If I would have written this article a few months ago, there’s no question that left-hander
Erik Bedard would have one of the players to watch for the Baltimore Orioles, but since he’s now a member of the Seattle Mariners, I’ll just have to slide another name in his place.

I’m going to start with a young player the Orioles received in a package from the Mariners in exchange for Erik Bedard, outfielder Adam Jones. You will always find a young prospect like Jones, making an impact in the big leagues, then be surprised that he wasn’t drafted until the 300th round of the MLB Amateur Draft in 2003. Jones tore up the Pacific Coast League in 2007 with the Tacoma Rainiers, hitting .314 with 25 HR’s and 84 RBI’s. If that’s a sign of things to come, he’s going to be a player to watch for years to come.

One player that had a huge season for Baltimore in 2007, hitting an even .300 with 23 HR’s and driving in 112 is outfielder Nick Markakis. Markakis had a career year in 2007, his 23 HR’s and 112 RBI’s were both career highs in just his 2nd big league season. Although the Orioles are in a rebuilding stage, as long as they hang on to young players like Markakis and Jones, they could be a franchise to be recogned with in just a few short years.

The third, and most important piece to the 2008 Baltimore Orioles, is young right-hander Jeremy Guthrie. His 2007 season was his first full season as a starter for the Baltimore Orioles and he didn’t disappoint. He finished the year with a 7-5 record and a 3.70 ERA in 26 starts. With Bedard no longer in Baltimore, look for Guthrie to take over the 1st spot in the rotation. If you get a chance to watch Guthrie pitch, take it, he’s got good stuff and when he’s spotting his pitches, he is absolutely unhittable.

The one thing the Orioles will desperately need to finish the rebuilding phase is a proven major league closer, something they don’t have right now. The Orioles had signed former Dodger closer Danys Baez to a 3-year $19M contract prior to the 2007 season. Baez was the setup man to Chris Ray, but when Ray went down with an injury in July of last year, Baez took over, but he also would go down with an elbow injury that required Tommy John Surgery. If Ray is healthy, he should be the closer for the Orioles in 2008, but don’t
count on seeing Baez, his rehab has been slowed by inflammation and he hasn’t even started a throwing program yet. If the Orioles do a “closer by committee” during the 2008 season, there are some interesting closers that will be free agents at the end of the season that they could take a serious look at.

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