Baseball America's Ben Badler on O's international effort (video)

Baseball America's Ben Badler on O's international effort (video)
If the Orioles are going to build that elite talent pipeline to get back to winning baseball, they are going to need international talent to be a big element of that effort. Under executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and senior director of international scouting Koby Perez, the Orioles are trying to quickly bring their international program up to speed. The Tampa Bay Rays placed a major leagues-leading eight players on the latest Baseball America top 100 prospects list and...

A few thoughts on where the Orioles go now with their international bonus pool

A few thoughts on where the Orioles go now with their international bonus pool
The Orioles tried but failed to sign any of the big three international prospects that were most recently available. Victor Victor Mesa and Victor Mesa Jr. signed with Miami. Pitcher Sandy Gastón signed with Tampa Bay. So now what? The Orioles still reportedly have something north of $6 million remaining in their pool amount to sign international amateurs. But many of the top players were scooped up when the signing period officially began July 2. Teams can still sign players though through...

Rankings and even more rankings talk

Rankings and even more rankings talk
Yesterday was a big day in prospect land, as Baseball America released its top 100 prospects list and ESPN's Keith Law released his second 50 (subscription required). His top 50 will be released today. For the first time since 2014, the Orioles have three on the Baseball America top 100. Austin Hays was ranked No. 21, with Chance Sisco at No. 68 and Ryan Mountcastle at No. 71. The last three years, the Orioles had three combined, with two in 2015, none in 2016 and one last year with Sisco at...

Orioles maintain interest in Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo

Orioles maintain interest in Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo
The Orioles will be among the teams attending Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo's workout July 26 at the University of Miami. The session is termed a "showcase" for interested clubs. Castillo, 26, defected to the Dominican Republic in December and the Orioles scouted him two months later. They want to take another look at him. Castillo, listed at 5-foot-9 and 185 lbs., has spent the majority of his career in center field, but he also has played the corner positions on a more limited basis....

Baseball America's Ben Badler talks about Henry Urrutia

Baseball America's Ben Badler talks about Henry Urrutia
Henry Urrutia is the 25-year-old Cuban outfielder the Orioles signed to a $778,500 bonus in July. Urrutia remains in Haiti, awaiting a visa that will allow him to play for a team in the Dominican Winter League. The Orioles had hoped to send Urrutia to Double-A Bowie late last season, but without a visa, that was not possible. How good is Urrutia? I asked Ben Badler his opinion. Badler covers international player signings for Baseball America. He said it can be difficult to project how Cuban...

A scouting report on Ryan Flaherty

A scouting report on Ryan Flaherty
The Orioles added to their infield depth and got a versatile player recently when they selected Ryan Flaherty from the Cubs organization in the Rule 5 draft. A left-handed hitter, Flaherty, 25, is a career .278/.346/.462 hitter in four seasons for the Cubs after being selected out of Vanderbilt with the 41st overall pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft. He batted .280/.347/.478 with 53 extra-base hits and 88 RBIs in 132 games for Double-A Tennessee (83 games) and Triple-A Iowa (49 games)...