Shorebird of the Week - April 17, 2008

Maybe he's not the highest prospect on the Orioles' pitching chart but part of the reason I'm picking Sean Gleason as my Shorebird of the Week this time around is his attitude.

I'm one of those who truly likes to show up well before the first pitch to soak in the atmosphere and prior to most of the games I've seen Sean interacting with the kids and signing autographs. It's nice to see that out of a player and this selection hopefully shows my appreciation for that just a little bit.

So far this year Sean's been no slouch on the mound either. Pitching mostly in long relief, Sean has made 4 appearances with an 0.77 ERA in 11 2/3 innings to show for his work. Aside from a little bit of a control issue in his last appearance (3 walks in 3 2/3 innings against Hagerstown Tuesday) Sean has also shown an excellent 9K/3BB ratio and an outstanding 0.94 WHIP (walks + hits/innings pitched - anything under 1 is considered excellent.)

Last year's 20th round pick by the O's out of St. Mary's College, the Californian may not care for our chilly weather but is adjusting well in his first full-season assignment. He overmatched a lot of hitters last season at the rookie-level Bluefield squad, putting together a 5-4, 2.93 season in 14 appearances and 10 starts. The WHIP was a bit high at 1.36 but he only walked 14 in 67 2/3 innings - evidence that his control shouldn't be an issue with Delmarva. Seeing that he'll not turn 23 until just before the end of the season, he's got a good chance to impress the scouts and move up the ladder in future years, while possibly being one to step into a starting job here if there is an injury or callup among the current five-man rotation.

By the way, my goal for future SotW's is to provide a still picture and action photo, or at least two photos of each player. This is the first time I've gotten to do that this season and hopefully it makes the post that much better.