Orioles starting pitcher Zach Britton will make his first injury rehab start Saturday in Double-A, according to manager Buck Showalter (via School of Roch). He will make at least two rehab starts before the Orioles consider the next step. Britton has been on the shelf all season with a shoulder injury. With the Orioles storming out of the gate to an AL East lead as we approach June, it's easy to forget they are doing so without this promising young arm. Remember Britton? The 24-year-old was once one of the more well-hyped prospects in baseball and exactly one year ago today he was 5-2 with a 2.14 ERA and 1.05 WHIP.
Britton would regress a bit from the hot start, but 11-11 with a 4.61 ERA and 1.45 WHIP isn't bad for a rookie in the mighty AL East.
His upside is high enough that Britton was the likely opening-day starter heading into spring training with what appeared a large collection of mediocre pitchers. Since then, things have changed as the Orioles have boasted one of the better pitching staffs in the majors to this point. Obviously no decision has yet been made, but it seems reasonable to envision a second-half rotation of Jason Hammel, Wei-Yin Chen, Britton, Jake Arrieta and Brian Matusz.
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