Not so many years ago it was standard operating procedure for a professional baseball player to make stops at every level of the minor leagues. He?d sign a contract, start in some short-season rookie league, move up to Class A ball – sometimes spending a season-and-a-half on that level – then Class AA, on to Class AAA and, if the planets were in alignment, get to the big leagues for a look-see in September. He?d train with the big club the following spring, and get his major league career underway after that.
More recently, some clubs, including the Orioles, have preferred to skip that final stop in Class AAA. That is, they will bunch their best prospects on the Class AA level, and bring them to the majors from there. Class AAA baseball simply isn?t the “player development” step it once was, largely due to the fact that many Class AAA markets are large enough that the operators – and fans – in those towns, demand a more competitive product.
To be precise, they want a winner, player development or no player development. So, when a player on the 40-man roster is farmed out in spring training, his age and the length of his big league experience will dictate whether he goes to Bowie, or to Ottawa.
For instance, veteran lefty John Halama had a decent spring, and was sent to Ottawa, from whence he recently returned. Other similar players ? late 20?s or older ? are also plying their trade for the Lynx. The youngest player listed on the Ottawa roster is 21-year-old pitcher Hayden Penn, but he has yet to appear in a game, and it would be no surprise if he ends up back in Bowie. When Eric DuBose was sent out, it was to Bowie, not Ottawa.
This new way of doing things works better for some than with others. I mean, I can?t help but think that Daniel Cabrera would have been better off with more than six starts on the Class AA level, none at Class AAA.
Cabrera, at 6-feet-7 and more than 250 pounds, can be scary fast, but also scary inconsistent. With 16 walks issued in his first two starts this year ? in just 6.1 innings of work ? he gave little indication that he had matured at all since last year. Yet, many scouts will tell you that the 1.1 inning, 7-walk, 1-strikeout effort he tossed against Boston might have been a 7-inning, low-hit, high-strikeout game in Class AA, because the hitters on that level are less selective at the plate. The same effort at Class AAA ? with better hitters ? would likely have produced results closer to what he got against the Red Sox. Monday?s victory over the Angels showed what he can do when all 8-cylinders are firing.
Cabrera is a work-in-progress, and hopefully will develop the consistency required to succeed. But in fast-tracking his ascent to the majors, I?m not sure the Orioles did him, in particular, any favors.
Hear Phil Wood every Saturday at 11 a.m. on ESPN Radio 1300/WJFK.
