In his first three draft as Orioles executive vice president and general manager, Mike Elias selected just four pitchers in the first 10 rounds of those drafts. Of course the 2020 draft was just five rounds, but just four pitchers were taken over three drafts through that round.

In 2019, the O’s first eight picks were position players until they selected pitchers Griffin McLarty in round eight and Connor Gillispie in round nine. In the shortened 2020 draft, their first five of six picks were position players until they drafted high school right-hander Carter Baumler in round five. Last year, among the first 10 rounds, the only pitcher selected by the O's was right-hander Carlos Tavera in round five. That was after five position players.

But this draft was very different.

After taking a position player with the first four picks Sunday night, the Orioles started the second day of the MLB Draft picking Oklahoma State right-hander Nolan McLean in round three yesterday with the No. 81 overall pick. They added pitchers Trace Bright of Auburn in round five, Preston Johnson of Mississippi State in round seven, right-hander Cameron Weston of Michigan in round eight and Juco pitcher Wyatt Cheney of McLennan (Tex.) Community College in round 10.

Of the 12 players they have drafted so far, there are 11 college players, five pitchers and seven position players.

The Orioles keep building new streaks as if tool belts are now part of the uniform. Usually the kind that feel like a drill bit twisting through the temples of their manager. Brandon Hyde was able to joke about the most recent streak, the one-run games that reached five in a row going into tonight. How he told his players it was OK to win 7-2 once in a while. They didn't exactly follow orders against the Royals, but a four-run first inning hinted that they no longer wanted to be so...

We now have the facts as they relate to pitchers and the Orioles in the 2021 First-Year Player Draft. We do know they drafted just one pitcher in the first 10 rounds and then took eight from rounds 11 through 19. A run broken up only when they selected Florida Southern first baseman Jacob Teter in round 13. Over time we will find out if waiting to draft all those pitchers was a wise move by the Orioles. If Kumar Rocker wins a couple of Cy Young Awards - OK, if he is even a plus starting pitcher...

Players for the Double-A Bowie Baysox this year can go hitless, yet still get praise from the coaching staff for their hitting. And not just because they may have made a productive out. It's all about the swing decisions they make. They are graded both on the pitches they do swing at and those they do not. The goal is to get a very hittable pitch and drive it. Let almost everything else go. Even borderline strikes are sometimes spit on while a hitter waits for a better pitch. Sometimes, even...

The Orioles didn't select a pitcher in the 2019 First-Year Player Draft until the College of Charleston's Griffin McLarty in the eighth round. They kept bypassing the top-rated arms this week and choose Carter Baumler from Dowling Catholic High in Iowa in the fifth and final round. Are the Orioles duplicating the approach used by the Astros to build a World Series champion? It would make sense, given executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias' role in those drafts. But the Astros...

Exactly one week remains before the start of the First-Year Player Draft and absolutely no one knows who's going to the Orioles with the second overall pick. The Orioles must wait until the Tigers choose ahead of them and most likely will lose an opportunity to select Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson. He's expected to be the guy if he stays on the board, but I probably have a better chance of staying in my 50s. Assuming that Torkelson is gone, the Orioles must reach a consensus...