Brandon Erbe

A shoulder injury wiped out almost two months of Erbe's season, but he was good when he was on the mound. The shoulder injury was behind him in August when he threw eight no-hit innings in a start at Double-A. Erbe allowed just 47 hits in 74 innings in Double-A, but he may need to start the season back at that level because he only made 14 starts there in 2009. With some additional minor league seasoning, Erbe could be up in Baltimore late in the season if there is a need in the rotation.

Erbe had a breakthrough season in High-A, leading the Carolina League in strikeouts, but he also led the league in home runs allowed. He is no longer among the top Orioles pitching prospects, but that's more of a function of how much their system has improved. He could earn a shot at the major league level in 2010.

After a dominant 2006 campaign in the Low-A Sally League, Erbe took a definite step back in 2007 while moving up a level to the High-A Carolina League, and got worse as the season progressed, going 1-6 with an 8.73 ERA in his final 10 starts. All is not lost here, however - keep in mind that Erbe was only 19 years old, and despite some ugly overall stats, he still managed to strike out 111 batters in 119.1 innings. He probably needs to repeat the level, but there's still plenty of time for him to develop.

The 18-year-old local Baltimore product breezed through the Low-A Sally League in 2006, posting a very good 133:47 K:BB ratio in 114.2 innings. The Orioles have had plenty of experience with young pitchers in the recent future, developing major league pitching prospects such as Erik Bedard, John Maine, Daniel Cabrera, Adam Loewen and Hayden Penn the past few seasons, so they'll likely take it slow with Erbe. He should pitch mostly at High-A Frederick in 2007, with a promotion to Double-A Bowie possible if he continues to pitch at a high level.