Earl Weaver Rules

The Orioles put right handed pitching prospect Oliver Drake onto the 40 man roster and in effect, they protected him from the Rule 5 draft coming up in a couple of weeks.  Drake pitched at three different levels last year and put up some solid numbers.  He did struggle once he got to Double-A though and my guess is that’s where he starts the 2012 season.

That put the number of players on the 40 man roster to 39.  The Orioles have been in talks about signing a Korean pitcher so he could be the final roster spot but that also meant there were some odd men out. 2011 Minor League pitcher of the year, Tim Bascom, was left off the roster so he could be scooped up by someone in December.

The Orioles are close to a deal that would lock up Korean relief pitcher Tae-Hyon Chong.  They’ve apparantly agreed to terms but the specifics still aren’t locked down so we’ll have to see if we’re getting a bargain or not.  Chong helped Korea win the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics and he’s an unconventional submarine style pitcher.

He still has to pass a physical but I’m always leery of these foreign players.  His numbers are impressive (under 2.00 ERA) but it’s in a completely different league.  And eventually these odd deliveries work for part of the season before teams and players catch on.  Still, hopefully he’ll make a solid contribution to the Orioles pen after is was gutted during the 2011 trade deadline.

Kevin Goldstein released his list of the top eleven Orioles prospects and it’s a pretty good batch with two five star prospects and one four star.  Topping the list is right handed pitcher and 2011 first round draft pick Dylan Bundy.  He just turned 19 and he’ll most likely get a full season slot to start the season but this kid bears watching.  He was taken fourth overall and it’ll be fun to see how he develops.

Second is the Orioles 2010 first round pick, Manny Machado.  The shortstop split time between Low-A and High-A he’s also 19.  Goldstein speculates that he could eventually move to third base but this is another guy I’m interested in seeing develop.

Rounding out the top five are Jonathan Schoop (inf), Nick Delmonico (3b) and Jason Esposito (3b).  All of these guys are a couple of years away.  The Orioles have some nice young talent coming up we just have to be patient as they all develop.