Notes and quotes from Bowie Baysox media day
BOWIE, Md. - Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will get the start on opening night Thursday at Prince George's Stadium as the Bowie Baysox begin their 22nd season as the Orioles' Double-A affiliate.
The Baysox, managed by Gary Kendall, start the year with a seven-game homestand against Harrisburg and Richmond.
Bowie also begins the year with a starting rotation featuring three of the Orioles' top 11 prospects, according to Baseball America.
Rodriguez (O's No. 3 prospect) starts Thursday and will be followed by Tyler Wilson, Tim Berry (O's No. 6 prospect), Zach Davies (O's No. 11 prospect) and Jake Pettit.
Kendall looks to have a strong pitching staff this season.
"I say it looks strong and I've seen most of these guys in the past," Kendall said. "These guys will be able to go out there and compete and work through some innings that a young, inexperienced pitcher might not be able to.
"All of them bring plus pitches to the table. A Davies changeup, a Berry with good life with his fastball. I really like what our starting pitching brings. Our bullpen too, having guys like (Oliver) Drake, (Chris) Petrini, (Juan) Morillo and (Fabio) Castillo. They will be able to provide some quality innings for us."
For Berry and Davies, this will be their first tests against Double-A batters as they move up from Single-A Frederick.
"They will face guys that are a little bit more disciplined, maybe chase fewer pitches out of the zone," Kendall said. "Davies, I've never seen a young kid with a changeup like that before. They'll have some growing pains, but they are resilient and quick studies and I think they'll be able to make adjustments in this league."
Rodriguez, who turns 21 on April 7, had a great finish here last season. He went 3-0 with an 0.36 ERA over his last four Baysox starts. Over 25 innings, he gave up just 16 hits and one run with three walks and 26 strikeouts.
The Valencia, Venezuela, native then pitched in the Arizona Fall League and was the winning pitcher as Surprise won the AFL title.
"That was pretty fun last year in the fall league," Rodriguez said. "It was great. I've never been on a championship team before, never in my life. That was a great experience."
Wilson, the Orioles' 10th-round pick in 2011, will take some momentum into his first start. He pitched against the Orioles for Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday and threw two scoreless innings against mostly O's starters. He said it was exciting to make a good impression in front of manager Buck Showalter and the major league team.
"Absolutely. I think that is the point of all of this, to have a chance to get out there in front of those guys," Wilson said. "They can watch film and read reports, but to see how you perform in a situation like that I think is what they ultimately want to see."
Rodriguez, Berry and catcher Michael Ohlman were among several Baysox players that spent some time in major league camp with the Orioles. Ohlman went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs in big league exhibition games.
"That was fantastic," Ohlman said of his experience in major league camp. "Stayed healthy the whole time and picked up on a lot great things from guys like Matt Wieters, Steve Clevenger and John Russell. I was picking their brains and took a lot out of it."
Here are the projected opening night starters for Bowie:
C - Michael Ohlman
1B - Christian Walker
2B - Garabez Rosa
SS - Niuman Romero
3B - Buck Britton
OF - Dariel Alvarez, K.D. Kang, John Ruettiger
Kendall looks to have a strong pitching staff this season.
"I say it looks strong and I've seen most of these guys in the past," Kendall said. "These guys will be able to go out there and compete and work through some innings that a young, inexperienced pitcher might not be able to.
"All of them bring plus pitches to the table. A Davies changeup, a Berry with good life with his fastball. I really like what our starting pitching brings. Our bullpen too, having guys like (Oliver) Drake, (Chris) Petrini, (Juan) Morillo and (Fabio) Castillo. They will be able to provide some quality innings for us."
For Berry and Davies, this will be their first tests against Double-A batters as they move up from Single-A Frederick.
"They will face guys that are a little bit more disciplined, maybe chase fewer pitches out of the zone," Kendall said. "Davies, I've never seen a young kid with a changeup like that before. They'll have some growing pains, but they are resilient and quick studies and I think they'll be able to make adjustments in this league."
Rodriguez, who turns 21 on April 7, had a great finish here last season. He went 3-0 with an 0.36 ERA over his last four Baysox starts. Over 25 innings, he gave up just 16 hits and one run with three walks and 26 strikeouts.
The Valencia, Venezuela, native then pitched in the Arizona Fall League and was the winning pitcher as Surprise won the AFL title.
"That was pretty fun last year in the fall league," Rodriguez said. "It was great. I've never been on a championship team before, never in my life. That was a great experience."
Wilson, the Orioles' 10th-round pick in 2011, will take some momentum into his first start. He pitched against the Orioles for Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday and threw two scoreless innings against mostly O's starters. He said it was exciting to make a good impression in front of manager Buck Showalter and the major league team.
"Absolutely. I think that is the point of all of this, to have a chance to get out there in front of those guys," Wilson said. "They can watch film and read reports, but to see how you perform in a situation like that I think is what they ultimately want to see."
Rodriguez, Berry and catcher Michael Ohlman were among several Baysox players that spent some time in major league camp with the Orioles. Ohlman went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs in big league exhibition games.
"That was fantastic," Ohlman said of his experience in major league camp. "Stayed healthy the whole time and picked up on a lot great things from guys like Matt Wieters, Steve Clevenger and John Russell. I was picking their brains and took a lot out of it."
Here are the projected opening night starters for Bowie:
C - Michael Ohlman
1B - Christian Walker
2B - Garabez Rosa
SS - Niuman Romero
3B - Buck Britton
OF - Dariel Alvarez, K.D. Kang, John Ruettiger
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