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 Orioles have designated 26-year old righty reliever Luis Lebron for assignment. Lebron pitched in 8 games (0 starts) in Rookie+A-ball this year and he was 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA and a 0.63 WHIP. He pitched in 177 games (7 starts) in his six years in the minors for the Orioles and he was 7-13 with 47 saves, a 5.06 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. Lebron was just taking up roster space with the Orioles and he won’t be missed.

UPDATE: (8/20/2011) - Luis Lebron has cleared waivers and he has been outrighted to AAA by the Orioles.

The Orioles have lost 23-year old righty reliever Dan Klein for the rest of the 2011 season due to shoulder surgery. Klein came into this season as the Orioles’ #5 prospect according to Baseball America. Klein pitched in 16 games (0 starts) in A+AA-ball this year and he was 3-1 with a 1.11 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. He has now pitched in 21 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the minors and he is 4-1 with 1 save, a 0.93 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP. He has only given up 24 hits and 7 walks in his first 38 2/3 innings in the minors and he has 47 whiffs and those are impressive numbers. The Orioles hope that Klein can stay healthy in the future because he has a nice upside.

21-year old righty starting pitcher Bobby Bundy came into this season as the Orioles’ #14 prospect according to Baseball America and he’s showing why so far this year. Bundy has pitched in 22 games (all starts) in A+AA-ball so far this year and he is 12-6 with a 2.81 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. He has now pitched in 64 games (52 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 18-19 with a 3.59 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. The O’s will likely put Bundy on the fast track to Baltimore as they need a lot of help in the starting rotation.

The Orioles have designated 24-year old righty starting pitcher Brandon Erbe for assignment. Erbe pitched in 5 games (3 starts) in Rookie+A-ball this year and he was 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He has pitched in 133 games (120 starts) in his first 7 years in the minors with the Orioles and he is 28-46 with 1 save, a 4.45 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Erbe came into this season as the Orioles’ #27 prospect according to Baseball America but he has been dinged up all year. He does have 580 strikeouts in his first 580 innings pitched which proves that he has pretty good stuff. The Orioles are likely trying to sneak Erbe through waivers as they probably don’t want to give up on him quite yet.

UPDATE: (8/10/2011) - The Orioles have outrighted Brandon Erbe to AAA.