Found this today. The Arizona Fall League will certainly be of interest to Orioles fans. Although we don't know which pitchers will be there yet, I'm sure we will know that sooner rather than later. When it comes to the position players, I have a few thoughts. Matt Wieters, Nolan Reimold, Blake Davis and Brandon Snyder will certainly be worth watching this fall and first off, the good news is that the Orioles guys have the benefit of the doubt when it comes to playing time because Norfolk Tides Manager Gary Allenson will manage the team that features the Orioles players. So the guys should all get a chance to play.
For the most well-known name on the list, I'm not sure that's really a good thing. Matt Wieters has dominated the minors this season. He will most likely be the highest rated positional prospect in the game, and has a shot at being the number one overall prospect in baseball (although that destinction is likely to go to Tampa's LHP David Price.) Anyways, it really makes no sense to me to send Wieters to the AFL. There really should have been two options for Wieters after the minor league season (and hopefully an Eastern League Championship at Bowie) come to an end.
Option One, you call him up on September 1st and let him get the majority of starts the rest of the major league season. It gives him a chance to catch major league pitchers (yes, I realize that might be a stretch at this point.), and a chance to get some at-bats against some real quality pitching. It would give the organization a look at him to see if they think he can be their Opening Day starting catcher in 2009.
Option Two is what I would have chosen. After the AA playoffs, you tell him he has had a fantastic first professional season, and you tell him that we'll see him in February for Spring Training. Give him the fall and winter off. This guy just played more games and caught more innings than he has in his whole life, I don't see the need to have him play more in the AFL, which is basically the same quality of ball as AA, which he has been in the process of destroying.
Andy MacPhail has said they want to give Wieters more time working with quality pitching, which is the reason he'll head to the AFL. Seems to me if they wanted him to do that, he could do it in the majors for a month (insert Orioles rotation quality joke here.) Anyways, hopefully Matt does what he did all year at Bowie in the AFL, and we are probably looking at the Opening Day catcher in 2009.
I am also not sure about Nolan Reimold going to the AFL. It will be his third trip there, and wondering what else he needs to prove. When Reimold has been healthy, he has always hit. I was hoping he'd get a shot in the majors this year, but there is certainly a bit of a logjam in the outfield now, especially with the way Lou Montanez has hit the ball so far. I'm not worried about Reimold's numbers in the AFL, just hoping he stays healthy.
Glad to see Blake Davis as one of the guys on the list. For how desperate this organization is for shortstops, it'd be nice to see if we have something in Davis. Hopefully he gets a lot of playing time at short, as I would expect him to be the starting shortstop in Norfolk next season.
Out of all of our guys in the league, I'm absolutely the most excited about Brandon Snyder being there. Snyder has been on a tear as of late, and has really been crushing the ball, hitting over .400 in August. The O's first round pick back in '05 was written off by a lot of people after his injury plagued '06 season and his move from catcher to first base. However, this kid is still a legit prospect. I'd expect him to play mostly first and DH (as he did at Frederick this season) but I'd love for him (and the Orioles) to think about a position switch.
There is a lot of talk about him possibly moving to third base next year, and it really makes a lot of sense for him to work on it during the off-season. Mike Constanzo and Scott Moore have been disappointg at Norfolk this season, and there really isn't anyone at Bowie worth talking about there. Bill Rowell (who people need to remember is only 19) is almost certainly going to be repeating as the third baseman at Frederick next season. That should leave a nice big hole at third base for Bowie next season, and one that I hope Snyder can fill.
He went to high school in my area, and I saw him play plenty of times when we were younger. He played a lot of shortstop, and was always smooth there (albeit we are talking about high school). There's no doubt he probably can't handle a middle infield position, but I would find it hard to believe he didn't have the footwork, arm strength, and overall ability to play third base.
As far as the pitchers are concerned, there are a ton of candidates to go for the Orioles. I'd absolutely expect Brian Matusz to be one, following in the same path as Jake Arrieta last year. Another who I think you'll see (if he is healthy, which I guess is a big if) would be Chorye Spoone. Spoone had a fantastic year last season, but has been injured for most of 2008. If he has a shot at being healthy I'd expect the Orioles would want him to get some innings as well.
Guys who you won't see? I'd say no chance Jake Arrieta makes a repeat appearance, after being in Beijing for the Olympics. Chris Tillman and Brandon Erbe have had their innings and pitch counts watched extremely closely this season, so I would doubt if either of them are included in the AFL. David Heranandez and Brad Bergeson are also getting close to career high in innings, so I don't think you'll see either of them.
I'd look for Matusz and Spoone to be the top guys the Orioles send as far as pitcher go to the AFL.
So, when all is said and done, I think there is a pretty good chance that 5 (Wieters, Matusz, Reimold, Spoone, and Snyder) of the Orioles Top 10 prospects will be participating in the AFL this fall.
Keywords: Baltimore Orioles
