(Source: mlb.com)

Roch Kubatko of MASN is reporting that Brian Matusz will be promoted from Frederick to Bowie. The following is a Baysox Blog story about Matusz published on April 20.

(This story also appears at Baseball Daily Digest.)

Orioles prospect Brian Matusz showed the repertoire and poise that made him the first pitcher picked in the 2008 draft during his first home start for the High-A Frederick Keys on April 19. The left-hander scattered seven hits through six innings by setting up a sharp curve with a 91 to 94 mile per hour fastball, a slider, and a change up.

“During my first two starts, I was rushing things a little too much,” Matusz said after the Keys game on Saturday. “I’ve been a little too anxious and tried to do too much. Tomorrow I’m going to go out there, throw strikes and get ahead in the count and let guys put balls in play.”

The Orioles top pitching prospect threw 96 pitches, 67 for strikes, on Sunday. He seemed to gain focus as the game went along. Overall, Matusz had seven ground-ball and three fly outs and averaged 3.4 pitches per batter.

“My focus has been on throwing the fastball for strikes earlier in the count and trying to get ground balls earlier on,” he said. “My focus (on April 19) will be on the fastball. I’ll work it in and out on both sides of the plate.”

Matusz’s 11.34 K/9 is among the league leaders in the Carolina League and he has yielded one homerun in 15.2 innings. These excellent results and the 22-year-old’s knack for getting out of jams indicate he is making a smooth transition to professional baseball.

“(The difference between college and professional baseball) is different scenery,” Matusz said. “It’s still the same game. There hasn’t been a huge difference in the hitters so far. I’m just trying to get ahead in the counts and throwing strikes. That’s what I didn’t do in my first two starts, which is something I need to work on. I need to avoid getting deep into counts, which just makes it harder for me.”

The ease of Matusz’s transition may be explained in part by the responsibility he was given in college, where pitches are generally called by the coaching staff and not the catcher.

“In college I had the right to shake off whenever I wanted to. So, I did shake off a lot and I threw what I wanted to throw,” the University of San Diego alumnus said. “So, it hasn’t been a huge difference and luckily the catcher (at Frederick) Caleb Joseph is very smart behind the plate and we’ve worked together very well.”

Jason Berken (from baysox.com)

Berken leads the Eastern League with a 15.0 K/BB ratio through 26.2 innings with Bowie in 2008. Henandez has a 2.68 K/BB in 2008. The 2007 Eastern League leader Scott Patterson of Trenton  had a 6.04 K/BB and 2006 leader Shawn Hill of Harrisburg had a 6.40 K/BB.

Berken was a sixth round 2006 draft pick out of Clemson with a reputation as a control artist who pitched to contact. In 2007, he had a 1.38 WHIP, 2.92 BB/9, and 7.39 K/9 in 151 innings with Frederick (High A). In 2008, Berken has used his plus fastball (87 to 92 mph), solid curve, and developing change up to notch a 0.98 WHIP, 0.68 BB/9 and 10.13 K/9. 

Today, the Baysox bullpen couldn’t keep the lead after Berken’s five fantastic innings against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Berken was not involved in the decision and his record stands at one win and two loses. If he continues to pitch like he has and his teammates cooperate, Berken should add to that win total shortly. 

Righty starter Brad Bergesen makes his Baysox debut this evening against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Bergesen replaces righty Chorye Spoone in the rotation for this start. Spoone was placed on the disabled list effective April 21 with a strained shoulder.

(Brad Bergesen – from baysox.com)

Bergesen is a smart, scrappy pitcher with strong control of a sinking fastball, a change-up and a slider. Through 17.1 innings in Frederick this year, he posted a 7.8 K/9, which was a significant improvement over his 6.4 K/9 through 332 innings from rookie ball to High A. Of course, his 3.12 BB/9 over the same period was nearly double his 1.60 BB/9 through the preceding 314.2 innings. 

(Interesting side-note. Minor League Baseball Analyst 2008 gave Bergesen a four out of five for his 88 to 94 mph fastball, a three out of five for his slider, and a one out of five for his change-up. Bergesen’s Orioles Hangout profile says that he has a good feel for his change-up, but stuggles at times with his slider.)

Update: Bergesen held the Fisher Cats to three hits and stuck out four through seven scoreless innings. It sounds as though he used his slider often and to good effect. (I listened to WGIR through milb.com.) April 25 – 8:21 p.m. EST

Chris Tillman’s five no-hit innings was the highlight of the Baysox 7 to 3 loss to Akron on April 12. However, Manager Brad Komminsk’s effort to shake up the Baysox offense should not be overlooked.

Komminsk’s batting order against Akron’s left-handed starter Ryan Edell featured five players in new spots. The Baysox’s tenth game of the year was the first that Carlos Rojas hit second, Jeff Nettles hit fourth, Kennard Jones hit sixth, Zach Dillon hit seventh, and Blake Davis hit ninth against a lefty.

Baysox April 12 Batting Order

Starter: Ryan Edell (LHP)

The starters in new spots went a collective one for 17 and Akron right-handed relievers J.D. Martin and Randy Newsom shut the Baysox down after a three-run fifth inning. Still, it’s good to see Komminsk is looking for ways to jump-start the Baysox offense. 

We are just a week into the season, so I’m waiting to identify the sort of trends that I’d like to write about here. However, in the next week or so I’d like to do a little analysis of the roster composition and the batting order(s). First, I’d like to compare my guess at the Baysox roster from before minor league spring training to the opening day version. Then, after I have a little more data, I will look at the Baysox batting orders against lefties and righties.