Chris Parmelee talks about making his Orioles debut tonight

From the taxi squad to the active roster to batting fifth in the Orioles lineup. Chris Parmelee will make his Orioles debut tonight against the Philadelphia Phillies, batting in that prime position and playing in right field.

"Real excited," Parmelee said in the clubhouse this afternoon. "It's a good feeling and I'm happy to be here. It's a great group of guys in this clubhouse with a winning tradition here and I'm real excited to help them add some wins on the board.

"It's going to be a great feeling. I always liked playing here when I came here with Minnesota. I've enjoyed this ballpark and the fans here. They were hard on me when I was in a Minnesota uniform, but I like the intensity and glad to be on this side now."

The 27-year-old Parmelee played 61 games this season at Triple-A Norfolk, batting .312 with 13 doubles, six homers, 32 RBIs and an .826 OPS. He batted .329 with an OPS of .884 versus right-handed pitching. He faces Philly right-hander Jerome Williams tonight.

Does Parmelee have a sense that he could get a chance to play every day for now with the Orioles?

"I have no idea. I'm sure my play will dictate that. But I want to be here to stay," he said.

Parmelee was a first-round pick (20th overall) by Minnesota in the 2006 draft, and the Twins were the only organization he knew until he signed a minor league deal with the Orioles on Jan. 26.

"It's been a great experience (with the Orioles)," he said. "The coaches and manager at Triple-A - Ron Johnson, Sean Berry, Jose (Hernandez) and Griff (Mike Griffin) - everyone has been great. Been a great organization."

Parmelee spent parts of the last four years in the majors with the Twins. Over 273 games and 812 at-bats, he had a slash line of .247/.317/.392 with 40 doubles, 24 homers and 85 RBIs. He has walked 75 times and fanned 210 times in the big leagues.

He said he has grown as player over his time in the majors. How is he different as a player now?

"Maturity. Learning. Every single year I feel like I've gotten better," he said. "Feel like I've gotten a lot better since spring training. Knowing certain counts, knowing pitchers, knowing what you want to do up there at the plate and having a plan. That is one of the big learning curves. They say it is easy to get here and harder to stay. That is definitely true. Lot of it comes with maturity and just understanding who you are and learning the game at this level."