When starting 2B Brian Roberts went down with a serious concussion, they needed someone to step up and play 2B. 27-year old righty swinging Robert Andino answered that call and he played well for the O’s. Andino has played in 136 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 118 for 445 (.265 avg, .672 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 4 homers, 32 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He has now played in 230 games in his first three years with the Orioles and he is 180 for 704 (.256 avg, .652 OPS) with 99 runs scored, 8 homers, 48 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. It looks like Andino has found a home in Baltimore, most likely as a utility player going forward.

The Baltimore Orioles acquired 26-year old righty Pedro Strop and 25-year old lefty reliever Zach Phillips in separate deals with the Rangers this year and they are both making good first impressions. Strop has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the O’s so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.58 WHIP. He has only given up 3 hits in 8 2/3 innings so far this year while whiffing 11 batters and only walking 2, and those are impressive numbers. Strop has now pitched in 20 games (0 starts) overall for the Rangers and Orioles so far this year and he is 1-1 with a 1.96 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Zach Phillips has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Both of these guys are making strong pushes for bullpen spots in 2012 for the Orioles.

The Orioles have shut down 24-year old righty swinging 2B Ryan Adams. Adams played in 29 games for the Orioles this year and he was 25 for 86 (.281 avg, .659 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 0 homers and 7 RBIs. This is a bad break for Adams as he was in line for more playing time. But, he needs surgery to repair a sports hernia, so he wasn’t going to help the Orioles playing with that.

25-year old switch-hitting catcher Matt Wieters has turned up the power lately for the Orioles. Since August 1st, Wieters has played in 39 games in which he is 39 for 140 (.279 avg) with 24 runs scored, 10 homers and 26 RBIs. He has now played in 131 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 123 for 469 (.262 avg, .777 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 20 homers, 63 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Wieters has now played in 357 games in his first three years with the O’s and he is 336 for 1,269 (.265 avg, .742 OPS) with 138 runs scored, 40 homers, 161 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Orioles hope that Wieters keeps rolling along as he is a big part of the team’s future.

24-year old lefty starting pitcher Brian Matusz has been flat out pathetic for the Orioles in 2011. He has pitched in 10 games (all starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 1-7 with a 9.84 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. Matusz has given up 68 hits (15 homers) and he has also walked 19 batters in his first 43 innings of the season! Matusz has now pitched in 50 games (all starts) in his first three years with the Orioles and he is 16-21 with a 5.26 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. The Orioles will give Matusz another shot to make the starting rotation next spring.

Major League Baseball has suspended 28-year old lefty swinging 1B/OF Rhyne Hughes for 50 games due to him testing positive for an amphetamine. Hughes played in 92 games in AAA-ball this year for the O’s and he was 85 for 342 (.249 avg, .786 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 15 homers, 59 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Hughes got his first taste of the majors in 2010 with the Orioles. He played in 14 games for the Orioles last year and he was 10 for 47 (.213 avg, .530 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers and 4 RBIs. Hughes didn’t show much discipline last year as he whiffed 19 times while only walking 4 times. He has likely played his last game in the Orioles’ organization due to this suspension.

The O’s already know that 25-year old lefty swinging Chris Davis is a solid defensive 3B. They are going to give him a look at 3B the rest of this year with Mark Reynolds shifting to 1B. Davis has played in 16 games for the O’s so far this year and he is 15 for 64 (.234 avg, .634 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 44 games overall this year for the Rangers & Orioles and he is 34 for 140 (.243 avg, .672 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 4 homers, 12 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Orioles know that Davis is going to start for them in 2012, they just need to find out where on the field. He has big time power, but he’s also a big time whiffer just like Mark Reynolds.

23-year old lefty starting pitcher Zach Britton started this year like a ball of fire. He then fizzled out and the result was a demotion to the minors. He has come back looking like the pitcher he was in April and May lately. In Britton’s last four starts, he is 3-0 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He has now pitched in 24 games (all starts) overall this year for the Orioles and he is 9-9 with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Britton is a big part of the Orioles’ future, so they have to be ecstatic to see him getting his act back together.

36-year old righty swinging DH Vladimir Guerrero is finally looking like the hitter the O’s thought they were getting when they signed him over the winter. Guerrero has played in 10 games so far in September and he is 16 for 37 (.432 avg, 1.204 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. He has now played in 127 games overall this year and he is 141 for 490 (.288 avg, .733 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 12 homers, 53 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Guerrero probably won’t be back in 2012, but he could finish the year strongly and leave Orioles’ fans with a good impression of him.

The Orioles have designated 27-year old lefty swinging 2B Blake Davis for assignment. Davis played in 25 games for the Orioles last year and he was 15 for 59 (.254 avg, .713 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He also played in 62 games in AAA-ball this year for the O’s and he was 65 for 232 (.280 avg, .706 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 5 homers, 27 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. This was kind of a surprise with the expanded rosters, but Davis played well enough with the Orioles to get a shot with a different team next year.

UPDATE: (9/8/2011) - Blake Davis has cleared waivers and he has accepted an outright assignment to AAA.