This is the season that the Orioles play 31-year old lefty swinging Luke Scott at DH against all pitching as he improved against lefties last year. Scott played in 128 games for the Orioles last season and he was 116 for 449 (.258 avg, .828 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 25 homers and 77 RBIs. Scott has averaged a run scored every 7.42 at bats, a homer every 20.9 at bats and a RBI every 6.43 at bats in his career. With that in mind I see him demolishing his career highs of 67 runs scored, 25 homers and 77 RBIs in 2010 for the Orioles.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DH IN 2010: B

35-year old righty swinging Miguel Tejada is back with the Orioles after spending his last two seasons with the Astros. The catch is that he will be playing 3B instead of shortstop. Tejada made 22 errors in 158 games at shortstop last season for the Astros but he still had good range. It will be interesting to see how he handles playing 3B where the ball gets to you quicker but I have a feeling that he will be at least an average defender at 3B for the Orioles in 2010. Tejada was brought back to the Orioles for his bat. He played in 158 games for the Astros last season and he was 199 for 635 (.313 avg, .795 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 14 homers, 86 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Orioles are hoping that a return to Baltimore will bring his power back. From 2004-2007 with the Orioles, Tejada averaged 91.8 runs scored, 25.5 homers and 107.3 RBIs per season.

32-year old righty swinging Ty Wigginton will be Tejada’s top backup at 3B unless he gets traded. He played in 122 games for the Orioles last season and he was 112 for 410 (.273 avg, .714 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 11 homers and 41 RBIs. Wigginton played in 39 games at 3B for the Orioles last season and he made 4 errors while showing poor range. Wigginton is still a decent all around player who will be a asset to either the Orioles or whoever they trade him to.

25-year old righty swinging Justin Turner is likely next in line at 3B for the Orioles. He played in 12 games for the Orioles last season and he was 3 for 18 (.167 avg, .485 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 3 RBIs. Turner also played in 108 games in AAA-ball last season in which he was 116 for 387 (.300 avg, .750 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 2 homers, 43 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Turner played in 7 games at 3B for the Orioles last season without making any errors and showing average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2010: A-

30-year old switch-hitting Cesar Izturis is a good defensive shortstop but the Orioles need him to stay healthy as he only played in 114 games for them last season. Izturis made 8 errors in 112 games for the Orioles at shortstop last season but he showed outstanding range. Izturis played in 114 games for the Orioles last season and he was 99 for 387 (.256 avg, .622 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 2 homers, 30 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. The Orioles don’t care if Izturis hits around .250 because his mitt is the most important part of his game.

25-year old righty swinging Robert Andino has the reputation of being a slick fielder but he didn’t show it last year as he made 8 errors in only 62 games at shortstop for the Orioles. He didn’t hit much either for the Orioles last season. Andino played in 78 games for the Orioles last season and he was 44 for 198 (.222 avg, .562 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 2 homers, 10 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. If he wants to be a major leaguer much longer he better start playing better, period.

GRADE FOR THE SHORTSTOPS IN 2010: C-

The Orioles have signed 32-year old lefty reliever Will Ohman to a minor league deal. He pitched in 21 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers last season and he was 1-0 with 1 save, a 5.84 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Ohman has now pitched in 324 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 11-9 with 3 saves, a 4.25 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Ohman will battle this spring for the right to be the lefty specialist out of the pen for the Orioles in 2010. I really like this signing for the Orioles who are putting together a solid bullpen for 2010.

The Baltimore Orioles have signed 25-year old righty swinging 3B Joel Guzman to a minor league deal. Guzman played in 120 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 112 for 418 (.268 avg, .759 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 12 homers and 59 RBIs. He has also played in 24 games in his major league career and he is 13 for 56 (.232 avg, .628 OPS) with 7 runs scored and 7 RBIs. The Orioles have nothing to lose by giving Guzman a chance this season to re-establish himself as a prospect.

32-year old switch-hitting 2B Brian Roberts is looking to put up another good season for the Orioles in 2010. He played in 159 games for the Orioles last season and he was 179 for 632 (.283 avg, .807 OPS) with 110 runs scored, 16 homers, 79 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. The RBIs were a huge spike for him as he had 22 more than he had in 2008 so the Orioles are hoping that it wasn’t a mirage. But with the line-up the Orioles have put together for 2010, Roberts should get a lot of chances to drive in runs again in 2010 despite batting leadoff. In the field Roberts made 11 errors while showing below average range. As long as he keeps hitting well the Orioles will overlook his defensive shortcomings.

25-year old Robert Andino can fill in at 2B as he is a solid defender but not much of a hitter. He played 8 error-free games at 2B for the Orioles in 2009. But, if something were to happen to Roberts where he would miss some time the O’s would probably insert Ty Wigginton there. He played 8 error-free games at 2B last season while showing pretty poor range. The thinking is that the 32-year old righty swinging Wigginton’s bat would make up for his mitt.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: B+