Chris Tillman

 He's #1 on the Baseball America Hot Sheet this week.

The Scoop: If the Orioles end their 10-year spiral of consecutive losing seasons (not counting this year), the Erik Bedard trade haul will go a long way toward reviving the franchise. Adam Jones and George Sherrill have helped this year's O's be better than expected, and relief righty Kam Mickolio (already in Triple-A) has shown considerable promise. But Tillman may prove to be the biggest piece.

He struck out seven in six shutout innings against Trenton in his latest start, has 28 K's (and just three walks) in 18 August innings, and is climbing the leaderboards for the entire minors despite his age and inexperience. His 9.94 strikeouts per nine innings ranks eighth among full-season pitchers; his 3.49 ERA ranks third in the Eastern League, and his 131 K's ranks third. His improved walk numbers might be the most important piece, as with 57 he's tied for third in the EL but showing clear progress.

"He's really improved, especially his curveball," said one Eastern League manager. "He's 93-94 mph with his fastball and he'll pitch at 92, and he's deceptive. Guys started looking curve against him, and he was smart and really attacked with the fastball."

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2008/266701.html

Wieters was ranked #4 on this week's list, and David Hernandez was given an honorable mention because he apparently leads the entire minor leagues in strikeouts.

Note that this isn't a true prospect ranking, it's just a ranking of performances over the last week.

However, Tillman does have a good shot at being ranked in the top 10 on next year's prospect list. He was #11 on the midseason list, and a few guys ahead of him will lose their prospect eligibility. Some 2008 draftees might be slotted ahead of him, including Brian Matusz, who would become the #2 Orioles prospect when he signs according to a Baseball America writer last week.

Could the O's really have three guys ranked in the top 10 on next year's list? Maybe I'm placing too much emphasis on the rankings, but the Orioles have had only three players rank in the top 10 in the last 20 years.

Unfortunately, those three guys (Ben McDonald, Jeffrey Hammonds, and Arthur Rhodes) don't inspire much confidence.