Orioles Top Prospect No. 2: Josh Bell

You have to give credit to Andy MacPhail.

This past season, the Orioles desperately needed more production from the third base position. So, instead of trading for another over-the-hill, middle-aged player, the O's GM traded away the O's most valuable bargaining chip, and in return got the future face of the hot corner.

It doesn't hurt that Josh Bell also has "light-tower power," as the baseball geeks like to call his prodigious power stroke.

It was a tough call whether to pin Bell down at #2 or #3, but the thing that clinched it in my mind was the fact that three years from now, Bell should be an everyday player, while Jake Arrieta, even if he turns out better than Brian Matusz or Chris Tillman, still only takes the mound every fifth day.

So I give you, the Orioles #2, and top position prospect, Josh Bell.

Josh Bell, 3B, 23 years old

It's hard to believe that the player who is the heir to the position that Cal Ripken and Brooks Robinson once held, used to be a 255-pound beast who was one more so-so season away from playing himself out of a position altogether.

But that's where Bell was after the 2007 season. He finished that campaign with the Dodgers' High-A ball affiliate, and he finished terribly. His average sat at .173. He only had five extra-base hits in 75 at bats. Only nine RBI, and he averaged a strikeout every fourth time at-bat.

To make matters even worse, Bell had ballooned up to 255 pounds, making him resemble more of a tight end that a infielder. His footwork was sloppy, and his handle of third base was elementary. The Dodgers had not-so privately discussed moving Bell somewhere, anywhere but third base.

The next season, Bell somehow managed a decent start to the year in Low-A ball, continuing what up until 2007 had been an impressive career. For Great Lakes, Bell smashed 15 home runs and drove in 62 runs over 108 games. He certainly struck out a lot (109 times in 400 at bats), but his power was for real.

Josh Bell, 3B, 23 years old

Bell's power was just as real as it had been when the Dodgers took Bell out of high school with their fourth-round pick in 2005.

Bell had showed little power in 157 at-bats in the Gulf Coast League, but the Dodgers knew it was there, and his .318 average that first season let them know that his bat might hit for more than just home runs. He proved management right in 2006, when he hit 12 bombs for Rookie level Ogden. He also still managed to keep his average above .300.

But in addition to the power and possible ability to hit for average that the Dodgers saw in Bell's future, they also saw a lack of work ethic, the kind that would turn Bell from a free-swinging kid with loads of potential into the next cornerstone of their franchise. It was easily seen in the kid's behavior: too little time studying and taking ground balls.

After making 17 errors at the hot corner in 2006, Bell took it to a whole new level with 38 in 2007, further proving the Dodgers concerns about him as a third baseman.

Josh Bell, 3B, 23 years old

You'd have to ask Bell himself to get a straight answer, but after the 2007 season something changed. Either the light went on, or someone had a heart-to-heart with the kid.

He started taking his profession more seriously, and started devoting himself to becoming a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman. He got into shape, and showed up to Dodgers camp down to 235 pounds. He took extra ground balls, focused on his footwork, and went into the 2008 season focused on doing whatever it took to improve his outlook.

Unfortunately for Bell, the cartilage in his knee had other plans.

After a stellar start to the season, one in which Bell was showing he knew how to lay off bad pitches, keep the strikeouts down, increase his walks, all while still hitting for power, Bell was sidelined for the rest of the year. The culprit: a small tear in the cartilage in his knee.

Never one to get too high, or too low, Bell worked his hardest to recover, rehab and make it back in time for the 2009 season.

Josh Bell, 3B, 23 years old

And he did.

Bell put up numbers during his stint with Double-A Chattanooga that were the most impressive of his short career. He was knocking home runs at a career pace, he led the league in doubles, and he had nearly as many walks as strikeouts.

More impressive, his defense had improved so much that the Dodgers now considered him a shoe-in for their third base slot in the years ahead.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers, their more pressing concern was a set-up man.

And that is how George Sherrill ended up a Dodger, and the O's ended up with one of the premier third-basemen prospects in the game.

After switching organizations, Bell continued his tear for the O's, hitting nine more home runs in only 114 at-bats, bringing his total to 20 for the season.

Josh Bell, 3B, 23 years old

In case you hadn't noticed from his two-home run game earlier this spring, Bell is in Spring camp with the Orioles.

He showed up to camp at a reported 220 pounds, and has looked even more impressive at the hot corner, prompting many to believe that Miguel Tejada won't be around any longer than this season (I know, a given with his one-year deal).

He will most likely (barring a disaster in which Garrett Atkins and Tejada both perish) start the season at Norfolk, and MacPhail recently stated that he would love to see Bell finish out the season at AAA. But taking into consideration Bell's status in the recent Baseball America Top 100 Prospect rankings (Bell placed 37th), I don't necessarily think a September call-up is out of the question.

And besides all that...he's got really awesome tattoos!