Shorebird of the Week – July 14, 2011

Tim Berry has been a strong presence in Delmarva's starting rotation.

When you get down to the 50th round of baseball’s amateur draft you’re usually picking raw, projectable talent out of high school or a small college. Players coming from those rounds don’t often sign; if they do there’s not much of a bonus.

Yet that wasn’t the case with Tim Berry two years ago. While he received a bonus generally reserved for an upper round pick, he was only a 50th round pick by the Orioles in 2009. How could that be?

Well, the Orioles (and presumably other teams) knew Tim would have Tommy John surgery shortly thereafter, thus Berry didn’t make his organizational debut until last year – just 20 innings in the Gulf Coast League. In essence, Berry is a year behind the remainder of his draft class. The Orioles decided to take the chance that Tim could be an effective pitcher at the highest level after the surgery.

So it’s not surprising that Tim pitches no more than five innings per start. But lately he’s put together some solid outings, and that’s led me to pick him as a Shorebird of the Week. Over his last three starts (15 innings) Tim’s allowed just 9 hits and 3 walks (an 0.80 WHIP) while fanning 16. For the overall season, Tim is 3-5 with a 4.62 ERA in 17 starts. His 67 strikeouts are tied for the team lead; however, he’s pitched 16 1/3 fewer innings than Luis Noel, who also has 67 K’s.

There’s still an erratic streak in the 20 year old out of San Diego, as he’s walked 41 batters and has blown up in a couple starts that have grisly linescores (like 9 runs allowed in 2 1/3 innings against Kannapolis.) But he’s probably developing as nicely as the Orioles could have hoped. Given the fragility of his arm, it’s also likely that Tim will be shut down for the season shortly as he approaches the 100-inning mark.

It’s kind of a shame, as Tim seems to be hitting his stride. We may see him in 2012 but it’s also possible the Orioles will test him in Frederick.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.