From Guthrie, Eaton, Koji, Hendrickson and Simon to Guthire, Hernandez, Bergesen, Tillman and Matusz in 4 months. Other than Tillman the other 4 rookie pitchers are home-grown. I strongly believe that the “Kiddie Korps”, barring injury, will be very effective for several years. Plus, home-grown Jake Arrieta is still to come and many scouts see him as the best of the lot. With home-grown Matt Wieters behind the plate and home-grown Nolan Reimold patrolling left field, it’s been a bumper crop for the O’s farm. When was the last time the Orioles had 5 home-grown rookies who appear to be significant players on the roster in any one year? I don’t think the O’s have developed 5 quality major leaguers in the last 25 years before this group came along. If I was Andy MacPhail, I would look to trade Guthrie for a young power hitting first baseman or 3rd baseman who can step into the line-up next year. Yes the O’s just acquired Josh Bell who could be the future 3rd baseman but he also could be used in a trade if the right deal comes along. And yes Brandon Snyder has recently started hitting Tripe A pitching to get his average up to .269 and could be at first base as early as next year. At least the O’s have chips to play with where before they had bubkas. I think Shakespeare said that in Hamlet or The Taming of the Shrew. The rookie pitchers will have plenty of ups and downs as the season progresses but the future looks bright for long suffering Orioles fans.
From Boca Raton where thunderstorms are looming this is Freddy from Boca signing off.
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