Matt Wieters, the number one prospect in all of baseball, arrives in Baltimore tonight for his Orioles debut. From the local buzz, one expects that not only will Wieters call a great game, hit three home runs, drive in seven, and steal a few bases, but he will also walk on water, then turn it into wine.
As Two in the Box's resident cynic, pessimist, and naysayer, I feel it's my obligation to remind you of a few names.
Ben McDonald, Matt Riley, Ryan Minor, Jeffrey Hammonds, and Adam Loewen. Each of these guys was considered the #1 Orioles prospect and labeled "can't miss" at one time or another. They have something else in common, too.
They all sucked.
McDonald got blisters on his pitching hand if you looked at him the wrong way. Riley was in over his head once he moved beyond 'A' ball. Ryan was a Minor, alright. Minor leaguer. Hammonds could never stay healthy long enough to justify his draft position. His only great year came with the Rockies, where his numbers were inflated thanks to the thin air. And Loewen blew his arm out, tried to become an outfielder, and then flew home to Canada.
Wieters may be great. I hope he is. I've had him stashed on the bench of my roto team for almost two years. The Orioles need this kid to pan out. Desperately.
But if he ends up not able to hit a major league slider, gets wonky knees by the age of 25, and ends up as a spot pinch hitter in the International League at the age of 28, don't say I didn't warn you.
3 comments:
Hey, McDonald was the truth at first...but they rushed him. When he was on, though...he had the nastiest stuff in the AL East.
If nothing else, Weiters has given O's fans a reason to care what's going on at The Yard.
I'm just glad we were finally able to activate him! (Bob and I co-own a team in the roto league).
Hey, Big Ben did start one year off like 6-0. I think it was around '92. Of course, he probably finished like 9-17.
You have to go back to Rich Dauer and Bobby Grich to see a legit 1st pick, well there was a period of Mussina,Olson and McDonald was selected in 3 years in a row. But yes its not been good for the Orioles in the 1st round until recenly. Joe Jordan has done a fine job with socuting and minor league development. From what I have seen of Wieters the Orioles roation has gone at the least 5.2 innings, even Tuesday night when they lsot 8-2, the loss was more on errors then giving up rins. He is a masterbehind the plate and his swing is there though yet to connect. We have to recall Joens 1 year ago and Markakis a couple of seasons back, they started off hitting in the 150 range then exploded late season.
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