Matt Wieters just keeps on hammering the ball this spring, and Saturday, he did it in the clutch, Peter Schmuck writes. He's hitting better than .400 in spring games and putting a whole lot of pressure -- a good kind of pressure -- on the Baltimore Orioles' front office to keep him on the team to start the season.
It probably would make the most sense for the Orioles to send him to the minors for at least the first couple of months to prevent him from becoming arbitration-eligible until after 2011. Wieters is a
Scott Boras client, and this typically means Wieters would be more likely to head to free agency and walk away from the Orioles than to sign an
Evan Longoria-type long-term deal.
On the other hand, the Orioles must continue to make progress as they crawl their way back into the conversation in the AL East. Some talent evaluators will tell you they think Wieters is the Orioles' best player
right now because of his hitting ability, plate discipline and the way he handles pitchers.
Consider the combination of his walk, strikeout and power numbers at the plate while playing in high Class A ball and Double-A last season:
Walks: 82
Strikeouts: 76
Extra-base hits: 51
OPS: 1.054
The Orioles must decide whether to essentially bury Wieters in the minor leagues until early June or start the season with him swinging in the middle of the lineup. It's not an easy decision, once you factor in economic considerations. On the other hand, it's a decision that every other team in baseball would love to have. By all accounts, Wieters will be a monster force.
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Buster Olney
