Garrett Olson wandered through a store in Chicago Tuesday afternoon, not knowing exactly what the long-term future would hold. But he knows where he?ll be spending his Independence Day.
Olson learned Monday night that he?d be making his Major League debut with a start against the Chicago White Sox at 7:05 tonight.
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“It?s something you hope for and you wish for and that you work for coming up to this point,” Olson said in a phone interview Tuesday. “You never expect the call, and when it happens, it hits you. It didn?t hit me too much until I came in [Tuesday]. Now, it?s becoming more real.”
Olson, 23, went 7-6 with a 3.46 ERA in 17 starts at Class AAA Norfolk.
The lefty got the call from his manager, Gary Allenson, and was in Chicago shortly thereafter. How long he?ll be with the Orioles, though, isn?t quite clear.
“They haven?t given me an indication of how long I could be here. It could be a spot start, it could be longer,” Olson said. “I packed sort of not knowing what to expect.”
Olson, generally considered the club?s top-level pitching prospect, will make his big league debut just 25 months after being drafted 48th overall as a sandwich pick in 2005.
Prior to this season, Olson went 12-10 with a 2.82 ERA in 42 minor league games, including 37 starts. In 59 minor league appearances, Olson struck out 315 batters while walking just 101.
Olson relies on a big breaking ball, a fastball that reaches the low-90s and a developing changeup.
“The breaking ball has been a good out pitch for me,” Olson said. “For me, that pitch kind of opens up my fastball and changeup and makes those two even more effective. I feel like I can attack a hitter with the curveball in the strike zone and outside of the strike zone.”
As of Tuesday, Olson hadn?t received a scouting report on the White Sox, but he feels that he has an advantage in his debut.
“I?m going to continue my routine and go after the hitters. I?ll make adjustments according to the situations,” Olson said. “I think for them, it?s the same situation, they probably don?t have anything on me.”
THE OLSON FILE
» Did you know? Following his first pro season in 2005, Olson was named the club?s sixth-best prospect by Baseball America ? Olson was given the same rating by Baseball American following the 2006 season ? Before he was drafted, Olson went 12-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 136 innings as a junior at Cal Poly ? Resides in Clovis, Calif.
