The Orioles announced Tuesday night that Matt Wieters will make his debut on Friday:

Still, it appeared until last night that Wieters would either join the team in Seattle next week or make his long-awaited debut when the Orioles returned from that weeklong West Coast road trip.

I guess MacPhail, like his team’s largely disaffected fan base, couldn’t wait another week.

“He’s ready,” MacPhail said, perhaps only coincidentally on the night the Orioles drew the smallest paid crowd (10,130) in the history of Oriole Park.

The Orioles have earned their extra year of control over the star prospect catcher. What’s interesting to me is that Weiters hasn’t lit up AAA. Give credit to the pundits who thought he needed more seasoning. So maybe he doesn’t give the Orioles the hoped for offensive boost. However, Orioles catchers hit so poorly that even Wieters at the low end of his production is likely to help.