He is the number one prospect according to Baseball America. He was the Orioles‘ number one draft choice in 2007. He hit .345 in Frederick and .365 in Bowie with 27 homers combined. This year in Spring Training, Matt Wieters is hitting .379. While his numbers are big, the expectations for this 22-year-old are even bigger.

Wieters

Image courtesy of the Baltimore Sun

Wieters seems to be all over the papers, talked about on the radio and discussed on television. He is a pretty hot topic right now, especially in the Baltimore area. Here at the Baltimore Sports Report, we have projected his season, talked about Matt Wieters Facts and written about the role of his agent, Scott Boras, in his chances as an opening day starter.

How much is too much though? There certainly are great expectations for Matt Wieters and I have heard a few fans that have built him up so much that he can only fail.

Just the other day I was reading a comment on a message board about letting the Orioles bring up Wieters to be the Rookie of the Year. People believe he will walk into the majors and have a .300 season and I am here to tell you that will not be case.

Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun discussed that Wieters does not like all the attention and according to his Wieters’ mother he “doesn’t want to be the center of attention.”

The Orioles are not going to be a winning team this season, but Andy MacPhail has continually stated that he will not rush young talent. Regardless of when Wieters makes it to the majors people have very high hopes.

Are the expectations being set for Wieters too much? What happens if it takes him time to adjust to the big leagues?