Orioles on TPA Top 100 Prospects

[basepath]

TPA just put out their top 100 list. 4 Orioles made it.

Matt Wieters at 13
Billy Rowell at 50 (low)
newly aquired Chris Tillman at 83
newly aquired Troy Patton at 89

http://www.topprospectalert.com/2008...lprospects.htm

[J W]

Is it me or are Bucholtz and Chamberlain #s 2 and 3 because they play for the Sawx and Yanks?

Wieters at #13 is a wonderful sign. Is that the highest any Oriole has been since, um, Ben McDonald?

Rowell is almost getting lost in this whole thing. I wonder if he's going to make it all the way to the bigs though.

Jeff Clement came in at #52 for the Mariners.

Patton and Tillman have been higher. Tillman's high ERA at the California League has hurt him in the rankings.

Sean Gallagher isn't even in the top 100, and neither is Donald Veal. The Cubs have three prospects in the top 100 - Josh Vitters (#27), Geovany Soto (#77) and Tyler Colvin (#81) - and they don't appear to want to give any of them up for Roberts. Pie and Murton don't qualify for the list anymore.

[ChrisLDuncan]

Is it me or are Bucholtz and Chamberlain #s 2 and 3 because they play for the Sawx and Yanks?

Maybe for some Yanks/Sox, but not Buchholz and Chamberlain. They're legit, however the list is awful.

[Erik Bedard]

They're legit top ten, but two and three? Buchholz may be getting overrated because of the no-hitter, and Chamberlain would not have gotten nearly as much coverage if he wasn't a Yankee.

[edsachs1]

Rowell is almost getting lost in this whole thing. I wonder if he's going to make it all the way to the bigs though.

Assuming no injuries, Rowell should make it to the bigs. I said it a few times, but I think Rowell will be Top 20 next offseason, maybe even Top 10. He had a down year last year, but when put into perspective its really good. Rowell was injured for the first month or so of the season, so he didn't really get back into rhythm like other guys. Yet he still put up an OPS above league average when he was younger than the league average. I also looked at a few of the recent high school bats to make the bigs (David Wright and Joe Mauer for example). Alot of them also had "sophomore slumps" their second professional seasons. This season will be very telling as to whether or not Rowell is a legit prospect. But from what I hear I think he's for real.