The University of Idaho Argonaut

Tillman is one of many talented young arms spilling out of the upper levels of the O's farm system. He was picked up in the trade that sent Erik Bedard to the Seattle Mariners, along with Adam Jones, George Sherrill and a pair of minor league arms.

For the last several years, the Orioles have been one of those teams languishing in the bottom of the standings, stuck in the piecemeal rebuilding phase that characterizes so many small market teams. Bring up a player here, sign a cheap, worn down veteran there and finish the season with 75 or 80 wins. Lather, rinse and repeat.

But the losing culture in Baltimore seems to be changing. They brought up switch-hitting catcher Matt Wieters, called the best prospect in baseball going into this season, and also threw Nolan Reimold into the mix. Reimold leads the AL in rookie home runs and is maintaining a respectable on-base percentage of .360.

The first pieces of the new Orioles team emerged a few years ago, with the emergence in right field of Nick Markakis and pitcher Jeremy Guthrie. While Guthrie won't be winning Cy Young awards any time soon, he's still a capable middle of the rotation starter that can survive the gauntlet of baseball's toughest division, facing the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays multiple times each season. Markakis on the other hand is a certifiable stud, driving in 100 runs in 2007 and ending 2008 with a .406 OBP, all while playing above average defense.

Then came Adam Jones in 2008, who suffered through a mediocre first full season in the bigs. The center field had a stellar season in the field, committing only three errors in 129 games. He cranked it up this year and until a baserunning injury cost him the rest of this season at the start of the month, he had belted 19 home runs and driven in 70.

The upper levels of their farm system boast a wealth of pitching talent. There's David Hernandez, who has filthy stuff, although there are some control issues and he's struggled in the majors this year. Then they have Brian Matusz, who jumped from AA to MLB, where he has averaged almost a strikeout per inning in eight games, while walking only 14.

Matusz earned a win when he held the Yankees - the team with the most runs scored in the majors, with seven players who have hit over 20 home runs - to one run over seven innings the day after Tillman, who beat the Yanks, gave up Jeter's monumental hit. He allowed only six baserunners in seven innings and not a single home run in bandboxy new Yankee Stadium. Two days and two Orioles' wins against the only 90-win team in baseball. It took seven innings of CC Sabathia to finally earn the Bronx Bombers a win in the three game series.
Other Orioles pitchers include Jake Arrieta, Jason Berken and Brad Bergersen. There's no way all of these arms will pan out, but if just a few do, coupled with a good free agent signing, the Orioles go from having one middle of the rotation starter to a serviceable, competitive starting group. Couple that with the new outfield, the switch-hitting catcher, and the continued greatness of second-baseman Brian Roberts - who leads the AL in doubles - and you have a decent offense, too.

They're not going to win 90 games next year. They might not even do it in 2011, but once these new pitchers have had a few seasons to get acclimated, watch out. The small market teams who have competed in recent years - the A's, the Rays, the Twins and the Brewers - have done it with a glut of homegrown starting pitching. The AL East is a pressure cooker, characterized by elite teams and numerous superstars, but perhaps the O's new guard can bring some glory back to birdland.