This is good information. I think any stuff on minor leagues is good, especially transactions. I have Aberdeen season tickets, and every time I go it's all new players. Kind of curious what happened to some of the players. Good to see Jedidiah Stephen is in Delmarva now. Although hopefully he breaks that 0 for soon.

We need Teixeira...Sign the petition!
http://www.bringmark.com

For the record BA is still rather high on Erbe, they rate him the #3 pitcher the O's have in the minors.

Very informative and thorough blog. It would be interesting and perhaps stimulate more discussion to get an overall sense of whom at each level is a legitimate prospect. Maybe putting a list together at each position would give a nice view of what we have throughout the minors. My sense is we have a lot more to talk about down there than we have in past years. Keep up the good work.

Enjoy the info on the minors. I usually check the minors box scores every day. Hope you can continue with this.
Thanks,

Hey Jeff V.....that BA ranking is old. Erbe is a solid prospect and will hopefully make it to Baltimore in a few seasons, but his #3 ranking predates the season. It predates acquiring Tillman from Seattle, signing Matusz, the emergence of Arrieta and the big AA seasons of Bergeson and Hernandez. In fact, if you flop Matusz and Tillman, you probably have our top 5 pitching prospects in order.

Adam, from the July 25th Prospect Hot Sheet Chat:

: Jimmy from Chesapeake, VA asks:
Thanks for the chat. Is the A's trio of Cahill, Anderson and Gonzalez the best in the game. Where would Inoa fall among those three as a prospect?

A: Ben Badler: For trio of pitching prospects yes, just slightly edging out Price/Davis/Hellickson (or McGee), although Price is the best of that bunch. When Matusz takes the field the Orioles will be solid with Matusz, Tillman and Erbe, and the Giants are in the conversation too with Alderson/Bumgarner/Sosa.

Seems to me he was ranking them Matusz, Tillman and Erbe 1-3.

Also, slightly later:

Q: Corey from Toledo, OH asks:
Matusz, Tillman and Erbe? You would take Erbe over Arrieta???

A: Ben Badler: I'm probably in the minority opinion on that one, but yes, I'd take Erbe over Arrieta. Erbe's a year and a half younger than Arrieta and they're both at the same level. I already touched a little on Arrieta earlier, but Erbe's a guy who's in the mid-90s and there's good reports on his slider. Maybe he ends up in the bullpen, but he's got plenty of talent and his control is already better than Arrieta's.

You have to keep in mind how highly BA values youth.

The articles are good but that my favorite color and my favorite team stuff doesn't provide insight into the guys ability as a a baseball player. That part is a complete waist of time.

I definitely think Badler is on the minority in ranking Erbe ahead of Arietta. Many people think Arrieta is a better prospect than Tillman and most thought Arrieta was a 1st round pick last year but having Borris as a representive cost him a few rounds. Here's hoping they all succeed.

Honestly jj Oriole fans generally have a higher view of Arrieta then other media types I have seen. Look at it this way, if he was that hot a property wouldn't he have been used more in the olympics? I mean 6IP against the Chinese?

I think Arrieta is going to end up in the bullpen if I had to make a prediction.

Nice profile on Erbe. Good stuff.Dean.

Jeff...what in the world makes you predict Arrieta going to the bullpen? That's the first time I've ever even heard that mentioned. Since being drafted, he's had nothing but success as a starter, while Erbe has been up and down. Arrieta is the better prospect right now. He's had a vastly superior season to Erbe, is significantly closer to a promotion, pitched well in China and as JJ said, was touted as a 1st round talent who fell due to $ demands. Just look at their stats for this season. Arrieta is 6-5 with a 2.87 ERA and 120 k's in 113 innings. Erbe has a losing record of 9-12, with a 4.57 ERA and 142 k's in 143 innings. Also, Arrieta has only given up 7 HRs while Erbe, admittedly in more innings, has given up 21. As to the rest of it, Erbe has been very inconsistent this year so the notion that he has better control than Arrieta is a bit of a joke, at least at the moment. Finally, Badler himself says his opinion is a minority one and NOT that of BA so when you claim that Baseball America has Erbe as our #3 pitching prospect, you are stretching the truth to the breaking point. I know this sounds like I'm not a fan of Erbe, which isn't the case - I simply think he's lower on the totem pole than a few guys, including Arrieta. When all is said and done though, I'm with JJ in hoping that all of them turn out to be studs.

One further note by the way with regards to Erbe vs. the other O's pitching prospects. That BA chat doesn't account for the last month of AA ball during which both Bergesen and Hernandez have excelled, helping to lead Bowie to the postseason and forcing the O's to consider them for the rotation. I am NOT saying they are better prospects than Erbe who is younger, has more talent and very likely a much higher ceiling in the majors, but they very well might be rated higher at the moment because of the fact that they are already knocking on the door of the majors and are having success at a higher level while Erbe is inconsistent in A ball.

We will see if my prediction is right Adam, I could very well be wrong, I would be very happy if Arrieta ends up becoming a #3 starter in the big leagues.

Arrieta, for whatever reason, isn't where he belongs. As a 3 year college pitcher he shouldn't be in high A ball right now. I refuse to be unduly impressed by a pitcher doing what he should be doing.

As for minor league stats....how does this line sound?

1W 4L 3.55 ERA in 8 starts with a 1.33 WHIP

6W 7L 5.26 ERA in 20 starts with a 1.51 WHIP and 15 wild pitches?

That was Tillman in A/high A ball last year. You think that made him less of a prospect by the experts?