If you’re a pitcher for one of the Baltimore Orioles’ minor league affiliates, chances are your shot is coming soon. With 20 pitchers used this season, including 9 different starters, the O’s staff has been a bit of a revolving door. When you consider that their team ERA sits at 4.72 -good for worst in baseball- this doesn’t come as much of a surprise. That said, could Tim Bascom be next in line?
Bascom, a 4th-round pick in 2007, is playing some of his best baseball and was recently named to the Eastern League’s Western Division All-Star team. He entered the break having won three of his last four starts and boasts a 1.36 ERA during June and July. On the year, Bascom has logged 61 strikeouts in 73 innings, with only 21 walks for Double-A Bowie. Opposing hitters have been held to a .217 batting average.
When baseball resumes and the O’s look to shake their current 7-game losing streak, some things need to be addressed, like who will follow Jeremy Guthrie, Jake Arrietta and Alfredo Simon in the rotation. If the solution involves Chris Jakubauskas, Mitch Atkins, or Mark Hendrickson, my guess is that we’ll be seeing Bascom sooner rather than later.
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