Wieters Is Living Up To Orioles' Expectations

By the time Matt Wieters reached Little League, locals would elbow John Chalus and point toward the field where Wieters was playing. "Keep an eye on him," they said. But Chalus already knew. He had calculated the years until Wieters would play for him at Stratford (S.C.) High School.

When Chalus's next-door neighbor came to see Wieters play in high school, he told Chalus, "I heard he was good, but not that good." As many as 300 others would cram onto two rickety wooden bleachers to see Wieters at Stratford's field, and 20 scouts would show up, hours early, just so they could surround the cage and watch batting practice.

Now 22, Wieters continues to live up to the expectations that have followed him since Little League. The catcher has soared through the Baltimore Orioles' farm system, having already risen to the Class AA Bowie Baysox, and is projected to become a franchise cornerstone.

His present play has prompted intrigue about the future, though Baltimore Manager Dave Trembley has said Wieters will not be among the September call-ups. "They just want me to go out there and keep playing every day, and that's what I'm doing," Wieters said.

But questions about Wieters's eventual major league promotion -- fan message boards continue to weigh the pros and cons of bringing him up -- have persisted because of his potential.

Wieters is 6 feet 5, 230 pounds, and hits for power and average from both sides of the plate. His first word was "ball," and he hit his first home run at 7. As a college player at Georgia Tech, Wieters joined Jason Varitek and Nomar Garciaparra as the only two-time all-Americans in school history.

"As unassuming as Matt would give you that impression, he knows what's expected of him and he knows where he's going," Trembley said. "I just think the guy's going to be what everybody expects him to be: He's going to be a quality regular catcher for the Orioles for a long time. It's going to be sooner than later."

His rise might have easily been predicted back in Goose Creek, S.C., a military and paper-mill town of about 30,000 where Wieters grew up. His father played baseball at the Citadel and in the minor leagues, and after settling in Goose Creek, he occasionally helped Chalus at high school practices. The younger Wieters was a chunky kid back then, shagging fly balls during Stratford's practices. Soon enough, though, he became the starting varsity catcher -- as a freshman -- and even called his own pitches.

"You kinda knew his talent was unlimited, with his size and power at the plate," Chalus said. "We were just amazed at the things he could do. He had great eye-hand coordination. He just had that baseball savvy."

At 17, Wieters attended a prospect showcase in Atlanta, where Georgia Tech had sent recruiting coordinator Scott Strickland to find talent. Strickland especially needed someone to fill a void at catcher. When he saw Wieters's powerful bat, size and strength, he dialed Yellow Jackets Coach Danny Hall.

"Hey," Strickland said, "I found our catcher."

Wieters established himself early at Georgia Tech. Like the time his freshman year he went 5 for 5 with four RBI against Miami. Or his 4-for-4, five-RBI performance against Georgia later that season. As the team's closer, he earned six saves with a 2.85 ERA.