We’re closing in on first pitch in the rubber match of a three-game series between Lynchburg and Frederick, a set that will be played entirely in a 20-hour span thanks to Monday’s rainout.

It’s also Say No To Drugs Day at the stadium, so the joint has the buzz of a junior high cafeteria.

Strangely enough, I was watching Saved By The Bell this morning. Not the Jessie’s Pep Pills episode, though. Drat.

Actually, strangely enough, I was awake before 10:30 a.m. Sportswriters, at least ones who spend the grand majority of their time working nights, are not morning creatures. Unless by morning you mean finishing up a movie at 4 a.m. ... So yeah, the whole morning game thing kind of puts a wrench in the ol’ routine. The good thing is that we’ll all be done here in time to watch the Capitals wax the Rangers tonight in Game 4.

ANYWAY ...

Some quick notes before this quick series between the Hillcats and Keys wraps up:

* Let’s start with the dichotomy of Dustin Molleken. There’s the good Molleken, the guy who threw strikes, got ahead in counts and picked up victories in his first two appearances, allowing one hit and striking out nine batters in seven scoreless innings. Then came the final inning of his third appearance, last Thursday against Winston-Salem, when he threw batting practice, allowing six hits and four earned runs—three singles and three doubles.

Molleken didn’t fare any better Tuesday night. He’s one of three “priority” relievers the Pirates have assigned to Lynchburg (Tom Boleska and Harrison Bishop are the others), meaning that Molleken knows exactly when he’s going to pitch. He was going to pitch Tuesday regardless, so he got the spot start in a seven-inning game. Again, he elevated his fastball, and Frederick pounded him. He recorded just one out, allowed six hits and five earned runs and was gone before most people realized the second game had started. Give Molleken credit for trying to throw strikes. But his fastball simply doesn’t have enough zip for him to be toying around with the top half of the zone. Like most pitchers at this level, if he consistently leaves fastballs up, he’ll get crushed.

* Alex Presley is at least giving the Pirates something to think about. With Jose De Los Santos on the DL with a balky back, Presley had hit leadoff in three of the last four games and has been flat raking, going 11-for-25 (.440) with two doubles, two triples, seven runs and three RBIs. Had Presley gotten one more plate opportunity in Tuesday’s first game, he would have had a shot at the cycle. He was 3-for-3 with a single, double and triple in his first three at-bats. He led off the second game with a triple, too. Even when De Los Santos comes back, Presley will be hard to keep out of the lineup, especially with Maiko Loyola’s struggles of late. He’s 1-for-32 in his last 10 games after starting the season with four hits in his first seven at-bats.

* Of the Orioles’ top eight prospects, six are pitchers. The other two are Nolan Reimold (No. 5), an outfielder in Triple-A Norfolk and Billy Rowell (No. 7), who according to Baseball America is Baltimore’s top-rated third-base prospect. But Rowell’s poor defense at third has forced the O’s to see how he plays in the outfield at Frederick. BA says he has “the highest ceiling of any hitting prospect in the organization.“ He’s played right field in all three games of this series, though, which doesn’t bode well for his long-term future in the organization. Nick Markakis figures to be a fixture in right for at least the next half decade for Baltimore. His upside is at the plate, but he hasn’t exactly hit in the last three seasons. He raked against rookie and short-season pitching in 2006, hitting .329 in 152 at-bats in Bluefield and .326 in 43 at-bats in Aberdeen.

He batted .273 in a full-season at low-A Delmarva in 2007 with nine home runs and 57 RBIs. At Frederick last season, he sunk to .248 with just seven home runs and 50 RBIs. More telling is that he’s racked up 104 strikeouts in each of the last two seasons. Entering today’s game, he’s hitting .244 with one home run and five RBIs. He did rap three doubles in the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader, showing a bit of his power.

Potential isn’t the issue with Rowell. Maturity is.

“Put simply, Rowell needs to grow up,“ Baseball America writes in its Prospect Handbook. “He still has his own hitting coach, meaning he and the Orioles often are working at cross-purposes. He’s still helpless against lefthanders, batting .187 against them in 2008. He has lost a lot of his speed as his body has matured, and his hands and feet don’t work together well, raising questions about his ability to stay at third base.

“Rowell could answer a lot of the questions about whether he’ll realize his potential by returning to the Carolina League and outworking everyone else. Otherwise, he’ll be an erratic hitter with no defensive position.“