26-year old lefty swinging Nick Markakis is one of the best right fielders in all of baseball. He played in 161 games for the Orioles last season and he was 188 of 642 (.293 avg, .801 OPS) with 94 runs scored, 18 homers, 101 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Markakis made 6 errors in 161 games in RF last season while showing slightly below average range. But, Markakis had 13 assists in RF showing off a great throwing arm. Look for Markakis to hit around .300 with 100+ runs scored, 25+ homers and 100+ RBIs in 2010 if he stays healthy.

26-year old righty swinging Nolan Reimold (LF) and 31-year old lefty swinging Luke Scott (DH) both have starting jobs but they can handle RF in a pinch if something were to happen to Markakis.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RF IN 2010: A

24-year old righty swinging Adam Jones was having an outstanding season before it ended due to injury. Jones played in 119 games for the Orioles last season and he was 131 of 473 (.277 avg, .792 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 19 homers, 70 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. The sky is the limit for Jones as a hitter as he could have a monster year for the Orioles in 2010 if he can stay healthy. Jones made 5 errors in 118 games in CF last season while showing outstanding range. Jones also had 9 assists out of CF which shows that he has a howitzer attached to his right shoulder. If Jones cuts down on the errors he will be a Gold Glove candidate soon.

25-year old lefty swinging Felix Pie is the top backup in CF for the Orioles. Pie played in 101 games for the Orioles last season and he was 67 of 252 (.266 avg, .763 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 9 homers and 29 RBIs. Pie only made 1 error in 42 games in CF last season while showing outstanding range. He had 2 assists out of CF last season showing off a good throwing arm. Pie was once a top prospect and he started to show why last season for the Orioles and they hope he keeps up the good work in 2010 and beyond.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CF IN 2010: B+

26-year old righty swinging Nolan Reimold will be the Orioles’ starting LF in 2010. He played in 104 games for the Orioles last season and he was 100 of 358 (.279 avg, .831 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 15 homers, 45 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Reimold made 5 errors in 88 games in LF last season while showing good range. He had 7 assists from LF as he showed off a very strong throwing arm in 2009. Reimold needs to cut down on his errors in 2010 but other than that he is all systems go.

25-year old lefty swinging Felix Pie could get a lot of playing time in LF in 2010 especially as a defensive replacement late in games. Pie played in 44 games in LF last season and he made 1 error while showing out of this world range. He also had 3 assists from LF showing a solid throwing arm.

31-year old lefty swinging Luke Scott will be the starting DH for the Orioles but he can fill in at LF if the need arises. He played 26 error-free games in LF last season while showing outstanding range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LF IN 2010: B

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-