Penn gets the starting nod

But the immediate future looks much brighter for Penn, 21, a starting pitcher this season for the Triple-A Lynx of the International League.

Penn was ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the Orioles system prior to this season by Baseball America. Now he is slated to start on Tuesday for the Orioles in Seattle, in place of the injured Daniel Cabrera.

“The coaching staff (in Ottawa) told me to be ready,” right-hander Penn said a few days before the promotion became official.

“You do the same things to prepare no matter what level you play at,” added Penn, who pitched Thursday for Ottawa. “But I?m very confident. I think I can pitch at the Major League level and get guys out consistently.”

Penn is 2-2 with an ERA of 1.48 in 30.1 innings for Ottawa. He has fanned 29 batters, with 11 walks.

“Every time we need a starting pitcher, Hayden?s name comes up,” said David Stockstill, the director of minor league operations for the Orioles. “He has a great future.”

Penn pitched for the big-league club last year, but began 2006 in extended spring training in Florida.

Lynx pitching coach Larry McCall first worked with Penn when the California native was 17.

“He?s had three or four very good starts here,” McCall said. “He has three good pitches, and right now he?s throwing his change up really well. I see more movement on it now than I did in the past.”

“The change-up has been my out pitch for my whole career,” Penn said. “What makes me different from other pitchers is that I?ll throw it at any time, in any count. I know I can throw it for a strike no matter what, even righty-on-righty or down 3-1 in the count.”

Last season he started eight games for the Orioles, pitched 38.1 innings and finished with a 3-2 record with an ERA of 6.34.

THE PENN FILE

Position: Pitcher

Age: 21

Height: 6-3

Did you know? Penn was a basketball star in high school, and pitched in eight games for the Orioles during part of the 2005 season. He also pitched for Bowie in the Double-A Eastern League last season.