The final chapter in our positional review of Oriole prospects focuses on Oriole prospects who play the outfield.

The good:

Glynn Davis: Apropos of nothing, 11 months after the Orioles acquired Glenn Davis and on the 50th anniversary of D Day, Glynn Davis was born. The just turned 20 year old was signed by the Orioles rather stealthily by 2011 Oriole scout of the year, Dean Albany as he felt that Davis likely would have been picked highly in the following draft. And in 2011, you caught a glimpse of why. In his age 19 season, across 3 levels mostly at Aberdeen, the speedy 6' 3" righthander put up the following line: 284/351/362/713. He stole 24 bases in 69 games against 10 CS. He walked 29 times in 317 plate appearances. At 6'3" 170 lbs, you figure he has room to grow and hopefully some power can follow. No word on his defense, though the web is alive with praise about his speed.

More below the jump!

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It would appear, at this moment, that the stewardship of Dan Duquette means the era of high priced relievers is over. The Orioles found interesting bullpen options last season by exploiting the waiver wire (Pedro Strop, Zach Philips) and tapping internal resources (Troy Patton). Duquette has talked about maximizing resources and building depth and it is not news to readers of this site or even casual followers of the team that the bullpen has been huge money pit for the Orioles in the last decade. Is the Duq just sewing his wild oats, or can we envision a cheap, effective bullpen in a world post-Gregg? Who shall answer the call of the Duq in this mythical realm?

(For the purpose of this review, I'm excluding pitchers that have already made their major league debut)

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MuchO GustO now turns to the starters!

The Good:

Dylan Bundy: well, given the amount of money he signed for, here's hoping he's really good. He didn't pitch professionally this year, and I think his FIP was below zero in Oklahoma.

Bobby Bundy: I was a little perplexed as to why there is not more buzz for him, but I think the primary reasons are in the peripherals. In Frederick, the 21 year old right hander had a 2.75 ERA in 121 innings. However, his FIP was 3.45 and his K/9 ratios weren't that impressive compared to the rest of the Carolina League (7.4 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 respectively). Even still, he came in as a top 10 prospect according to some (FanGraphs), and certainly didn't regress. MiLB interview with him, which was pretty interesting as he talks about his plan of pitching to contact in hopes of going deeper into games.

Oliver Drake: Another nice story for the Keys was Oliver Drake, a name that might ring a bell due to his recent addition to the 40-man roster. The 24 year old right hander got himself on the radar by putting up some strong numbers in the Carolina League, posting a 2.14 ERA (2.39 FIP) with the secret of his success being an impressive 1.7 BB/9 in 96.2 innings with 7.4 K/9. He struggled in Bowie a bit, as his walk rate doubled and his FIP ballooned to 4.89 in 64 innings. Our friends over at Oriole Nation indicate that he is a fastball/slider guy and his chances remaining as a starter hinge on his ability to develop an effective changeup.

Parker Bridwell: Bridwell is 6'4" 190 lb righty. As a 19 year old in Aberdeen, he posted a 3.17 FIP with 9.6 K/9 and a 3.7 BB/9 in 53.2 innings. His K/9 in the NY Penn League was solid, especially for a 19 year old. In that league, using a threshold of 50 innings (for a short season league), he was 4th in K/9 and is younger than the 3 in front of him. He struggled a bit in Delmarva. He started and finished the season in Salisbury and while his ERA was Matusz-esque (7.06), it's worth noting that his FIP was a not terribly discouraging 4.27. He should return to Delmarva in 2012, but I am pretty encouraged by the Texan. Here is an MiLB interview. "Trees and green stuff," I hope duck will appreciate this.

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MuchO GustO now shifts to the middle infield! The Orioles are set for 3 years with JJ Hardy at short, but questions remain at second. Robert Andino provides depth at second in 2012. Giving Matt Antonelli a spot on the 40 man says a lot about Brian Roberts' recovery, but let's turn our attention to the kids on the farm. Who else can help?

The good:

Manny Machado: Machado is our wunderkind. Coming into 2011, Machado was the 14th best prospect after being picked 3rd overall in the 2010 draft. Machado was a world beater in the SALLY, right up there with Jurickson Profar as far as one of the best SS prospects in the game. He obliterated Salisbury with an 859 OPS before being promoted to Frederick where he performed as much as you could expect an 18 year old could do, posting an 692 OPS. While that certainly isn't Harper-esque, it is worth noting that he was doing this against competition 3 or 4 years older than him. Defensively reports were that he has the instincts of a middle infielder, though there is some question if he will get moved to third base. He will likely see Bowie in 2012, but it is an open question as to when that will be. It is pretty clear that Machado is Hardy's heir apparent, and hopefully Hardy's deal with diminish any pressure to fast track Machado.

Jonathan Schoop: Machado was promoted along with Jonathan Schoop who will likely appear on BA's top 100 this spring. The Curacao native broke out in Salisbury this year with an OPS of 890 before being moved to Frederick as well, where he OPSed 704 as a 19 year old. He doesn't receive the glowing defensive reviews that Machado receives, and it looks like he will be given the second base job in Frederick to being 2012 along side Machado. It will be interesting to see where his power is in the Carolina next year, but you have to feel good about his 2011 season. What I don't understand about Schoop is the position issue. He was given most of his starts at second this year in Frederick. If the organization thinks he can play third, does it make more sense to play him at third, or keep him at second until he proves he can't play there?

Ryan Adams: The 24 y/o can hit the ball. He built on his 2010 OPS at Bowie of 829 with an arguably more impressive OPS of 794 in Norfolk. Harbor Park is more of a pitcher's park, so the downturn in OPS should not be overblown. The real question with Adams is whether he can play the position effectively defensively. I think he provides enough bat to warrant a chance as a solid contributor in 2012, but there is no use in him riding the pine. He seems like a Todd Walker type to me, so hopefully his bat can hold up in the majors enough to overcome potential shortcomings with the glove.

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I had previously taken a look at catchers in the organization at the beginning of the season and thought I'd update sort of based on the information I've gathered in the course of writing these semi-regular posting the last few months. I'm categorizing by guys that are relatively close to the majors and guys that still have some developing to do and I'm limiting my review to guys that were drafted or signed originally by the O's.

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MuchO GustO now shifts to a potentially irregular look at groups of positions.  First up is the corner infielders.  On the major league level, there seems to be opportunities.  Should the incumbents be looking over their shoulders?

The good: ....

The bad:

Brandon Snyder: The 24 year old had nothing short of a disaster in 2011: 261/312/406/718 with 91 strikeouts in 448 at bats walking 32 times.

24 year old Josh Bell brought some power to AAA in 2011, but posted the following slash line: 253/320/438/758.  He struck out a whopping 118 times in 395 at bats, walking 40 times.  His BABIP was 311 and his OPS+ dropped from last year's mark of 116 to 107.  Between the strikeouts and his unsuccessful major league trials, I'm not sure he would get claimed if taken off the 40 man.

The meh is below the jump, with some fine young gentlemen!

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The Dominican Summer League Orioles were front runners most of the season, finishing the regular season 46-24, and losing in the LCS equivalent.  Looking at the numbers in the DSL is a fools errand, as these kids are on average 18 years old, but I guess we will do it anyway.  I took the approach of looking at age versus competition and comparing those numbers to league average figures.  The average OPS in the DSL is 661 (so too was the Orioles average OPS), and the average ERA was 3.59 (the Orioles fielded a 3.38).  The average team committed 125 errors in 70 games (Orioles committed 117 in 70 games).

The good:

Alexander Mercedes: The 19 year old right handed 6'0" 160 lb second baseman OPSed 827 in his second DSL season (repeating the DSL is fairly common from what I can tell).  His slash line was: 317/405/422 in 236 plate appearances, drawing 26 walks versus 18 strikeouts.  He definitely seems ready for the GCL, though he did commit 18 errors.

Oswill Lartiguez: The 18 y/o Venezuelan right handed OF is 6'1" 179.  He posted the following slash line in his second DSL campaign: 261/377/327/704, drawing 30 walks with 40 strikeouts in 241 plate appearances. 

Hector Veloz: the 17 y/o bonus baby did ok in his first season of professional ball, posting a 225/344/322/666 slash line, with 37 walks and 62 strikeouts in 275 plate appearances.  Obviously the strikeouts are a concern, as are the 21 errors, but he was younger than his competition and one imagines there was quite a bit of pressure on him given his lofty signing bonus.

Janser Severino: the 19 y/o Dominican RH pitcher posted a 77/28 K/BB in 77.1 innings this year with a 1.047 WHIP.  He is listed at 6' 2" 140, so one would presume he has room to grow.

Jhondaniel Medina: the 18 y/o RH Venezuelan opened some eyes (at least mine) by striking out 60 and walking 34 in 65.2 innings.  He is listed at 5' 11" 158 lbs.  He posted a strong 2010 campaign as well, so I'm assuming he is headed to the GCL next year.   

The bad and the meh:   I am electing to pass on these categories as I don't know enough about these kids!  And I'm a pretty negative person, so I'm kind of disappointed in myself for passing on this opportunity.

Baseball-Reference DSL Orioles page

Much was made of the offseason decision to shutter the O's Appy League operations at Bluefield and it was thought that Aberdeen and the GCL squad would suffer as a result. I don't know that that's necessarily the case, but what I DO know, is that some previously unheralded international talents made their presence felt at the GCL in 2011. The GCL O's finished first in their division with a 38-22 record and finished with the second best wining percentage in the GCL with a .633.

With an average age of 20.3, the O's were on the older side of the league in 2011. They were near the top in doubles and triples, neart the bottom in pretty much everything else offensively. Their staff had the best ERA, WHIP and Ks and was within a couple home runs of allowing the fewest.

Take a look at the entire staff. I'm not really doing them justice below, but Jaime Esquivel, Mark Blackmar, Matt Bywater, Miguel Chalas and Juan Guzman are also worth tracking.

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