included eventual 2009 No. 1 overall pick Stephen Strasburg.
Prospect Q&A - Eric Hosmer, Royals
Most organizations take a cautious approach with their prized prospects and move them slowly up the minor league ladder while putting them in positions in which they're likely to succeed as they develop. The Royals, on the other hand, recently made 19-year-old first baseman Eric Hosmer the youngest player in the advanced Class A Carolina League in spite of the fact that he hadn't exactly been tearing it up in Class A. Hosmer - the third pick in the '08 draft - is off to a slow start for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, but team officials are confident he'll rise to the challenge and benefit from it in the long run.
Welcome to the show, Brian Matusz
Baltimore Orioles fans waited months for the much-hyped arrival of catcher Matt Wieters, and the back end of the rotation's struggles made the wait for right-hander Chris Tillman's debut seem a lot longer than it actually was. Brian Matusz's impending promotion, on the other hand, is an unexpected and much appreciated surprise. O's fans were well aware of the highly touted southpaw's dominance of Double-A hitters, but Andy MacPhail & Co. had stated all along that he would finish up his first full professional season in the minors and then be sent home. Instead, all indications are that Matusz will start in place of the injured Brad Bergesen on Tuesday night in Detroit.
August 2009 Orioles Prospect Rankings
The Baltimore Orioles' youth movement continued in July as 21-year-old right-hander Chris Tillman joined rookies Matt Wieters, Nolan Reimold, Brad Bergesen, David Hernandez and Jason Berken on the big league roster. Down on the farm, lefty Brian Matusz continued to overwhelm Eastern League hitters and Brandon Erbe returned to the Bowie rotation after completing his rehabilitation from shoulder fatigue. The trade of closer George Sherrill to the Los Angeles Dodgers brought two more promising young players into the fold in third baseman Josh Bell and righty Steven Johnson, son of broadcaster and former O's pitcher Dave Johnson.
Prospect Q&A - Madison Bumgarner, Giants
No minor league pitcher in recent memory has overwhelmed the competition quite like Madison Bumgarner. After selecting Bumgarner with the 10th overall pick in the 2007 draft out of a small North Carolina high school, San Francisco Giants officials simply hoped he would hold his own, learn and make progress last year in his pro debut; instead, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound southpaw went 15-3 with a 1.46 ERA and 164-to-21 K-to-walk ratio in leading the Augusta GreenJackets to the Class A South Atlantic League title. In his encore performance, Bumgarner - who turns 20 on Aug. 1 - has continued his rapid climb up the Giants' organizational ladder while staking his claim as the top pitching prospect in baseball.
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