CarL1 Frederick Keys

Six Former Keys Dent Orioles Top Prospect List

Published on December 18, 2009 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Frederick Keys News Release


Frederick, MD - Frederick Keys 2009 Opening Night starting pitcher Brian Matusz was named top prospect in the Orioles organization by Baseball America this afternoon. Matusz is joined by five other former Frederick Keys, pitcher Zach Britton (2009), pitcher Jake Arrieta (2008), first baseman Brandon Snyder (2008), pitcher Brandon Erbe (2007-08) and catcher Caleb Joseph (2009) on the annual list.

Matusz was named top prospect in the Orioles system after leaping from Harry Grove Stadium to a win at Yankee Stadium closing his season with Baltimore. In his eleven starts with Frederick, Matusz went 4-2 with a 2.16 ERA. He was called up to Double-A Bowie, making his Eastern League debut on June 17th. He would win seven of his eight Bowie starts before being called up for his big league debut August 4th in Detroit. Matusz won five of eight starts with the Orioles including his season finale at Yankee Stadium in New York.

Britton skyrocketed up prospect charts with a stellar 2009 in Frederick that earned him Carolina League Pitcher of the Year. Using a powerful sinker to induce 3.38 ground ball outs for every fly ball out, Britton posted a 1.94 ERA in the first half of the season. He was tabbed to be the starter for the Carolina League in the all-star game but was scratched prior to making the start. Britton was joined on the club by his older brother Buck in the second half of the season, becoming the first brothers to play together in Frederick in the franchise's 21-year history.

Arrieta finished his 2009 season in Triple-A Norfolk after a solid start with Bowie going 6-3 with a 2.69 ERA in 11 starts. The powerful TCU product began his career in Frederick a year earlier earning numerous accolades. He started the All-Star Game, pitched in the Future's Game, earned a spot on the Team USA roster for the Summer Olympics in Beijing and earned Carolina League Pitcher of the Year honors.

Snyder catapulted his way up the Orioles system after batting.343 in 58 games with Bowie to open the 2009 season. He finished his regular season in Norfolk before batting.354 in the prospect-laden Arizona Fall League. After an injury plagued beginning to his career, the Orioles first round pick in 2005 came on strong in Frederick. After a slow April, Snyder went on to bat.315 with 13 home runs and 80 RBI's while with the Keys.

Erbe took a major step forward in the Orioles system holding batters to a.170 average against in 14 Double-A starts in 2009. Shoulder issues sidelined Erbe for a two month period but the hard throwing right handed pitcher was back at it in the Arizona Fall League to close the year. In his two seasons in Frederick, Erbe set the all-time franchise record for games started with 52.

Joseph led the Carolina League in batting for much of the 2009 season before fading down the stretch to finish at.284. The Carolina League All Star jumped over Class-A Delmarva with an outstanding spring to man the duties as starting catcher in Frederick. A former seventh round pick in 2008 out of Lipscomb, Joseph was drafted alongside his younger brother Corban who was taken by the Yankees in the fourth round of the same draft out of high school.

The full top ten is listed below.

1. Brian Matusz, lhp

2. Josh Bell, 3b

3. Zach Britton, lhp

4. Jake Arrieta, rhp

5. Matt Hobgood, rhp

6. Brandon Snyder, 1b

7. Brandon Erbe, rhp

8. Kam Mickolio, rhp

9. Mychal Givens, ss

10. Caleb Joseph, c

Check out the Frederick Keys Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from December 18, 2009


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