Daniel Cabrera

Cabrera looked like he had finally turned a corner through the first two months of the season, when he went 5-1 and held batters under .250 in both months. Once June hit, it was back to the old ways, going 3-9 and hitters were well over .300 off him. The Orioles non-tendered Cabrera in December, but Cabrera garnered plenty of interest and ended up getting a one-year deal with the Nationals. He'll get a chance to right the ship in a low-pressure environment and fresh organization in 2009, but this may be the last time he's given a guaranteed contract and rotation spot.

Without Cabrera, former pitching coach Leo Mazzone might still be employed by the Orioles. After showing signs of development in 2005, Cabrera has regressed each of the last two seasons, not just raising his ERA but also lowering his strikeout rate, raising his walk rate again and giving up more homers. The team might consider going a different route and audition Cabrera for the open closer's job - it's certainly not a question of whether he has the raw stuff for the job. Perhaps focusing his efforts in shorter periods could make him more effective. Watch him carefully this spring before opting to take the plunge.

The 6-foot-7 Cabrera may be the most feared pitcher in the majors, not due to his success but rather his 100-mph heater and lack of control a la Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn. For the first four months of the season, Cabrera was awful despite the tutelage of famed pitching coach Leo Mazzone, going 4-7 with a 5.25 ERA and an incredible 7.78 walks per nine innings, even being demoted to the minors for five starts. After picking up the pieces in the minors -- where he only walked 10 despite striking out 34 in 28.1 innings -- Cabrera was much better in the last two months of the season, going 5-3 with a 4.04 ERA and a more respectable, though still not optimal, 4.19 walks per nine innings. The strikeouts will always be there for Cabrera -- he managed 157 in 148 major league innings in 2006 -- but it's anyone's guess as to whether he can command his fastball and huge-breaking slider. Hopefully some of what Mazzone taught Cabrera will take hold in 2007, and if so, he has the potential to be one of the more dominating pitchers in the majors.

Tantalizing with his high-90s fastball, the 24-year-old Cabrera hasn't consistently reined in his stuff which can be dominant at times and extremely hittable at others due to his immaturity and emotion on the mound. Next season will be his third year in the major league rotation, and many speculate that Cabrera will bring his game to a new level with the arrival of pitching coach extraordinaire Leo Mazzone. Nonetheless, Cabrera hasn't shown enough control and maturity in the past to merit anything but cautious optimism that this will be the year he finally breaks out.

Cabrera was the lone bright spot in the Orioles rotation the first half of 2004. An emergency starter making the jump from Double-A, he stuck with the big club after posting a 2.90 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and .220 BAA in 12 starts prior to the All-Star break. His ability to survive with a sub-1 K/BB ratio evaporated after the break, however, when batters started to hit him hard to the tune of a 7.33 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, and .297 BAA. Although he was a frontrunner for AL Rookie of the Year for most of 2004, Cabrera will have a tough time cracking the rotation in 2005, likely battling it out with Matt Riley, Erik Bedard and Kurt Ainsworth for the final two or three spots in the rotation.

Cabrera will be in the lower levels of the Baltimore organization in 2004 with several other pitching prospects ahead of him.

Cabrera started 12 games at Single-A Bluefield, going 5-2 with a 4.38 ERA. A 69/25 K/BB ratio in 60.1 IP suggests some upside, but we won't see it until 2005 at least.