Brian Matusz.
Who? What about Justin Smoak? What about James Beckham? Was Yonder Alonso still on the board?? These are the questions that rang out by the Oriole faithful when Andy MacPhail and company chose the lefty out of the University of San Diego.
But how does this translate to the future of the Oriole franchise? Let’s take a deeper look.
Was this the right choice? Only time will tell. This is the blueprint that MacPhail follows when he builds a team from the ground up. Trust MacPhail. His track record shows he prefers to stockpile young starting pitchers and then add the free agent slugger.
From most scouting reports Matusz is the real deal. He is projected to be a top of the rotation pitcher that will make an impact as soon as 2010. Armed with a fastball that tops out in the low to mid 90’s and a array of off-speed pitches, he does what most kids his age can not do – pitch “backwards”. Most pitchers with a hint of talent often take a few years to understand the art of pitching. They rely on their fastball, try to throw it through a brick wall and get lit up. Some of the best pitchers in baseball understand how to change speeds and use pitches other than the fastball. This should make the every day O’s fan happy.
It is a gamble when drafting future stars in major league baseball and unlike the NFL or the NBA it will take time to reap the rewards of a great draft class.
Smaok, Beckham and Alonso were very intriguing picks at the time, no question. However they hold as much promise as a 62nd round choice out of Miami-Dade Community College that was drafted as a favor. That player was one of the best hitting catchers of all time named Mike Piazza.
So what does this mean by having the current influx of young starters to the Oriole Franchise?
It means the Orioles have the luxury of not having to rush any young arms to the bigs. Was Hayden Penn ready at age 20 in 2005? No. Was Daniel Cabrera ready at age 22 in 2004? No. Now the Orioles are in position to do what they want with the young arms they have.
With the young arms that MacPhail is stockpiling, the Oriole faithful should look at the farm with great hope for the future.
Great read Bill. I don’t follow the baseball draft as closely as the NFL draft and I was wondering those exact questions.
I trust MacPhail.
I will be very interested to see how MacPhail manuvers through the trade deadline. I am not sure that he will be able to take as much time as the Bedard deal (Which looks better and better every day!).
From what I have seen and heard about Matusz, I’m not too high on him. It was a safe pick, and he will probably be an effective pitcher in the majors, but I don’t think he is a top of the rotation guy. He reminds me of Garrett Olson, with a little more polish. He’s also going to want a major league contract, so I hope he stays injury free.
Of course I wasn’t sold on Smoak either. Wish Alverez was still available at our pick.
Oh great. If Steve, a one-time reknowned college pitcher himself, is down on a guy the Orioles drafted then I’m certain he’s destined for failure.
I too was hoping Pittsburgh would be scared away by super-agent Scott Boras and let Alvarez slip to the O’s at #4. If there’s a silver lining to the Matusz pick it might be that now Baltimore can feel secure enough with it’s pitching situation throughout the organization to begin dealing some of those pitchers in trades for more established MLB-ready, Alvarez-type players.
I’m not down on him, just didn’t like him at #4. He gives us depth in the minors, and that is always a good thing. When pitchers are drafted in the top 10, to me, they have to have stuff that would potentially put them in the top 30 pitchers in the majors. I don’t see Matusz having that. His fastball sits in the low 90’s and has good offspeed stuff. Sounds like Olson, Washburn, and your other run of the mill lefties.
Now, all signs point to him being a smart pitcher, which could push him to a top of a rotation. I especially like his low walk totals. K ratio doesn’t mean much to me in college, unless it is lower than it should be, which is not a factor here.
It’s hard to be high on most draft picks, especially when they are picked top 5. They can easily set one up for disappoinment.
BUT…
With the arms that have recently been put into this system, can you imagine a staff with:
Chris Tillman (20)- Bowie (7-2, 3.04, 74 innings/ 75 K’s)
Brad Bergensen (22)- Bowie (7-2, 2.11, 73.1 innings/ 11 BB’s)
Jake Arrieta (22)- Frederick (5-3, 2.88, 84.1 innings/ 85 K’s)
Brandon Erbe (21)- Frederick
Pedro Beato (20)- Frederick
Troy Patten (22)
Not to mention…
Hayden Penn
Adam Lowen
Garrett Olson (He WILL get better)
Rad Liz
That is just the starters. How about Jim Hoey and Chris Ray?
Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards will host Matt Wieters and Tillman Sunday, July 6 from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. Autographs are free with a paid admission.
Hmmm?
So now with Adam Lowen declaring that he is not a pitcher, how does this pick look now?
Every time Lowen is seen trying to hit a breaking ball, please keep in mind that Prince Fielder could have been taking aim at the warehouse 81 games a year.