Minor league core four: A look at four O's homegrown pitchers added to the 40-man

Over the winter, the Orioles added four pitchers from their farm system to their 40-man roster. That speaks well for the club's player development operation, as none of the four were drafted since 2012 and all four made improvements on the O's watch to get to this point. The four pitchers added were: * Oliver Drake, a 43rd-round pick in 2008 * Eddie Gamboa, a 21st-round pick in 2008 * Tyler Wilson, a 10th-round pick in 2011 * Mike Wright, a third-round pick in 2011 I'm not ruling any of the four out to make a start at some point for the Orioles this year, but it sure appears their best chance to impact the big league club in 2015 would come out of the bullpen. All four could be on the Norfolk-Baltimore shuttle this year as we know how manager Buck Showalter likes to work with a rested bullpen as much as possible. These players can be optioned up and down repeatedly and it seems very likely that one, or all four, will be. Wright, who turned 25 on Jan. 3, went 5-11 with a 4.61 ERA in 26 starts for Triple-A Norfolk last season. But he had a spectacular finish to his year, pitching to a 0.95 ERA over his last seven starts. In his last four starts, he gave up one earned run in 29 2/3 innings for an ERA of 0.30. Drake, who turned 28 on Jan. 13, went 2-4 with a 3.08 ERA and 31 saves in 35 chances at Double-A Bowie in 2014. His 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings were the best single-season mark in his seven-year minor league career. He also held hitters to a .214/.278/.297 line in 210 plate appearances. Drake gets credit for a solid comeback from August 2012 shoulder surgery. He also made the 40-man for the second time. The first came in November 2011. Wilson turned 25 in September and got married on Nov. 15. Three days later, while on his honeymoon, he found out he made the 40-man roster. He was named the Orioles 2014 minor league Pitcher of the Year, winning the Jim Palmer Award. He went a combined 14-8 with a 3.67 ERA in 166 2/3 innings between Bowie and Norfolk. He led all Orioles minor leaguers in wins and strikeouts (157) and ranked seventh in ERA. The 30-year-old Gamboa went 5-7 with a 3.81 ERA last year between Bowie and Norfolk. Gamboa was a minor league free agent this winter and several teams showed interest in him after he went 6-2 with a 1.83 ERA in Mexico. Over 68 2/3 innings, he walked seven and fanned 56. The Orioles signed him to the major league deal on Dec. 3. Last March, Gamboa pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings in an impressive, yet brief, stay in big league camp. Now he'll be back at Ed Smith Stadium when workouts begin. None of these four pitchers has ever been on a top 100 prospects list that I am aware of. None is 24 or younger. None were drafted in the second round or higher. Yet they all should get credit for making the 40-man roster, and in the case of Gamboa, reinventing himself as a knuckleball pitcher the last two years. Drake overcame the shoulder injury. Wilson was the O's Pitcher of the Year, topping other more highly touted prospects. Wright overcame the poor start last year at Norfolk. Now we may see one or all in the major leagues. I have interviewed each pitcher and provided a profile of each this winter: Click on their names to read each on Gamboa, Wilson, Wright and Drake. While it is nice to have prospects make the majors at age 19 like Manny Machado, 21 like Jonathan Schoop or 22 like Kevin Gausman, this four won't do that. But they might be able to help the Orioles win in 2015 and if they do, no one will worry about what their birth certificates say or where some prospects lists once ranked them. This goes along with the Orioles' philosophy of using Bowie, Norfolk and Baltimore as a 75-man roster to draw from. When the Orioles looked to add talent to their 40-man roster this winter they looked for pitchers that can help. They didn't base such a decision off a radar gun or someone's prospects list. They found four homegrown products that could make their way to Baltimore this season. Steve speaks: Click here to listen as I was a guest this week on the Baltimore Sports Report podcast. We talked a lot about the O's farm system as well as plenty of other topics. It is a lengthy interview of about 30 minutes, so grab a coffee and pull up a chair.