Calvin Maduro was a pre-season hopeful for the 2001 rotation, but did not pitch well enough to make it happen early. Instead, Calvin found himself on the Rochester Express, shuttling back and forth a good part of the season.

The bottom line is, that of all the Orioles' newcomers to throw in 2001, Maduro had arguably the best numbers. He gave up 10 less hits than innings pitched, and he didn't walk an inordinate number of batters. His ERA was, by today's standards, respectable, certainly representative of a number four or five starter.

The down side to Maduro is that he finished very poorly. It appeared that he and Jason Johnson were competing for the most spectacular flameout by an Oriole pitcher in September. Maduro had a 5.28 ERA in four starts, allowing four homers in only 23 innings.

Maduro has the greatest current upside of any of the Orioles' young pitchers, although, at 27, Maduro will not really qualify as "young" in 2002. His IP/H ration is good, he gave up only a .240 average to opposing batters, and a .319 OBP. He has a real opportunity to be a contributor as a lower-rung member of the rotation next season.

To Contribute Positively next year, Maduro shoud:

(1.) Cut down on his gopher balls.

(2.) basically, pitch like he did in 2001.

Notes: Maduro's ERA was a run and a half better at home than on the road...Very solid, consistent numbers thoughout the game logs, except for the September failures.