pittbaster

OK, I've been sitting on this information for a while because I didn't have a good block of time to sit and type. I present to you the AA Bowie Baysox annotated roster. I know, I know, we all want to see the Keys because that's probably the more exciting team to read about. They're coming. I have most of that one ready too. Remember, the key is as follows: New faces for the rebuild, old faces who are part of the rebuild, new faces to fill holes, and holdovers. Still a lot of gray area players, as well (they get multiple formats). The Baysox may be the least exciting of these previews, because they don't have the exciting players that we know who are just about ready to come up, nor do they have the exciting fresh faces that are a level down. There are definitely some bright spots, though.

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Catchers:

Ben Davis This guy has been around all over the place, majors and minors. Not realistically going to contribute to any sort of rebuild.
Zach Dillon He was part of that Frederick championship team, batting .275; ok for the C position. Could get on the radar with repeat success at this level.

Infielders:

Blake Davis Not really a star, but he has an advantage because he plays SS, where the organization is sorely lacking in depth.
Ryan Finan Flirted with greatness (for A-ball) at times with Frederick, contributing 64 RBI and 35 extra-base hits to their title run. Another guy who may benefit from the organization being shallow at his position.
Jeff Nettles He may have been picked up in hopes that he'd finally break out. I remember thinking he looked good years ago, but now I think he's a washout. Could be another Tike Redman type, coming back from independent leagues to moderate success.
Carlos Rojas Not sure what the deal is with him; he's listed as "utility" on AA Roster, which probably says something negative. He has shown improvement each year of his short career, though.
Jonathan Tucker This gentleman is a bit of an enigma. He got promoted to Frederick after a torrid August '06 with Delmarva. Then with Frederick in '07 he batted .160, but walked 62 times and scored 67 runs, which somehow got him bumped to AA.

Outfielders:

Kennard Jones Had a decent season for Frederick, and has good speed. Seems to fit the Cory Patterson MO. Been around too long for me to expect too much of him.
Lou Montanez Swung a pretty competent bat between Bowie and Norfolk. A bit of a washout at 8 years in the minors, though.
Nolan Reimold I hope to see him move up soon. He KILLS left handed pitching, slugging .818 against lefties in limited time lat year (oblique). His name has been tossed around a lot the last couple years.
Mike Rodriguez IMHO a longshot to make any kind of move. He's consistently batted in the .270s in his pro career, which is OK, but has showed no improvement really.

Pitchers:

Jason Berken He struck out a ton of batters last year, but all it got him was 9-9, 4.53. Not one of the brighter faces in a pitching-heavy organization.
Gerardo Casadiego Could make some appearance at the ML level in the 'pen, has done reasonably well as a reliever. Nothing to write home about, though.
David Hernandez Ditto the Jason Berken Entry. This guy struck out more batters to a higher ERA and worse record.
Ryan Keefer Has some upside as a reliever but was held down by injuries the last two seasons.
Rommie Lewis? Returned from injury to perform very well in 2006, only to have his numbers decline significantly in 2007. Don't know what to make of him.
Julio Manon Despite his limited succes with the Orioles, I like his chances to make it back. 33 SO in 22.1 IP last year...wow!
Kam Mickolio Ahhhh the Erik Bedard trade. 'nuff said.
Jim Miller Sort of lost in the mix of relief pitchers here. Not all bad though.
Felix Romero This team is just full of pitchers who can strike guys out and still not succeed. this one's a reliever.
Chorye Spoone Very highly regarded. He, along with Mickolio and Tillman, are a sort of pitching triumvirate down here. Which one's Pompey?
Chris Tillman I have learned from doing these reports just how amazing that Erik Bedard trade was.
Chris Waters Bit of a minor league washout. 8 seasons without much to show.

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Well, this roster doesn't have as much to show for it as Norfolk, but like the whole Orioles organization it's stacked with pitchers. Nolan Reimold is the only position player who I think has a real shot at major league success, but there are some other intrigung guys, and they should make for a decent AA squad. Exacerbating our lack of infield depth are injuries to Paco Figueroa and Michael Garciaparra (out for a week for each vowel in their names?) As said above, I love Mickolio, Tillman, and Spoone all pitching for the same squad. I think this team's brightest spot is relief pitching. I envision Spoone taking that role (just a hunch) eventually, and Mickolio, Manon, and Casadiego are already looking good out of the 'pen.