Farm Review Final 2004

by Bob Bryant

Wrong.

As is often the case, the arms on which the Orioles so drastically depended in 2004 faltered. The surprise is not so much in the backslide but in the sheer volume of the collapse. Instead of 50% of the pitchers regressing this season, the number was more like 75%. Rommie Lewis and a handful of others with the brightest promise were simply horrible. Most of the imports from the trades of the season before were washouts. The organization even inexplicably gave up on Denny Bautista, one of their top five prospects going into the season. After making the bizarre decision to call him up while he was struggling at Bowie after a strong beginning, and his subsequent to-be-expected roasting at the mercy of major league hitters, he was unceremoniously dumped to Kansas City for journeyman reliever Jason Grimsley.

Another dismaying system development was the slow start of designated hitter Jack Cust. Cust's poor spring seemed to give the Orioles reason the excuse they seemed to need to dump him. Cust passed through waivers and was assigned to Ottawa, where he was summarily dismissed as a spare part. He had a nightmare season, vying for playing time against such notables as Chad Mottola and non-prospect Darnell McDonald. As might be expected, his discouragement carried over to his performance. He had a season that will justify the Orioles' decision to bury him, despite their season-long search for a quality bat on the bench and the inexplicable love affairs with strategies such as carrying three catchers and giving at-bats to Luis Lopez.

The season ended on an even more depressing note as Nick Markakis' Olympic participation went for naught, as the Greek team failed to even win a game, and Adam Loewen was diagnosed with a tear in his labrium, which will at least curtail his 2005 activity, if not delegate him to the sidelines for the season.

The season was not without highlights and fresh hopes, especially in the person of Hayden Penn and the continued development of Val Majewski. Still, one can't feel very good about the overall standing of the farm system going into next season. The Orioles can say they are ahead of the Red Sox and Yankees, but that's insignificant in the big scheme of things, for they must be vastly superior to those two to keep up with the financial gap. They have a long way to go.

We do not review the prospects in the rookie leagues. Their sample sizes are small, and they are too far away to be able to talk about with even uncertain certainty. Pinning your hopes and reviewing the prospects of kids getting their first one hundred professional at-bats is a fool's errand at best.

Ottawa

The aforementioned Jack Cust had a lost season. Garnering a hundred fewer at bats than cannon fodder outfielder Chad Mottola, Cust slumped badly. He'll be in another organization in 2005, which is good news for him. As for second baseman Mike Fontenot, he took a small step backwards this season. He's not on the fast track to Baltimore we projected prior to the season's start, yet it wasn't a huge setback. He did come on late. Darnell McDonald has run out of chances. He has no business being on a ML 40-man roster. He can't hit, hit with power, walk, bunt, or play defense. Tim Raines had a middling season at a time when he had opportunities to play on the ML level. Geronimo Gil had a typical season for him, plodding along. Still, he would have been in Baltimore except it seems he was being punished for poor work habits. Jose Leon had a solid if unspectacular season for the Lynx, but did not get much of a chance with the Orioles.

As far as the pitching goes, it wasn't a disaster. Rick Bauer righted himself somewhat after being disappointed at being demoted. Bruce Chen pitched well enough to be given his umpteenth shot at making a rotation. John Maine took a small step backward rather than the quantum leap forward we had hoped for, but he did recover a bit after a shaky beginning at AAA. For whatever reason, Aaron Rakers never got a look on the big club despite putting together one of the best seasons in the organization. And he's got good stuff. Look for him next Spring, hopefully. Eddy Rodriguez showed more promise that results in his couple of cups of coffee with the Orioles, and his overall number in AAA. Not sure what to think of him at this point. Matt Riley was a disappointment, both on and off the field. It seems he has not put all of his immaturity behind him. He still shows flashes of terrific stuff, but needs consistency. He did finish strong.

Bowie

The big offensive story (pun intended) was Walter Young. Picked up from the Pirates as a Calvin Pickering wannabe, Food World started out slowly and then had a blistering second half, finishing with 33 home runs. He's still young enough to be Sam Horn or Pick or an equivalent guy for awhile. Branden Florence finished the season here after a solid season he lower minors. He has some promise, though as is the case with our other quality prospects in the outfield, no power to speak of. Mike Huggins went from a blip on the radar to all the way off the screen. Jose Morban demonstrated how the Orioles wasted a roster spot on him a season ago. Ed Rogers, Eli Whiteside, and Keith Reed all had decent seasons but nothing to get excited about - Reed in particular, since it was his third time around the league and he still struck out over a hundred times. Val Majewski had a solid year, though he still needs more power. Hopefully it will come as he fills out

On the pitching side, Dave Crouthers was one of the disappointments for much of the season but he did come on at the end. Brian Forystek was another disappointment, though he did not recover. Hayden Penn had a strong beginning and progressed up the ladder. He hit some snags at Bowie but he had some good games, too. He should start at this level next year. Scott Rice had a decent year but nothing exciting. His K/BB ratio needs improvement, as does his K/9. Sendy Rheal had an excellent season in relief (2.66 ERA, 12 bb, 60K in 42 innings.) Jacobo Sequea had a good season, but his K/9 isn't a dominating number for a reliever. Still, we have hopes.

Frederick

Woody Cliffords took a step back to Frederick after flaming out at Bowie. He did post nice numbers but one can't assume anything until next season. Doug Gredveg removed any lingering doubts about his lack of skills to be considered a prospect. Tripper Johnson made some gains but not enough to visualize him as a regular of any significance. He needs to take another big step to be something special. Cory Keylor, outfielder, put on a little power this year and struck out 120 times! B.J. Littleton, another outfielder, had a decent year with the stick but with zero power.

Of the pitchers left standing in Frederick at the end, Zach Dixon is the one that had the good season. He pitched well at Delmarva and then pitched just as well in a few starts in Frederick. Fredy Deza pitched well at Delmarva but not so well when he was promoted. Still, a step forward. Nick McCurdy and Chris Ray sort of treaded water while everyone else went down with the ship. A lot of promise unfulfilled: Brian Finch, Adam Loewen, Don Levinski, Ryan Hannaman, Paul Henry, and Rommie Lewis were all terrible. Not just bad, but terrible. It's  hard to believe so much talent could tank so totally.

Delmarva

Rich Acosta, Chris Britton, James Johnson, and Marino Salas all pitched well enough to move on - though no one was a house afire. Joe Coppinger will probably be back here again. All of the other pitchers were either dropped, will be dropped, or moved on up. Luis Ramirez moved up from dominating at Aberdeen right at the end of the season. He's certainly someone to watch.

Not much to talk about on the hitter's side. Jeffrey Fiorantino hit pretty well and moved up a level to here, but he struck out a ton. Going to have to work on that. Nick Markakis, Josh McCurdy, and Nate Sparks all had decent, if not stellar, seasons.

When you add it all up, it spells disappointment. The team only has a handful of position prospects and only one in the entire organization with power potential (and he came from elsewhere). The team had moved towards the middle of the pack a year ago, but that was brief. They aren't at the bottom any more, but the basement is back in sight.

It's time to make changes at the top of the scouting department, and let someone else take a whack at it.