Brandon Erbe

Things have changed at a very fast pace for McDonogh's Brandon Erbe since last spring - nearly as fast as one of his 95 mph fastballs. Erbe has gone from being one of the top pitchers in the metro area and a second-team All-Metro selection (5-3, two saves, 1.29 ERA, 84 strikeouts in 65 innings) to one of the top pitchers and pro prospects in the nation in a matter of months. Baseball America currently has Erbe, who signed with the University of Miami last September, ranked as the 33rd high school prospect in the nation, which projects him as a No. 1 draft pick come June.

The last time the Orioles employed a legitimate big leaguer from the Baltimore area, his name was Cal Ripken Jr. — and he retired in 2001. If new executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette gets his way, that local pipeline will reopen under his tenure. During his Tuesday news briefing at the Hilton Anatole during this week's annual winter meetings, Duquette was asked whether a player's local ties — in this case Chicago White Sox pitcher and Mount St. Joseph alum Gavin Floyd — would play into his decision to pursue that player.

Yesterday Single-A New York-Penn League Aberdeen 5, Brooklyn 1: Brandon Erbe (1-1) went five scoreless innings as the host IronBirds (26-47) knocked the Cyclones (40-34) out of the wild-card race. Today Single-A New York-Penn League Aberdeen at Hudson Valley, 5 p.m. Single-A Carolina League Northern Division playoffs Lynchburg at Frederick, 6:35 p.m. Single-A South Atlantic League Northern Division playoffs Hagerstown at Delmarva, 7:05 p.m.

While other Orioles pitchers head to different fields to throw bullpen sessions or work on their fielding and pickoff moves, Brandon Erbe stays off to the side and plays catch with an athletic trainer. It is a tedious and, at times, frustrating routine for the pitcher, but it's also a necessary one if the former McDonogh standout hopes to rebound from shoulder surgery and get to the big leagues. "It's tough because you want to get back as soon as possible," said Erbe, a 23-year-old right-hander who had surgery to repair a torn labrum in mid-August.

Up Val Majewski / / The Triple-A Ottawa outfielder has quietly raised his average to .261 after hovering around .200 for much of the year. Pedro Beato / / The supplemental first-round pick has righted himself after a rough start at Single-A Aberdeen and stands 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 30 innings. Zach Clark / / The UMBC product is 4-3 with a 1.70 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings for Rookie-level Bluefield. Down James Johnson / / After a poor cameo in Baltimore, the starter's ERA has risen to 4.36 at Double-A Bowie.

Moves Baseball ORIOLES: Signed P Brandon Erbe (McDonogh), third-round draft choice, and OF Kieron Pope, fourth-round pick; assigned them to Rookie-level Bluefield. RANGERS: Recalled C Gerald Laird from Triple-A Oklahoma. Optioned IF Marshall McDougall to Oklahoma. LONG ISLAND (INDEPENDENT): Released P John Rocker. RIPKEN BASEBALL GROUP: Acquired Augusta GreenJackets of Single-A South Atlantic League from HWS Baseball Group. Basketball BOBCATS: Exercised 2007-08 option on F Emeka Okafor.

FREDERICK -- Tommy Thompson doesn't have to look far to see the future of the Orioles. The Frederick Keys' manager need only glance across his clubhouse. "We've got a lot of guys here that are going to play in Baltimore," said Thompson. If his professional debut last night was any indication, one of them, catcher Matt Wieters, may get there quicker than most. Wieters, the fifth overall pick out of Georgia Tech last June, homered in each of his first two official professional at-bats after walking in the opening inning, leading the host Keys to a 7-3 win over Lynchburg in the Single-A Carolina League opener for both teams.

When Brandon Snyder had a rare bad game as an amateur, he'd simply do everything a bit harder the next time and go right back to dominating. But when the Orioles catching prospect took that approach to his first professional slump, he found it didn't work so well. That's why, after striking out 24 times and walking only four in his first 17 games at Single-A Delmarva, Snyder is trying to mellow out. "You're thinking, `Oh, I've got to swing more, I've got to swing more,' " he said. "When really, it's just the opposite.

Ty Wigginton had his best game of the season Sunday, blasting two homers for the first time in 2009. On Tuesday, the Orioles' first game since their Sunday blowout victory over the Atlanta Braves, Wigginton found himself out of the lineup again. Such is life for a reserve player, a concept Wigginton is still getting used to. "This is all new for me. I've always been the guy who not only played more than one position but as long as I was healthy I played every day," Wigginton said. "So adjusting is pretty much the hardest part."

The Orioles undoubtedly were hoping that Miguel Tejada would report to training camp early this spring to begin the transition from shortstop to third base, but he was one of only a small handful of players who have not yet made an appearance at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. O's officials say that's no big deal. The first full-squad workout is scheduled for today and that's when players are required to be here. Many position players report before that, but they aren't required to and clubs are not allowed to pressure them to come in before the official reporting date.

Young pitchers Luis Lebron and Brandon Erbe were among seven players sent out of Orioles camp Monday, but they left manager Dave Trembley with a lasting impression as they headed to the minor league facility. "Both of them have special, special arms and great bodies. They are pitchers, long, lean, good workers, good makeup," Trembley said. "People won't miss on them. There are other guys that have come through … and people have missed on them and maybe over-projected.

Young pitchers Luis Lebron and Brandon Erbe were among seven players sent out of Orioles' camp Monday, but they left manager Dave Trembley with a lasting impression as they headed to the minor-league facility. "Both of them have special, special arms and great bodies. They are pitchers, long, lean, good workers, good makeup," Trembley said. "People won't miss on them. There are other guys that have come through … and people have missed on them and maybe over-projected.

Day after day following the 2007 season, Brandon Erbe arrived at Twin Lakes Park, got dressed and headed out to the bullpen to meet Orioles minor league pitching instructor Dave Schmidt. For more than a month, they worked under the hot Florida sun, doing the same drills and retracing the same movements. Erbe never threw a single pinch. "We had three or four drills that we'd do over and over, just dry work. It's not exactly fun. It's rather mundane, just boring stuff over and over again," Schmidt said.

The Orioles undoubtedly were hoping that Miguel Tejada would report to training camp early this spring to begin the transition from shortstop to third base, but he was one of only a small handful of players who have not yet made an appearance at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. O's officials say that's no big deal. The first full-squad workout is scheduled for today and that's when players are required to be here. Many position players report before that, but they aren't required to and clubs are not allowed to pressure them to come in before the official reporting date.

Ty Wigginton had his best game of the season Sunday, blasting two homers for the first time in 2009. On Tuesday, the Orioles' first game since their Sunday blowout victory over the Atlanta Braves, Wigginton found himself out of the lineup again. Such is life for a reserve player, a concept Wigginton is still getting used to. "This is all new for me. I've always been the guy who not only played more than one position but as long as I was healthy I played every day," Wigginton said. "So adjusting is pretty much the hardest part."

Joe Jordan's draft philosophy hasn't wavered since he took over the Orioles' amateur scouting department in November 2004. He takes the highest-rated player on his scouting board, regardless of position, need, representation or educational status. In analyzing Jordan's first four Orioles drafts, however, a clear pattern emerges. Of his top-10 picks in each of the past four years, 30 were college players and 10 from high school. Of those 40, only three were high school pitchers; the highest selected were third-rounders Brandon Erbe (2005)

Matt Wieters keeps writing unbelievable baseball stories with his bat down on the Double-A Bowie farm. Thursday afternoon, the 6-foot-5 catcher walked to home plate as a pinch hitter with two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth inning and the Baysox trailing Harrisburg 8-3. Wieters hit the first pitch high over the right-field wall for a grand slam at Prince George's Stadium, bringing the tying run, Lou Montanez, to the plate. Montanez has been the hottest hitter in the Eastern League the past few weeks, taking over the home run lead with 22, RBI lead with 77 and runs scored lead with 75 while being tied for fifth in batting average at .315 through Saturday.

Matt Wieters keeps writing unbelievable baseball stories with his bat down on the Double-A Bowie farm. Thursday afternoon, the 6-foot-5 catcher walked to home plate as a pinch hitter with two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth inning and the Baysox trailing Harrisburg 8-3. Wieters hit the first pitch high over the right-field wall for a grand slam at Prince George's Stadium, bringing the tying run, Lou Montanez, to the plate. Montanez has been the hottest hitter in the Eastern League the past few weeks, taking over the home run lead with 22, RBI lead with 77 and runs scored lead with 75 while being tied for fifth in batting average at .315 through Saturday.

FREDERICK -- Tommy Thompson doesn't have to look far to see the future of the Orioles. The Frederick Keys' manager need only glance across his clubhouse. "We've got a lot of guys here that are going to play in Baltimore," said Thompson. If his professional debut last night was any indication, one of them, catcher Matt Wieters, may get there quicker than most. Wieters, the fifth overall pick out of Georgia Tech last June, homered in each of his first two official professional at-bats after walking in the opening inning, leading the host Keys to a 7-3 win over Lynchburg in the Single-A Carolina League opener for both teams.