Notable News: 8/6

1. Jon Niese was placed on the 60 Day DL with a torn right hamstring and is likely done for the season. Elmer Dessens will take his roster spot.
2. Justin Upton was placed on the 15 Day DL and his roster spot has been taken by Trent Oeltjen. I saw Oeltjen 2 years ago while he played with Rochester, where I worked and thought he could be a solid 4th OF.
3. Nats traded Anderson Hernandez to the Mets for Greg Veloz. I saw Veloz last season working for the Catfish and he was trying to be a Jose Reyes clone, but just didn't have the bat control. Low risk, high reward for the Nats, as Hernandez isn't going to be helpful to them when they try to contend again, however long that may be.
4. The Yankees signed Russ Ortiz. Subtraction by addition and if he gets meaningful innings, there may be blood in New York.
5. Jarrod Parker, the D'Backs top pitching prospect and one of my favorites, has been placed on the 7-Day DL with tightness in his right elbow and it is likely that he will be shut down for the year.

Extra Reports: Orioles Focus

As the season continues and I begin to get more free time, I will be attempting to go back and watch tape of pitchers I haven't yet seen this season. Here are the reports on the 5 Orioles pitchers I haven't yet seen this year in the majors (minus Matusz and Tillman due to the fact they will likely be pitching until the end of the season)

1) Adam Eaton
4/12 Start. 100 pitches. 12 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs (2 in 1st, 2nd), 7 Sliders (4 in 1st, 2 in 2nd, 3rd), Curveball (2nd), Cutter (3rd)

• Eaton is a 6-2, 215 pound righty. The 31 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out and may have some bad weight. He came from a 3/4 release. His fastball has a little run in on righties, but is very straight, especially when considering his arm slot. His curve is 1-7 with above average depth while his slider is a 2-7 with solid late bite. His cutter has marginal cut and sink. His change has some fade from lefties. For every good slider he throws, he throw 2 flat ones that just hang and can get hammered. He will throw 3-2 changeups and sliders. He has no out pitch and just tries to out pitch you. He could be a serviceable # 5 on a NL team with a forgiving park, such as San Diego, but he is AAA fodder now.

1st: FB (88-91), CB (72-75), SL (79-83), Cut (86)

2nd: FB (87-92), CB (73-76), SL (80-82), CU (79-81)

3rd: FB (89-92), CB (72-76), SL (80), Cut (86)

4th: FB (88-92), CB (76), SL (79-83), Cut (87)

2) Dennis Sarfate

4/15 Appearance. 23 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Curveball (8th)

• Sarfate is a 6-4, 225 pound righty. The 28 year old has a big frame that is maxed out. He has a muscular, athletic looking build. He comes from an over the top release with a delivery that puts a lot of pressure on his shoulder (and is currently out with a pinched nerve in his shoulder) and looks like he almost over finishes every pitch, causing his shoulder to rotate too far. His fastball is a straight 4-seam from a classic drop and drive delivery while his curve is a 12-6 with average depth. An injury prone righty who relies on a straight fastball is a terrible fit for the AL East and is likely a guy who is going to be riding the shuttle from Norfolk and back.

8th: FB (91-93), CB (76-80)

9th: FB (91-92), CB (76)

3) Alfredo Simon

4/9 Start. 89 pitches. 5 strike swinging. 3 Fastballs (2 in 3rd, 4th), 2 Splitters (1st, 4th)

• Simon is a 6-4, 230 pound righty. The 28 year old has a big frame that is maxed out. He came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some natural run in on righties due to his arm slot, a pretty straight split with marginal dive that flashes average dive, but can't control it and a 12-6 curve with average depth. He has inconsistent command of his stuff. His fastball is only real above average pitch and neither off-speed offering is too impressive without his lack of command factored in. Could be a solid reliever with his fastball though and that is where his future should lie when he returns from Tommy John.

1st: FB (93-94), Split (83-84), CB (76)

2nd: FB (93-94), Split (81-83), CB (74-76)

3rd: FB (92-95), Split (79-83), CB (72-76)

4th: FB (90-95), Split (78-80), CB (72-75)

5th: FB (92-93), Split (79-81), CB (74)

6th: FB (93-94), Split (80)

4) Bob McCrory

5/8 Appearance. 40 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Slider (7th)

• McCrory is a 6-1, 205 pound righty. The 27 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out with big thighs. He came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties, a 2-7 slider with a little bite but not much and a straight change. McCrory's fastball is plus and I love hard fastballs as much as the next guy, but neither off-speed pitch grades even as fringe and his slider doesn't have the tilt necessary to get hitters to even worry about it. If he can find an off-speed pitch (maybe a splitter?) then he can be successful.

7th: FB (96-98), SL (90-93), CU (87-90)

8th: FB (95-97), CU (87-88)

5) Kam Mickolio

7/17 Appearance. 38 pitches. 6 strikes swinging. 6 Fastballs (2 in 7th, 4 in 8th)

• Mickolio is a 6-9, 255 pound righty. The 25 year old has a big frame that is fairly maxed out and may be able to add a touch more weight. He came from a high 3/4 release with a 2-7 slider with solid bite, a pretty straight 4-seamer and a straight change. Mechanics are similar to Bronson Arroyo after the break of his hands and almost throws across his body. He generates a great downhill plane for his pitches, getting some natural sink and looks like the ball really jumps at the hitter. A reliever I actually like, I think he can have an impact for the Orioles and looks to be a fairly solid pitcher.

7th: FB (94-97), SL (81-84)

8th: FB (93-97), SL (83-85), CU (86)

6) Radhames Liz

4/20 Appearance. 19 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Liz is a 6-2, 185 pound righty. The 25 year old has a medium frame that can get up to at least 205. He is real long and lanky. He came from a high 3/4 release in a delivery that featured a lot of moving parts and breaks his hands high and is a high effort delivery. His fastball is a straight 4-seam, though it flashes some run in on righties with sink. His change has some fade from lefties with a little sink that he will throw to righties and is his most utilized off-speed offering. His slider is a sharp 2-7 with above average bite that he has no idea where it will go. His command is putrid, as every fastball was a cockshot or 5 feet off the plate in some direction. He had better command of his change, but even that only graded out as below average, constantly missing armside or high. I used to like Liz (and he is still too young to give up on) but the forecast is fairly bleak unless a light switch flicks on revealing how to throw strikes.

7th: FB (90-95), CU (81-85), SL (80)

The Travails of Brad Bergesen

Watched 2 of Bergesen's starts (5/2 and 5/7) on my day off and here are those reports (tried to watch games where I hadn't seen the opposing pitcher, hence the reason they are back to back starts, which normally isn't ideal)

1) Brad Bergesen:
5/7: 88 pitches. 5 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs (1st, 5th), 2 Changeups (1st, 6th), Slider (6th)
5/2: 90 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Bergesen came from a low 3/4, almost side-arm release and showed a fastball with good late run in on righties with good sink, a change with some fade late fade from lefties with solid sink that moves just like his fastball but slower and a 2-7 slider that has inconsistent bite and can be flat. It can look like a cutter at times with just enough break for it to start on the outside corner and end up off the plate. What impressed me about him is the fact he keeps everything down, rarely making a mistake above thigh level. His ceiling is a # 4 starter, but I just don't think he will pitch well enough to be it. He pitched differently in both games, once being FB-CU and in the other being FB-SL. Think he is comparable to Andy Sonnanstine with more velocity on his fastball, but less overall command of his off-speed offerings.

5/7 first, then 5/2

1st: FB (87-91), CU (82-84) / FB (89-91), SL (86)

2nd: FB (88-91), CU (84) / FB (87-91), SL (82-86), CU (82-83)

3rd: FB (89-91), CU (84), SL (81) / FB (87-91), SL (82-84), CU (83)

4th: FB (87-92), CU (82), SL (84) / FB (88-91), SL (80-82)

5th: FB (89-91), CU (80-82) / FB (88-92), SL (80-85)

6th: FB (87-90), CU (81-82), SL (81) / FB (87-89), CU (80-81)

2) Glen Perkins (5/7 Opposing Starter): 101 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Slider (1st), Changeup (5th)

• Perkins is a 6-0, 200 pound 26 year old. The lefty has a small frame that is maxed out. He came from a high 3/4 release. His fastball has a little run in on lefties while his slider is a 11-5 with solid bite that flashes above average with above average late bite. His 3rd pitch is a change with good fade from righties with solid sink that he will throw in 2-1 and 1-0 counts. He will take something off his fastball to get strike one. Slider down and in to righties is his out pitch and he can be inconsistent with his command. Is a # 4 or # 5 starter to me, not much more then that.

1st: FB (86-92), SL (80-83)

2nd: FB (86-92), SL (82-83), CU (78-81)

3rd: FB (89-93), SL (81-84), CU (81-82)

4th: FB (88-91), CU (80)

5th: FB (88-92), SL (81-82), CU (80-81)

6th: FB (87-92), SL (82), CU (82)

3) Robert Ray: 90 pitches. 4 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs (2 in 5th, 6th), Cutter (5th)

• Ray is a 6-5, 195 pound righty. The 25 year old has a big frame that can add a lot more muscle, at least to 215. He came from a high 3/4 release and was similar to Daniel Bard a little after the release mechanics, but getting there is a little bizarre. He has a leg kick with his arms crunched up in with him and separates a little funny. His fastball is a 2-seam sinker with good sink and is an above average sinker. His cutter has some cut and he will also mix in an occasional straight 4-seam fastball. His change is a splitter grip that has above average dive, but is difficult for him to command due to the movement it gets. His slider is a 2-7 with solid bite that he can hang, but flashes the ability to be an out pitch. He looks to be a back of the rotation guy, though he is very similar to Roy Halladay with his pitches and hope this guy got as much info as he could from him.

1st: FB (89-92), Cut (89-90), SL (77)

2nd: FB (90-92), Cut (89), SL (79), CU (80)

3rd: FB (89-91), Cut (89-90), SL (81), CU (81)

4th: FB (89-92), Cut (88-90), SL (78-81), CU (80-81)

5th: FB (90-92), Cut (88-89), SL (81-82), CU (82)

6th: FB (91-92), Cut (90), SL (80-81)

4) Jamie Walker:

5/7: 2 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

5/2: 8 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Changeup.

• Wanted to watch the since released Walker as well and he happened to make appearances in both games. Walker is a 6-2, 195 pound 38 year old. The lefty has a medium frame that won't be getting any bigger. He came from a 3/4 release with a 10-4 slider with good bite, a fastball with a little run in on lefties, a big breaking 11-5 curve with above average depth and a change with good fade from righties with solid sink. The 5/7 outing he faced 1 lefty and on the 5/2 outing he faced one righty. Appears to be FB-SL to lefties and FB-CU-CB to righties. Tools were still there as of these outings, but he obviously lost something as evidenced by the fact he is unsigned.

5/2: 8th: FB (87), CU (77-79), CB (73-74)

5/7: 7th: FB (86), SL (76)