Brandon Snyder News

The Orioles graduated a lot of their top young players to the majors this season - Wieters, Tillman, Matusz, Bergesen, Reimold, Hernandez, Mickolio - but there's still some talent left in the system.

The Orioles haven't been shy about what's on their offseason list: corner infielders and starting pitchers.

Whenever the O's are mentioned by the general baseball media, I tend to take notice.

The Orioles announced Wednesday that they have added right-handed pitchers Brandon Erbe and Luis Lebron and infielders Josh Bell, Pedro Florimon, Rhyne Hughes and Brandon Snyder to the 40-man major league roster, putting it at capacity.

For most of their careers, Baltimore's Josh Bell and Brandon Snyder have been known as defensive liabilities.

The fourth annual Arizona Fall League Rising Stars Showcase is scheduled for Saturday night in Surprise, Ariz., and two Orioles minor leaguers will be representing the Phoenix Desert Dogs in the event.

Brandon Snyder just wanted to know what it would be like to step into the shoes of a perceived god in some eyes.

Last week, several people asked if any of the games in the Arizona Fall League would be televised, and I wasn't sure about an answer at the time.

The $8 million club option on third baseman Melvin Mora's contract likely won't be picked up, and first base is currently wide open, so the Orioles will probably be in the market for some corner infield help this offseason.

Yesterday's stats: 2-for-3, 2B, HR , , 3 RBI , BB , K It's rare to talk about a teenagers playing in the Mexico Pacific League, which is usually filled with local veterans and Triple-A prospects, but Valle is a bit special, as he's playing in his hometown.

The Rangers shouldn't have drafted Matt Purke 14th overall in June if they weren't going to spend to sign him, and there were indications from the start that he might be as unsignable as any of the first-round talents.

Eight Orioles prospects are looking to sharpen their skills in this year's Arizona Fall League, which kicked off on Oct.

The Phoenix Desert Dogs defeated the Scottsdale Scorpions, 9-4, for their second consecutive victory in the Arizona Fall League.

Before I get into the top five second basemen in the Orioles' minor league system, I wanted to thank everyone who offered their input on my list of the top first basemen in the organization .

FIVE YEARS AGO 1. Brandon Snyder, c/3b, Bluefield 2. *Colby Rasmus, of, Johnson City 3. Eric Campbell, 3b, Danville 4. Brandon Erbe, rhp, Bluefield 5. *Max Ramirez, c, Danville 6. *Jesse Litsch, rhp, Pulaski 7. Juan Portes, 2b/of, Elizabethton 8. Josh Flores, of, Greeneville 9. *Aaron Cunningham, of, Bristol 10.

Before jumping into the list of the top five first basemen in the Orioles' minor league system, let's follow up on the best catchers in the organization.

Count Oriole executives among them. Team officials had high hopes for both, but no one anticipated the kind of production those two delivered.

None of the affiliates in the Orioles' minor league system qualified for the postseason, so this is the final edition of the game recaps for the 2009 season.

There was a lot of baseball in the Orioles' minor league system on Sunday. The Triple-A Norfolk Tides fell to the Rochester Red Wings, and the Double-A Bowie Baysox split a doubleheader against the Altoona Curve.

The Orioles will send a star-studded cast to the Arizona Fall League, a group headlined by former first-round draftee and AFL returnee Brandon Snyder, as well as recent trade acquisition Josh Bell.