JEREMY GUTHRIE is one of baseball's good guys. He spends time with his fans before and after games, he's always smiling and he even enjoys signing autographs.

Guthrie has always been a good guy, even before he was a first-round draft pick back in 2002. What Guthrie has never been (until now, at least) was a major league starting pitcher, a gig the Baltimore Orioles rookie can now add to his resume.

Guthrie began the 2007 season as one of five new relievers in Baltimore's overhauled bullpen. A 28-year-old right-hander who had spent his entire amateur and minor league career starting, Guthrie was penciled in as his new team's long reliever after pitching effectively during spring training.

That all changed late last month, though, when two of the Orioles' five starters were grounded with injuries. Hard-throwing left-hander Adam Loewen was placed on the disabled list because of an elbow injury, and veteran Jaret Wright, who has been bothered by a sore throwing arm, also was shelved.

The sudden vacancies in Baltimore's rotation meant that two unsuspecting pitchers would get opportunities to start. Guthrie was one of them.

Guthrie has made two starts, and he hasn't disappointed. He has yielded just one run in each of his two outings, and through 11 innings the one-time Cleveland Indians prospect has yet to allow a walk.

Orioles pitching coach Leo Mazzone has been thoroughly impressed with the journeyman right-hander.

"He's a guy who has the stuff to start," Mazzone said the day after Guthrie made his first start. "He was throwing 96 [mph] on the black, and that's something a lot of guys can't do."

In addition to being the kind of pitcher you want to watch, Guthrie's the kind of guy you want your kids to admire. A class valedictorian and three-sport legend at Ashland High School in Roseburg, Ore., Guthrie was supposed to be the next superstar pitcher in Cleveland. For whatever reason, though, he never developed into the pitcher the Indians thought he would be.

When he became a free agent this winter after a few less-than-productive minor league seasons, the Indians weren't interested in bringing him back. Baltimore signed the Stanford product, a decision the team is thrilled about.