2010 Pitching Staff preview

The 2009 Baltimore Orioles ended the season with a 64-98 record, good enough for a 5^th place finish in the American League East and their twelfth consecutive losing season. When you look at the win/loss record for the Orioles, it appears to have been a lost season, a total failure. But 2009 should best be remembered as the year in which Adam Jones had a breakout season, three of the organization’s top prospects made their MLB debut in Matt Wieters, Chris Tillman, and Brian Matusz, as well as the surprise rookie seasons of Nolan Reimold and Brad Bergesen.

In 2010, the Baltimore Orioles look to take the next step forward in their rebuilding process. As the season gets underway, here is Baltimore Sports Blog’s player by player outlook for 2010, starting with the pitching staff:

Starting Pitchers

Kevin Millwood:

2009 Statistics (With Texas Rangers) – 13-10 3.67 ERA 123 Strikeouts 198.2 IP

The Orioles traded former closer Chris Ray and Rule 5 pick Ben Snyder to Texas for righty Kevin Millwood. While Millwood isn’t the true “ace” the Orioles needed, he will be looked to anchor the young pitching staff of the Baltimore Orioles. The 13-year veteran will bring a great deal of experience to the rotation, and will be asked to not only be an innings eater, but also a tutor and mentor for the club’s young pitchers. Millwood posted a 3.67 ERA last season with Texas, which ranked 8^th among qualifying pitchers in the American League. All that while pitching in a hitter friendly park in Texas. Look for Millwood to post similar numbers with the Orioles, and could possibly be trade bait in July if the Orioles fall out of the race early in the season.

Jeremy Guthrie:

2009 Statistics – 10-17 5.04 ERA 110 Strikeouts 200 IP

Calling 2009 a disappointing season would be an understatement for Guthrie. The 2008 and 2009 Opening Day starter struggled mightily to keep the ball in the ballpark as he allowed 35 homeruns to opposing batters. After posting an ERA under 4 in both 2007 and 2009, Guthrie’s ERA rose to over 5 for the first time since 2006 when he pitched in 9 games for the Cleveland Indians. 2010 will be an important season for the former 1^st round pick. If he is able to revert back to the way he pitched in the ’07 and ’08 seasons, Guthrie will be fine. If not, Guthrie could find himself out of the starting rotation in order to make room for prospects such as Chris Tillman. After a rough spring there are many question marks surrounding Guthrie and how he will perform in 2010.

Brian Matusz:

2009 Statistics – 5-2 4.63 ERA 38 Strikeouts 44.2 IP

In his first professional season, the 2008 1^st round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles dominated in his minor league stops in Single-A Frederick and Double-A Bowie and earned a promotion to the majors in early August. While the numbers aren’t earth shattering, Matusz impressed many in the baseball world with the way he pitched in his eight starts, including in his final start of the season against the New York Yankees before being shut down September 15^th. Matusz is an early Rookie of the Year Candidate, and only added to that buzz with a strong spring training. Matusz has four quality pitches in his arsenal, and is has a great deal of baseball smarts to go along with his physical abilities. Matusz will live up to the hype and have a good year in 2010. His continued development could lead to him becoming the true number one pitcher this organization has lacked for many years.

Brad Bergesen:

2009 Statistics – 7-5 3.43 ERA 65 Strikeouts 123.1 IP

Bergesen was a pleasant surprise for the Orioles in 2009. The 2008 Orioles’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year made his major league debut on April 21 in a victory over the Chicago White Sox. After struggling in his first couple of starts, Bergesen turned it around and lowered his ERA from 5.49 on May 24 to 3.43 when his season unfortunately ended after being hit with a line drive off the bat of Billy Butler of the Kansas City Royals on July 30^th. Bergesen is a finesse pitcher with good control. His fastball shows good movement, and he has a sinker that allows him to get out of jams with runners on base. If Bergesen is able to maintain the same control he showed last season, and keep his pitches down, he will have a solid year in 2010.

David Hernandez:

2009 Statistics – 4-10 5.42 ERA 68 Strikeouts 101.1 IP

Hernandez’s rookie season was not flattering by any stretch of the imagination. Hernandez struggled with his control, and his inability to locate his fastball led to him giving up 27 homeruns in his 20 appearances (19 stars, 1 relief appearance). Hernandez is a hard thrower who was known as a strikeout pitcher in the minor leagues. He came to spring training with the opportunity to win the job as the 5^th starter, and took full advantage of it as he beat out prospect Chris Tillman with his solid spring. Hernandez needs to be able to locate his fastball better and keep the ball in the ballpark if he wants to have a good season and stay in the rotation. If he can do this, look for him to be a solid 5^th starter for the Orioles.

Relief Pitchers

Mike Gonzalez:

2009 Statistics – 5-4 2.42 ERA 10 Saves 90 Strikeouts 74.1 IP

The Orioles signed Gonzalez to try and solidify the 9^th inning after trading away closer George Sherrill last July. The left-handed reliever has shown in his career that he is capable of closing out games as he has converted 54 of 66 save opportunities in his seven year career. Gonzalez is a strikeout pitcher who can be tough on both lefties and righties. His velocity was down in spring training, but Gonzalez did not seemed bothered by this. Gonzalez should be a solid addition to the Orioles bullpen, and should bring some stability back to the closer’s role.

Jim Johnson:

2009 Statistics – 4-6 4.11 ERA 10 Saves 70 IP

Jim Johnson was thrust into the closer’s role after the midseason trade of George Sherrill. Johnson didn’t seem comfortable with his new role, converting 10 of 16 save opportunities and having his ERA go from 2.23 in 2008 to 4.11 last season. With the addition of Mike Gonzalez, Johnson will be able to return to his eighth inning set-up man role that he thrived in during the 2008 season and early 2009. The Orioles need Johnson to revert to his old self if they want to stop the late inning struggles of last season.

Cla Merideth:

2009 Statistics (With San Diego and Baltimore) – 4-2 3.99 ERA 37 Strikeouts 65.1 IP

The Orioles acquired the right-handed submarine pitcher in the middle of the 2009 season. Merideth became a viable option for manager Dave Trembley with his ability to get ground ball outs and pitch several days a week. Merideth’s unorthodox pitching motion makes it harder for hitters to pick up the ball out of his hand. He will be called upon in the middle innings to get ground ball outs and double plays. Merideth had a strong spring in which he only allowed one earned run in ten innings. Look for him to carry over that strong spring into the season and be someone Dave Trembley can depend on to get big outs in the middle inning.

Mark Hendrickson:

2009 Statistics – 6-5 4.37 ERA 61 Strikeouts 105 IP

The 6ft. 9in. lefty is back for his second season with the Orioles. Used initially as a starter last year, Hendrickson made the transition to the bullpen during the season and excelled in his new role. He was versatile out of the bullpen for the Orioles as he was able to come in and pitch multiple innings when needed and he also came in to face tough left handed batters. Look for more of the same in 2010 as Hendrickson will again be used as a long reliever and situational lefty for manager Dave Trembley. His production should also be very similar to his 2009 numbers.

Jason Berken:

2009 Statistics – 6-12 6.54 ERA 66 Strikeouts 119.2 IP

An injury to Koji Uehara opened the door for Jason Berken to earn a spot in the Orioles’ bullpen in 2010. Used exclusively as a starter in 2009, Berken looks to change his role to a long relief man to begin the season. While he did run into some bad luck and poor run support, Berken still struggled mightily in 2009. Opponents batted .327 against Berken and managed to hit 19 homeruns in his 24 starts. He will need to improve on these numbers in 2010 if he would like to keep his roster spot when and if Koji Uehara is able to return from the disabled list.

Matt Albers:

2009 Statistics – 3-6 5.51 ERA 49 Strikeouts 67 IP

Albers came over to the Orioles in the Miguel Tejada trade prior to the 2008 season. After showing some promise in 2008, he was slowed by an injury to his shoulder that carried over into the 2009 season. Albers was very ineffective out of the bullpen in 2009 and was back and forth between Baltimore and Triple-A Norfolk. If Albers wants to stay on the major league roster this season, he is going to need to be more effective in his appearance out of the ‘pen. He can do this by cutting down the amount of walks and hits he allows to opposing teams. If he can do this in 2010, look for Albers to look more like the promising young pitcher of 2008 than the struggling reliever of 2009.

Will Ohman:

2009 Statistics (With LA Dodgers) 1-0 5.84 ERA 7 Strikeouts 12.1 IP

Ohman was a non roster invitee who pitched his way onto the roster with a good spring training. He was limited to only 12 innings last year because of a shoulder injury. Ohman will be used as a situational lefty brought in to get out left handed hitters. If he is able to succeed in this role, it will go a long way towards improving the Orioles horrid bullpen from 2009.

That is a look at the Orioles’ pitching staff for 2010. Look for the preview for position players either later today, or tomorrow before the game against the Rays.

Randy Biggs

Baltimore Sports Blog