There has been a lot of excitement and optimism surrounding the recent promotion of several of the Orioles top prospects to the major league roster. Within the last two weeks, the O’s roster has seen the addition of Nolan Reimold, Jason Berken, David Hernandez, and of course, Matt Wieters. They join the greybeard of the class of 2009, Brad Bergesen, who joined the Birds on April 21^st.

 

The infusion of youth to the roster has energized the team as well as the fan base, evidenced by the large crowds that gathered at Oriole Park this weekend. The team has won 7 of their last ten games and Orioles fans feel the team is finally moving in a positive direction.

For the most part, each of the players listed above has performed well in their limited exposure to big league baseball. Bergesen, Berken, and Hernandez all won their major league debut, joining veteran Japanese import Koji Uehara as the four O’s starters to win in their initial big league appearance this season. Reimold, who homered in three consecutive games, leads all MLB rookies in home runs with five, and Wieters drew rave reviews from fans and teammates alike despite going hitless in two of his first three games.

Its to their credit that none of the newcomers has shown the nerves or the “deer in the headlights” look that can overwhelm young players. Poised and composed are words that manager Dave Trembley has used when evaluating the performance of his blossoming stars.

We really shouldn’t be surprised that the new arrivals have played as well as they have. They may not be experienced at the big league level, but agewise they’re not exactly kids.

Reimold and Berken are 25 years old, Hernandez is 24, and Bergesen and Wieters are 23. Mentally, these young men should be mature enough to handle whatever playing in the big leagues throws at them.

To prove my point, do you realize that Nolan Reimold is older than Nick Markakis? Its true. And Reimold, Berken and Hernandez are all older than Adam Jones, who is the same age, 23, as Bergesen and Wieters, all born only months apart.

As for some of the more well-known prospects in the Orioles system, Jake Arrieta and Troy Patton are 23, Brian Matusz and Brandon Snyder are 22, and Wilfrido Perez is 24. Only Chris Tillman could still be considered a babe, at the tender age of 21.

If anyone believes that the Orioles are rushing these players to the big leagues, in my opinion, agewise, they’re arriving just about right on schedule. No, not every player matures at the same time, and each player should be evaluated on a case by case basis. Some players like Jones, mature early, while others, like Jeremy Guthrie, are late bloomers. 

Lets not be fooled, these inexperienced player will have their ups and downs. They’re going to
make mistakes and take their lumps, but it will be due to their lack of experience, not their youth.

This is the big leagues, where every pitch and every swing is documented and analyzed by the opponent. If a pitcher shows a certain tendency, or tips his pitches, it will be noticed and taken advantage of. If a hitter struggles with a pitch in a certain location, it will be exploited by the opposition.

It will be up to these young players to make the adjustments they need to make in order to stay in the big leagues. Some will, some won’t.

One thing for sure, its going to be interesting to see who makes it and who doesn’t.