Matt Wieters will make his much anticipated major league debut on Friday night at Camden Yards. The long-awaited announcement was made by Baltimore’s President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail during an in-game television interview on MASN.

Wieters, who went 4-for-4 with four RBI in his final tune up at Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday night, is hitting .305 in the minor leagues. Widely considered the best prospect in all of baseball, a case could be made that Orioles fans have never viewed a minor league star with the reverence the fan base has bestowed upon the 2007 5th-overall pick.

Wieters homered twice — from each side of the plate — in the first game of the 2008 season at Frederick. He spent the first half of last season with the Keys, hitting .345 with 15 home runs. After playing in the all-star game with various other uber-prospects from the Carolina league, Wieters was promoted to Double-A Bowie.

The Georgia Tech product hit for a higher average in the second half at Bowie than he did at Frederick earlier in the year. He finished the season with a .365 average in 61 Double-A games. Wieters ended the season with prolific enough offensive totals that they looked like they were posted by a stellar first baseman. He hit .355 with 27 long balls and 91 RBI.

After hitting for a high average and driving the baseball to all fields this spring, the switch-hitting catcher was sent to Norfolk to further master the game-calling and pitcher-managing aspects of catching. Six weeks into the season, it seems as though Wieters has done enough to prove to the Baltimore front office that he’s ready to make an impact in the major leagues.

The 2007 draftee will be in the lineup on Friday against the Detroit Tigers. Wieters will catch a one-time minor league teammate in Brad Bergesen to get his major league career started.

The Orioles are anticipating a monster walk-up crowd with the word of Wieters’ promotion already having spread throughout baseball. Wieters will do his best to make sure he doesn’t think too much about the attendance come Friday night. Only one thing matters to the South Carolina native.

The wait is over.