Matt Wieters: The wait is over for Orioles top prospect
Matt Wieters: The wait is over for Orioles top prospect
In what is one of the most ballyhooed MLB debuts in years, Matt Weiters will don the tools of ignorance Friday evening for the Orioles for his very first game in the big leagues.
There are few things in life that are certain. As the old adage goes, death and taxes are two of them.
Among the only certainties in baseball is the fact each year there are players who retire and have their place taken by rookies. Most rookies make their MLB debuts with little or no fanfare. Sure, each spring there is talk about the rookies trying to play their way onto big league rosters, giving their fans hope for the new season that is just around the corner. But most major league debuts receive just a cursory mention a few paragraphs into a game recap.
That is not the case for Matthew Richard Weiters who will be making his much anticipated appearance for the Baltimore Orioles (22-26, -2.64 units) when they host the Detroit Tigers (26-20, +3.45 units) in Game 2 of the four-game set at Camden Yards on Friday night. It will be the veterans in this game receiving passing reference in postgame reviews.
The fifth overall selection in the 2007 draft, Weiters eventually inked with the Orioles just as the deadline was approaching for him to sign or go back to Georgia Tech and reenter the MLB through the 2008 draft. His agent, Scott Boras, negotiated a fat contract that included a nice little $6 million signing bonus, and the baseball world has been eagerly awaiting his arrival in the majors ever since.
After zooming through two levels of Baltimore’s farm system in 2008 and being tabbed the Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America, Weiters was the talk of the preseason publications with fantasy players drooling the most. He’s often been described as ‘Joe Mauer with power.’ Considering how Mauer is swatting balls left and right out of stadiums this season, maybe that’s not a good scouting report any longer.
Weiters had a nice spring with a .333 average (13-for-39) and a home run. But in a case of economics trumping skill, the Orioles sent him to Triple-A Norfolk to start the season and try to prolong the control they will have on the switch-hitting backstop. By calling him up at this time, Baltimore can probably keep him off the ‘Super 2’ list for players becoming arbitration eligible.
Admittedly, I’m as caught up in Weiters’ debut as much as I’ve been in years. I’m also one of the fantasy geeks who used a precious high draft pick to claim the 6-5, 230-pound catcher. And yes, I’ve even given thought to Weiters becoming a Mike Piazza hitter and Ivan Rodriguez defender behind the dish.
Over the past few seasons there have been some highly publicized rookie debuts. In 2008 we had Evan Longoria and Jay Bruce. A season earlier there was Ryan Braun and in 2006 it was Delmon Young. But I honestly can’t recall any recent rookie that has gotten me this excited. I’d probably have to go back to Carl Yastrzemski in 1961, Joe Morgan in 1963, Nolan Ryan in 1966 and David Clyde in 1973 to reach a rookie debut that got me this giddy.
The timing of the call-up is a bit strange. Talk earlier this spring suggested it would be mid-June before Weiters was brought to the big leagues. The Orioles are going nowhere in the AL East this season, so in that regard it didn’t matter when they brought Weiters up. With the game in Baltimore, the club obviously wanted to capitalize on his debut via ticket sales, and a quick call to their front office on Thursday afternoon suggested that ticket sales for Friday’s game have been brisk. The word was that Camden was already at 85% capacity with a day to go to possibly get the sellout.
Another reason for picking Friday might be that Weiters will be catching Orioles pitcher Brad Bergesen (3-4, 5.49 ERA), a righthander who will be appearing in just his eighth major league game. Weiters and Bergesen were teammates at Double-A Bowie in 2008, and they also served as battery mates for a couple of Norfolk games in April before Bergesen was added to the big league roster. Being on the receiving end of tosses from a pitcher he has already worked with will at least relieve a little pressure on the young slugger.
The first pitch Weiters will see as a major leaguer will come from the left arm belonging to Detroit’s Dontrelle Willis (1-2, 3.57 ERA), no stranger to rookie hype himself. This sets up an exciting pitcher-batter confrontation to get it all started with Willis trying to reestablish himself as a major league pitcher and Weiters trying to begin his major league career on a big note.
It also puts me in a bit of a conundrum as a three-way tug-o-war takes hold inside me between the fan, the fantasy player and the bettor. I’m not sure how a three-way tug-o-war would really work, but that’s what is happening. On one hand, I’ve been a fan of Willis since his rookie season in 2003. On the other hand, my fantasy team desperately needs for Weiters to reach his Hall of Fame potential in a hurry. And finally, how do you bet a game like this with the other emotions?
I sorta' like Willis in the +110 to +115 range, but in the end will play the Under 10½ in this one. Oriole Park should have an electricity to it early in the game, probably the closest atmosphere Baltimore fans will have to a playoff game for a while. Just a feeling the pitchers will have the advantage early and then hope the bullpens don't just fall apart.
And in case you’re wondering when the next big rookie to be hyped might be, look no further than the eventual MLB debut for Stephen Strasburg. The young San Diego State Aztec righthander is the biggest thing in this year's MLB draft and going to cost someone a bundle to sign. Uh huh, Boras is his 'advisor' at this stage of the game, and as his 'advisor,' Boras has already dropped opening numbers at around $50 million for a deal on this kid. His numbers are out of this world, and he routinely tops 100 on radar guns.
We'll have to wait a while to see if Strasburg is the next Nolan Ryan or the next David Clyde.
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they start games. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com and ESPN.com
.
In what is one of the most ballyhooed MLB debuts in years, Matt Weiters will don the tools of ignorance Friday evening for the Orioles for his very first game in the big leagues.
There are few things in life that are certain. As the old adage goes, death and taxes are two of them.
Among the only certainties in baseball is the fact each year there are players who retire and have their place taken by rookies. Most rookies make their MLB debuts with little or no fanfare. Sure, each spring there is talk about the rookies trying to play their way onto big league rosters, giving their fans hope for the new season that is just around the corner. But most major league debuts receive just a cursory mention a few paragraphs into a game recap.
That is not the case for Matthew Richard Weiters who will be making his much anticipated appearance for the Baltimore Orioles (22-26, -2.64 units) when they host the Detroit Tigers (26-20, +3.45 units) in Game 2 of the four-game set at Camden Yards on Friday night. It will be the veterans in this game receiving passing reference in postgame reviews.
The fifth overall selection in the 2007 draft, Weiters eventually inked with the Orioles just as the deadline was approaching for him to sign or go back to Georgia Tech and reenter the MLB through the 2008 draft. His agent, Scott Boras, negotiated a fat contract that included a nice little $6 million signing bonus, and the baseball world has been eagerly awaiting his arrival in the majors ever since.
After zooming through two levels of Baltimore’s farm system in 2008 and being tabbed the Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America, Weiters was the talk of the preseason publications with fantasy players drooling the most. He’s often been described as ‘Joe Mauer with power.’ Considering how Mauer is swatting balls left and right out of stadiums this season, maybe that’s not a good scouting report any longer.
Weiters had a nice spring with a .333 average (13-for-39) and a home run. But in a case of economics trumping skill, the Orioles sent him to Triple-A Norfolk to start the season and try to prolong the control they will have on the switch-hitting backstop. By calling him up at this time, Baltimore can probably keep him off the ‘Super 2’ list for players becoming arbitration eligible.
Admittedly, I’m as caught up in Weiters’ debut as much as I’ve been in years. I’m also one of the fantasy geeks who used a precious high draft pick to claim the 6-5, 230-pound catcher. And yes, I’ve even given thought to Weiters becoming a Mike Piazza hitter and Ivan Rodriguez defender behind the dish.
Over the past few seasons there have been some highly publicized rookie debuts. In 2008 we had Evan Longoria and Jay Bruce. A season earlier there was Ryan Braun and in 2006 it was Delmon Young. But I honestly can’t recall any recent rookie that has gotten me this excited. I’d probably have to go back to Carl Yastrzemski in 1961, Joe Morgan in 1963, Nolan Ryan in 1966 and David Clyde in 1973 to reach a rookie debut that got me this giddy.
The timing of the call-up is a bit strange. Talk earlier this spring suggested it would be mid-June before Weiters was brought to the big leagues. The Orioles are going nowhere in the AL East this season, so in that regard it didn’t matter when they brought Weiters up. With the game in Baltimore, the club obviously wanted to capitalize on his debut via ticket sales, and a quick call to their front office on Thursday afternoon suggested that ticket sales for Friday’s game have been brisk. The word was that Camden was already at 85% capacity with a day to go to possibly get the sellout.
Another reason for picking Friday might be that Weiters will be catching Orioles pitcher Brad Bergesen (3-4, 5.49 ERA), a righthander who will be appearing in just his eighth major league game. Weiters and Bergesen were teammates at Double-A Bowie in 2008, and they also served as battery mates for a couple of Norfolk games in April before Bergesen was added to the big league roster. Being on the receiving end of tosses from a pitcher he has already worked with will at least relieve a little pressure on the young slugger.
The first pitch Weiters will see as a major leaguer will come from the left arm belonging to Detroit’s Dontrelle Willis (1-2, 3.57 ERA), no stranger to rookie hype himself. This sets up an exciting pitcher-batter confrontation to get it all started with Willis trying to reestablish himself as a major league pitcher and Weiters trying to begin his major league career on a big note.
It also puts me in a bit of a conundrum as a three-way tug-o-war takes hold inside me between the fan, the fantasy player and the bettor. I’m not sure how a three-way tug-o-war would really work, but that’s what is happening. On one hand, I’ve been a fan of Willis since his rookie season in 2003. On the other hand, my fantasy team desperately needs for Weiters to reach his Hall of Fame potential in a hurry. And finally, how do you bet a game like this with the other emotions?
I sorta' like Willis in the +110 to +115 range, but in the end will play the Under 10½ in this one. Oriole Park should have an electricity to it early in the game, probably the closest atmosphere Baltimore fans will have to a playoff game for a while. Just a feeling the pitchers will have the advantage early and then hope the bullpens don't just fall apart.
And in case you’re wondering when the next big rookie to be hyped might be, look no further than the eventual MLB debut for Stephen Strasburg. The young San Diego State Aztec righthander is the biggest thing in this year's MLB draft and going to cost someone a bundle to sign. Uh huh, Boras is his 'advisor' at this stage of the game, and as his 'advisor,' Boras has already dropped opening numbers at around $50 million for a deal on this kid. His numbers are out of this world, and he routinely tops 100 on radar guns.
We'll have to wait a while to see if Strasburg is the next Nolan Ryan or the next David Clyde.
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they start games. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com and ESPN.com
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