What could the second half hold for the rotation?

Talk about a balancing act for the Orioles. Look at their starting rotation.

They expect to get left-hander John Means back for their next series, and maybe Bruce Zimmermann not long after that. But that rotation began play last night ranked last in the league in both team ERA (6.11) and in fewest innings pitched by starters (400 1/3 innings).

And then those numbers got worse as Keegan Akin allowed eight hits and six runs over three innings in a 9-2 loss at Kansas City.

So how do they try to provide help for a part of the team that desperately needs it?

Is it better to leave young pitching prospects at Triple-A to get them more seasoning or to bring them up now when the rotation could use help?

The O's seem to want to let those prospects get more development time.

Right now their top three pitching prospects - Grayson Rodriguez, DL Hall and Mike Baumann - are at Double-A Bowie. But their next four, in terms of top 30 rankings, are at Triple-A Norfolk. That group of four includes No. 9 Zac Lowther, No. 12 Kyle Bradish, No. 15 Kevin Smith and No. 17 Alexander Wells.

So far at Triple-A, Smith has thrown 17 1/3 innings, Lowther 24 2/3, Bradish 36 2/3 and Wells 43. That certainly seems like not a lot of seasoning yet at the highest minor league level.

So at a time when the O's are desperate for some starting pitching, some of their prospects at Triple-A just are not ready. Why risk throwing a youngster into the deep end too soon because the big league team is struggling?

"We've brought some guys here that are on the (40-man) roster, young guys, that we would like to see them have success at Triple-A," O's manager Brandon Hyde said before Friday's game at Kansas City. "The Triple-A part is important to, you know, spend time there for your development. It is important. So, we have brought some guys here already, realize that they do need some more Triple-A time. To pitch in the (former) International League, to have some success, to get to the next step to get to the big leagues.

"And it is just not us, around the league everybody is worried about innings. And the amount of innings you have left in your season. We're trying to get through with starters that haven't given us a ton of length, which has been challenging. Now we have to call more guys that, hopefully, can get through innings. It's hard, it's hard.

"You would like to see our main prospects, our main guys, guys that we've either added to the 40-man or will over the next year or two, have success in the minor leagues and continue their development. And not come up here too early. Think that's important."

Checking in with a scout: Coming soon in this space, I'll provide some in-depth quotes on O's top draft pick outfielder Colton Cowser from the club's Midwest scouting supervisor, Jim Richardson. He's been a member of the O's scouting staff since 2005, when he was hired by then scouting director Joe Jordan.

Here is a small preview of that upcoming story with Richardson, which you can read here early next week:

The O's drafted the lefty-hitting Cowser, the Southland Conference Player of the Year, No. 5 overall last Sunday night in the opening round of the First-Year Player Draft.

Cowser played in 55 games this season for Sam Houston State, batting .374/.490/.680 with 10 doubles, two triples, 16 homers, 61 runs, 17 steals and 52 RBIs. He recorded an OPS of 1.170, walking more times than he struck out, 42-32. He batted .354/.460/.609/.1.067 for his career with 78 walks and 70 strikeouts.

One of many things that impressed the Orioles about this kid was his lack of swings-and-misses. Yes, he walked more than he struck out, but his contact rates were quite impressive. Baseball America noted that he had 17 extra-base hits this year off fastballs, and just 19 swings-and-misses against that pitch.

"People can say, well he did that in a conference that was not as good as the SEC or whatever. Which is true. That is a fact," said Richardson. "But, he faced good enough arms to give you that comfort level, and he faced guys in mid-week from Texas, from (Texas) A&M, Baylor, wherever. As a staff, not one time did we see him get overmatched at the plate.

"Now, has he seen on a daily basis the kind of arms he's going to see when he goes out in pro ball? The answer for me is no, not on a daily basis. So there will be a learning curve there. It's probably going to be 94, 95 (mph), and tomorrow the same thing. And more consistent breaking balls. Things he has seen before but not on a daily basis before. So that will be a little bit of a learning curve for him, but I think he'll be fine."

I asked Richardson, based on his years of experience, if Cowser will be a player that could move quickly through the farm system.

"He has that chance, I would say, most definitely. Hoping to get him out as quick as we can and let him get some ABs this summer. That is going to be to get comfortable with pro ball.

"On the offensive side, his quality of at-bats gives him the opportunity to move. And it's more than results. I don't think you can measure all the positive things just by a batting average or certain stats. His quality of at-bats gives him the opportunity, no matter where he is at, to have success."