Scouting Report, RHP Jeremy Guthrie

The 31-year old right-hander was drafted in the 1st round of the 2002 draft out of Stanford University by the Cleveland Indians and made his major league debut in 2004. He was drafted out of high school by the Mets in 1997, but did not sign. He was claimed off of waivers in 2007 by the Orioles after making only one start for the Indians. He made 89 starts for the Orioles between 2007-09, and had sub-3.70 ERAs in 07 and 08, making the Orioles think they had an "ace" for their young staff. But last year Guthrie got hit very hard, and had an ERA over 5. It all stems back to September of 2008 when Guthrie missed most of September with shoulder fatigue or impingement (depending on who you believe), and his fastball went from a plus pitch to plain bad, and that caused his change-up to be ineffective as well. He led the league both in homers allowed and losses. For his career he is 30-40 with a 4.20 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. He's started once against the Mets last June and took the loss, throwing 6 1/3 innings, allowing eight base runners, five runs (only three earned), while striking out four.

Guthrie has a compact delivery, throwing from a high 3/4s arm slot. He throws 2 and 4-seam fastballs in the 89-94 mph range (average of 92 mph, down from 94 in 2008) and gets good downward movement with the 2-seam, but his 4-seam is straight as an arrow. He also throws a sharp, late-breaking slider (84 mph), a tight curve (will only throw it once or twice a game) and a decent change (85 mph). Falls behind in the count often. His fastball and slider are his two best pitches, and he throws them a combined 86% of the time. This year he's increased the use of his slider to 26%.

This year he's made 12 starts and is 3-6, but he's pitched better than his record, as he has a 3.71 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. But he also has seen his K/9 decrease for the 5th year in a row (4.75). At least he doesn't walk many hitters ( < 2 W/9). He's been very lucky with an unsustainable .258 BAPIP, so his FIP is 4.41. He's gone six + innings in 11 of his 12 starts, and has allowed three runs or less in nine of his 12 starts. His last start he was a tough luck loser, as he went 7 1/3 versus Boston, allowing only two runs, on six base-runners, while striking out four.

He's making 3 million this year and could be on the trading block along with teammate K Millwood.