Scouts rank O's young pitchers: Arrieta, Britton, Matusz, Tillman

[Jordan Tuwiner]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orio ... 4947.story

I asked eight scouts -- all from opposing teams -- in the past week to order the Orioles' five, mid-20s starters who have been on the Norfolk-Baltimore shuttle from most coveted to least.

Of the eight, only one didn't name Arrieta first. He had Arrieta second and Zach Britton first.

Most everyone else listed Britton second and Tommy Hunter fifth.

Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman were almost evenly split between third and fourth, though Matusz received one second-place vote.

Connolly followed up on Twitter saying that the average order was Arrieta, Britton, Matusz, Tillman, Hunter.

Thoughts? I would probably rank them Arrieta, Tillman, Britton, Matusz, Hunter.

[ofahn]

Arrieta, Britton, Tillman, Matusz, Hunter

[osforlife]

Arrieta, Britton, Tillman, Matusz, Hunter

Oh jeez I must have read that wrong last night. Don't know what I was doing there. Britton, Tillman, Arrieta, Matusz, Hunter. But I'll say if Arrieta puts it all together, he probably has the best upside. Britton has a nice sinker that when he's on, can paint that outside corner all day. I think he'll be a middle of the rotation starter. #2 at best. Hunter can be good when he keeps the ball down which he did against the Twins and Indians. Didn't get to see his start against the A's.

[OriolesRedskins28]

Tillman, Britton Arrieta, Matusz. Hunter does not deserve consideration.

[Matt P]

I guess Chen doesn't count since he recently turned 27? Still, only one year older than Hunter and Arrieta.

I'd go with the same list as OriolesRedskins28. Tillman has looked better this season than any of the other young pitchers ever have.

[birdwatcher55]

I hope these scouts are not working for us. If they can't see Tillman is the best of that bunch, then something is wrong

[David]

Tillman, Arrieta, Matusz, Britton & Hunter.

[ofahn]

Oh jeez I must have read that wrong last night. Don't know what I was doing there. Britton, Tillman, Arrieta, Matusz, Hunter. But I'll say if Arrieta puts it all together, he probably has the best upside. Britton has a nice sinker that when he's on, can paint that outside corner all day. I think he'll be a middle of the rotation starter. #2 at best. Hunter can be good when he keeps the ball down which he did against the Twins and Indians. Didn't get to see his start against the A's.

IMO Arrieta, Britton, Tillman, and Matusz, ALL have the potential to be #2 SPs. My concern is whether they have the desire, self confidence, and self discipline to reach that level.

My rankings were based on what they shown so far. I would have put Tillman at the top of the list, but he has yet to show me that he can be efficient with his pitches, and/or has the stamina to throw 120 pitches per game to make up for his nibbling with two strikes.

I think we need to ignore what Britton and has done this year and evaluate him on his 2013 performance.

[Matt P]

IMO Arrieta, Britton, Tillman, and Matusz, ALL have the potential to be #2 SPs. My concern is whether they have the desire, self confidence, and self discipline to reach that level.

My rankings were based on what they shown so far. I would have put Tillman at the top of the list, but he has yet to show me that he can be efficient with his pitches, and/or has the stamina to throw 120 pitches per game to make up for his nibbling with two strikes.

I think we need to ignore what Britton and has done this year and evaluate him on his 2013 performance.

How many pitchers in baseball throw 120 pitches per game?

[ofahn]

How many pitchers in baseball throw 120 pitches per game?

My point, exactly.

[birdwatcher55]

I really hope I never see Britton, Arrieta and Matusz in Baltimore again. Sign some veterans arms this winter!!!

[dan72]

What has Britton done to be 2nd on the list? Other than his fast start to last season he has not had much success. I think I would put Tillman and Matusz above Britton and I have had that opinion prior to todays start.

My question is how long are we going to go with these guys? If they don't improve before they reach 26, 27 or 28 years old they won't have any value to us or anyone else.

[osforlife]

IMO Arrieta, Britton, Tillman, and Matusz, ALL have the potential to be #2 SPs. My concern is whether they have the desire, self confidence, and self discipline to reach that level.

My rankings were based on what they shown so far. I would have put Tillman at the top of the list, but he has yet to show me that he can be efficient with his pitches, and/or has the stamina to throw 120 pitches per game to make up for his nibbling with two strikes.

I think we need to ignore what Britton and has done this year and evaluate him on his 2013 performance.

Britton should still be in the minors. He can't locate anything right now. Arrieta could be the best of the bunch but he could also pitch like 2012 for the rest of his career. And to be fair, those 120 pitches were over 8 1/3 innings. So...what that would be 100 pitches in 7 innings. Not bad. I really like Britton's sinking fastball when he locates it.

[Jordan Tuwiner]

Britton should still be in the minors. He can't locate anything right now. Arrieta could be the best of the bunch but he could also pitch like 2012 for the rest of his career. And to be fair, those 120 pitches were over 8 1/3 innings. So...what that would be 100 pitches in 7 innings. Not bad. I really like Britton's sinking fastball when he locates it.

Weird to see because both Tucker and I watched his last start for Norfolk this season and he was hitting his spots and showed good command.

[osforlife]

Weird to see because both Tucker and I watched his last start for Norfolk this season and he was hitting his spots and showed good command.

Yes, I remember following his start on Gameday and reading you and Tucker's comments throughout the game. I looked forward to seeing him in the majors but maybe that was just fool's gold. I'd like to see Steve Johnson get a shot at starting in Britton's place, but his future is almost definitly in the bullpen. But his next start against the Mariners will do him good. Do or Die for Zach on 8/7/12.