2011 Oriole Award: Most Promising Rookie

Note: This is a new (and short) off-season feature in which I hand out my own awards to certain Orioles for this season. I will also include a poll at the end of every post so you can vote for your Oriole to win the award. Make sure to read the full article and vote!!

1. Zach Britton

No one knew he was going to pitch this season as he didn’t make cuts for the major league team over Spring Training. When he immediately got called up to replace Matusz, no one knew he was going to pitch the way he did. Taking over for Matusz and getting off to a 5-1 start and a 2.63 ERA was amazing. He was talked about on ESPN and was the talk of an early AL Rookie of the Year. Then he went on a downturn losing his next 8 out of 9 decisions bringing him to a 4.66 ERA. He also was sent down to the minors a few times to control his inning count as well as allow him to work on his pitches after an extremely rough stretch (remember 1 full inning against the Red Sox and Yankees when he gave up 13 hits and 17 runs…ugh I still shudder at that). But, he turned it back around in September earning 3 wins of 5 decisions. He finished the season at an 11-11 record with a 4.61 ERA and 1.45 WHIP and he’s looking to be the ace of the staff in the next few years. I love this guy and can’t wait to see him next season.

See the other most promising rookie and vote in the poll after the jump!

2. Ryan Adams

I love this kid as well. Even though he didn’t do much in the little playing time he got, I think his potential is fantastic. He finished with a .281 batting average, no home runs, 7 RBI, and a .333 on-base percentage. He had a .982 fielding-percentage with 2 errors in 26 games. I really like him as the future of second base in this franchise. His defensive play is great and he gets on-base, can hit for extra bases, and maintain a good average. He reminds me of Nick Markakis. Really good defensively and a good hitter just not for power. I hope he gets a lot more starting time next season.