Prospect of the Month: Matt Wieters
Written by Steve on December 24th, 2008
Matt Wieters – C
Bowie Baysox (Baltimore Orioles)
After only one season of professional baseball, Matt Wieters is already making waves in baseball as one of the hottest prospects around. He was drafted 5th overall in the 2007 Amateur Draft (1st was David Price of 2008 World Series fame) and immediately went to work for the Honolulu Sharks of the Hawaii Winter Baseball league (batting .283 with 1 HR).
In 2008, Matt batted .345 with 15 HR for the A+ Frederick Keys. This performance prompted a mid-season promotion to the AA Bowie Baysox, where he did even better, hitting .365 with 12 HR.
Matt Wieters seems to only be getting better as he gains experience. He is Baseball America’s 2008 Minor League Player of the Year. With the Orioles recently trading their catcher Ramon Hernandez away to the Reds for Ryan Freel and a couple infield prospects, Matt Wieters is likely to be given a chance to be the Orioles starting catcher for the upcoming 2009 season.