Will some of the young pitchers need to be shut down?

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

April 07, 2010, 5:03pm

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It would seem to make sense that some of the Orioles young starting pitchers might have to be shut down before the season ends due to pitching a lot of innings. But Dave Trembley today seemed to indicate that will not happen, as the club watches the youngsters carefully, while at the same time going to a six-man rotation in September. "I think we've got that pretty much written out," Trembley said. "There are three off days in September that will help. The off day on Thursday pushes Tillman back an extra day. We'll monitor that closely. We'll be very careful about it. "The thing I have noticed is how much more difficult it is and how hard the young guys have to work at this level. In Toronto the other day they just waited Matusz out. Physically at this level, it is taxing for them, outs don't come easy. You have to be very wise about how long you leave them out there and how many innings they throw." Young Pitchers Innings, 2009 and 2008: Brad Bergesen: 134 in 2009.........165 in 2008 Jason Berken: 104 in 2009...............146 in 2008 David Hernandez: 113 in 2009.........141 in 2008 Brian Matusz: 121 in 2009.............132 in 2008 Chris Tillman: 114 in 2009..............136 in 2008 Matusz's 2008 innings are the combined total he pitched last year at the University of San Diego and in the Arizona Fall League.