Hanifee undergoes elbow surgery (updated)

Hanifee undergoes elbow surgery (updated)
Orioles minor league pitcher Brenan Hanifee, a fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft out of Turner-Ashby High School in Virginia, underwent ulnar collateral ligament reconstructive surgery on his right elbow yesterday in Dallas. The team announced that the procedure was "successful." Dr. Keith Meister performed the surgery. Meister handled the same procedure in October on pitcher Carter Baumler, a fifth-round selection in 2020 out of Dowling Catholic High School in Iowa, and repaired pitcher...

Updating Baumann, Kjerstad, Akin, Ciuffo, Baumler and more

Updating Baumann, Kjerstad, Akin, Ciuffo, Baumler and more
Mike Baumann's exclusion from a break-camp roster is the result of lingering discomfort in his right arm, leaving one of the top pitching prospects in the Orioles organization at extended spring training in Sarasota, Fla. Baumann, ranked No. 8 by MLBPipeline.com and Baseball America, was shut down last summer at the alternate camp site in Bowie due to a right flexor strain. He was able to throw in spring training, though not competitively. The Orioles placed Baumann on the 40-man roster in...

Updates on new position, third base coach, PTBNL and more

Updates on new position, third base coach, PTBNL and more
The polls are closed, the votes are counted and the winners are Orioles fans who wanted some news and notes this morning. For example: * With Chris Holt moving to the dugout as pitching coach/director of pitching, the Orioles are going to recreate the position of minor league roving pitching coordinator. It's on the organizational need list, from what I'm told. That may not be the exact title, but the duties will be similar to what Holt did prior to becoming director of pitching this season....

Hess becomes free agent, surgery for Baumler (updated)

Hess becomes free agent, surgery for Baumler (updated)
The Orioles have created another opening on their 40-man roster as part of their early offseason business. Pitcher David Hess cleared waivers today and entered the free agent market, according to an industry source. Hess, 27, made three relief appearances this summer and allowed five runs and 10 hits in seven innings. He's 4-20 with a 5.86 ERA and a 1.466 WHIP in parts of three major league seasons covering 190 1/3 innings. Young pitching prospects Keegan Akin, Dean Kremer and Bruce Zimmermann...

Draft selections impressing in fall instructional camp

Draft selections impressing in fall instructional camp
The inability to put this year's draft selections in the 60-man player pool motivated the Orioles to get them work in the fall instructional league. At least five of the six, with outfielder Heston Kjerstad unavailable due to a non-sports medical issue. Director of player development Matt Blood is down in Sarasota, Fla., to observe, among many things, the raw skills and the progress made by shortstops Jordan Westburg and Anthony Servideo, outfielder Hudson Haskin, third baseman Coby Mayo and...

Jim Callis with props for O's draft, plus other notes

Jim Callis with props for O's draft, plus other notes
When I interviewed MLBPipeline.com's Jim Callis this week it was apparent he is very high on the O's 2020 draft, where they selected six players over the draft's five rounds. Here is a review of the Orioles' draft: * Round 1 (No. 2 overall) - O's selected University of Arkanas outfielder Heston Kjerstad. He was signed to a bonus of $5.2 million, which was well under the slot amount of $7.79 million. * Competitive Balance Round A (No. 30 overall) - They selected Mississippi State shortstop...

Notes on rotation, taxi squad, opening day, Davis' outlook and more

Notes on rotation, taxi squad, opening day, Davis' outlook and more
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is trying to set up the rest of his rotation without No 1. starter John Means, who's on the injured list with left shoulder fatigue. He appears to have made decisions through the first road trip. Alex Cobb and Wade LeBlanc start the last two games in Boston and Asher Wojciechowki gets the ball for Monday night's series opener against the Marlins in Miami. Hyde is leaning toward using Kohl Stewart the following night before the Orioles head back to Baltimore. The...

Orioles sign second overall draft pick Heston Kjerstad

Orioles sign second overall draft pick Heston Kjerstad
A third 2020 draft selection by the Orioles is under contract. The team announced today that it signed outfielder Heston Kjerstad, the second overall pick from the University of Arkansas. The biggest fish in their draft pond. Infielder Jordan Westburg, the 30th overall pick, and outfielder Hudson Haskin, the 39th, signed on Saturday for $2,365,500 and $1,906,800, respectively. Both at full slot value. Kjerstad has signed for $5.2 million, according to a source. Terms were first reported by...

Reviewing the weekend's activity

Reviewing the weekend's activity
The past two days have been productive for the Orioles and media covering the team. An announcement was made Saturday afternoon on the signings of draft picks Jordan Westburg, their Competitive Balance Round A selection and the 30th overall pick, and outfielder Hudson Haskin, their second-rounder and the 39th overall. And yesterday brought confirmation on 44 of the 60 players who will be tossed in the pool for spring training 2.0. More players will be announced later in the week. The Orioles...

Orioles sign draft picks Westburg and Haskin

Orioles sign draft picks Westburg and Haskin
The Orioles haven't forgotten about their 2020 draft picks while plotting the construction of their camp rosters for the second spring training. The club announced this afternoon that it's signed infielder Jordan Westburg, their Competitive Balance Round A selection and the 30th overall pick, and outfielder Hudson Haskin, their second-rounder and the 39th overall. Westburg signed for $2,365,500 and Haskin for $1,906,800 - both at full slot value, according to a source. Westburg, 21, batted...

A look at Orioles' post-draft math

A look at Orioles' post-draft math
When the Orioles selected Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad No. 2 overall in the recent First-Year Player Draft, the assumption was they took him there to save some money to spent later in the draft. And while it could work out that way, the Orioles made it clear he was their top choice. Any savings would be an added bonus. We didn't know it then, but the Orioles would not go overslot until their last two picks, drafting high school players in the fourth and fifth rounds. There have been no...

Updates on Orioles signing drafted and undrafted players (more)

Updates on Orioles signing drafted and undrafted players (more)
On the same day that teams are allowed to begin signing undrafted players, cleared to make some noise following the 48-hour quiet period, the Orioles have reached agreements with two of their selections from last week. Both are high school players chosen at the backend of the abbreviated draft. Both are over-slot. Right-hander Carter Baumler, a fifth-rounder from Dowling Catholic High School in Iowa, has agreed to terms on a $1.5 million contract, as first reported by Prospects 365's Mason...

This, that and the other

This, that and the other
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...

Notes and quotes on the draft and more with Brad Ciolek

Notes and quotes on the draft and more with Brad Ciolek
The Orioles selected six players the last two nights in the First-Year Player Draft and the first five-round Major League Baseball draft ever is in the books. In a Zoom call with Baltimore reporters late last night, O's supervisor of domestic scouting operation Brad Ciolek expanded on the club's scouting and interest in top pick Heston Kjerstad, the University of Arkansas outfielder that went No. 2 overall. "We liked him as a bat coming out of high school," Ciolek said. "At Arkansas, he...

Baseball's shutdown impacting prospects and draft picks (updated)

Baseball's shutdown impacting prospects and draft picks (updated)
Two days of the First-Year Player draft provided the ideal distraction from the back and forth between ownership and the Major League Baseball Players Association. Barely a peep about the length of a proposed season, percentages of prorated pay and an expanded playoff format that could shove 16 teams into October. And now, back to our regularly scheduled bickering, already in progress. Selecting players from the college and high school ranks is followed by negotiations on contracts, with the...

Wrapping up the draft with the O's Brad Ciolek

Wrapping up the draft with the O's Brad Ciolek
The Orioles completed their draft tonight, making four more selections and six total over five rounds and two days. They selected four college position players to start their draft, added a high school infielder in round four tonight and a prep pitcher in the fifth and last round. So, four of six taken were from the college ranks and five of six were position players. The Orioles' supervisor of domestic scouting operations, Brad Ciolek, talked to Baltimore reporters on a Zoom call tonight and...