Hillcats get crushed by Keys

By Andy Bitter

Published: May 10, 2008

A quick scan of Frederick’s roster reveals a who’s who of Baltimore’s top minor league prospects, with six of the Orioles’ top 10 currently wearing a Keys uniform.

Every one of them seems to be proving why he’s on the list this weekend at City Stadium.

Catcher Matt Wieters clubbed his league-leading eighth home run and starter Jake Arrieta pitched six strong innings as the Keys rolled to an 11-5 win against the Hillcats on Saturday.

“We’re pretty lucky. It’s a nice group,” said Frederick manager Tommy Thompson, whose team improved to 20-15. “You don’t see too many groups like this at A-ball too often.”

Wieters, as many know, tops Baltimore’s prospect list, but the Keys are loaded behind him.

Arrieta (3-0), another Scott Boras client who fetched a $1.1 million signing bonus after being selected in the fifth round of last year’s draft out of TCU, stymied Lynchburg for the second time this season.

The right-hander, who’s ranked seventh in Baltimore’s minor league system, struck out eight in six innings, giving up two runs on five hits. He struck out eight in four innings against the Hillcats (15-20) in the season opener.

“There are some pretty good staffs in this league, but (the Keys) are right up there at the top with guys who are power pitchers,” said Hillcats shortstop Brian Friday, who was 2-for-5 and struck out once. “They’ve got some good stuff.”

Arrieta has been shutting down everyone lately. In five starts prior to Saturday, he allowed three earned runs in 32 innings. His 2.01 ERA is fifth in the Carolina League.

“I think down the road, people are going to get to see Arrieta pitch to Wieters for many years,” Thompson said. “These two guys are special.”

Wieters continued his dominance of Lynchburg pitching in the third, breaking a 1-1 tie with an opposite field home run to right against Hillcats starter Tony Watson (3-4), who was banged around for four runs on six hits in four innings.

Five of Wieters’ eight home runs have come against Lynchburg, with three coming in the last two days.

“We’re happy to have him,” Thompson said. “I don’t know how much longer we’ll have him, but he’s the complete package, and you don’t see that a whole lot in the game of baseball.

“I think he’s going to be a Frank Thomas/Robin Ventura-type hitter,” added Thompson, who used to coach in the White Sox organization. “They were leaders. They were gamers. And they produced every year. In the clubhouse, they brought a lot to the table. They made other people around them better.”

The Keys don’t play in the Hill City again until July. Odds are Wieters won’t be around.

“They need to go ahead and call him up so we don’t have to deal with him anymore,” Friday said. “He’s the real deal.”

Third baseman Billy Rowell, the Orioles’ fifth-ranked prospect, jacked a solo home run in the fourth to give the Keys a 3-1 lead. It was the former first-round pick’s first home run of the season. He was 2-for-4 with four RBIs.

Frederick second baseman Chris Amador added a three-run homer in the sixth off reliever Charles Benoit to make it 8-1.

NOTES: Hillcats 3B Jim Negrych was 3-for-4 and raised his league-leading average to .402. … Lynchburg catcher Steve Lerud was ejected in the fourth after striking out looking. He argued that he was brushed by a pitch earlier in the at bat. Lerud sported a gash on his left knee afterward, proving his case. … The Hillcats wore pink jerseys and used pink bats for Breast Cancer Awareness night. The team auctioned them off to make a donation to the Susan G. Komen For the Cure foundation. An exact figure was not available immediately after the game.