Bundy: "There are just some things I need to work on"

Bundy: "There are just some things I need to work on"
In three starts for short-season Single-A Aberdeen, right-hander Dylan Bundy allowed one run and struck out 22 batters in 15 innings. Opponents in the New York-Penn League hit .189 against him. In three starts for advanced Single-A Frederick, Bundy has allowed 12 runs and struck out six batters in 11 2/3 innings. Opponents in the Carolina League are hitting .326 against him. This just in: The competition grows tougher at each level of the farm system. Bundy worked four-plus innings last night...

A few pregame notes and Orioles-Rangers lineups

A few pregame notes and Orioles-Rangers lineups
ARLINGTON, Texas - Nelson Cruz is back in the Orioles lineup tonight, and will be facing his former team for the first time. Cruz exited Sunday's game in Houston in the third inning with a bruised and swollen left hand, but he gripped a bat yesterday without discomfort and should play. Over eight seasons with the Rangers from 2006 to 2013, Cruz batted .268 with 157 homers and 489 RBIs in 796 games and was an All-Star in 2009 and 2013. Cruz lost out to Toronto's Edwin Encarnacion today for...

No early pick provides challenge for Rajsich and O's scouting staff

No early pick provides challenge for Rajsich and O's scouting staff
Orioles director of scouting Gary Rajsich said he and his staff are ready for the challenge. The challenge is to find and sign some good players in this week's First-Year Player Draft without having a pick until the third round. After picking Kevin Gausman fourth and Hunter Harvey 22nd overall in his first two drafts with the Orioles, Rajsich and the Birds won't select until the 90th overall pick on Friday afternoon. When the draft's first two rounds unfold live on MLB Network starting...

Tough call on the farm: When is the right time to promote a player?

Tough call on the farm: When is the right time to promote a player?
Anytime a minor league player starts to produce very good stats at one level, the inevitable question comes up: Should he now get promoted to the next level? That topic came up earlier this week when I had a conversation with Orioles director of player development Brian Graham, one of the key front office staff members that is heavily and directly involved in such decisions. Talking about potential promotions is not an area where Graham wants to say much publicly. He doesn't want players...

Bowie's Christian Walker talks about his solid season and all those homers

Bowie's Christian Walker talks about his solid season and all those homers
There have been a few players off to real solid starts in the Orioles minor leagues this season, but perhaps none is faring better right now than Double-A Bowie first baseman Christian Walker. Walker has always been a good solid hitter with gap-to-gap power, but this year he's continuing to hit for a high average and he's mashing more homers, too. Through 52 games, the 23-year-old right-handed hitter is batting .330 with eight doubles, a triple, 14 homers and 46 RBIs. He has an OBP of .390, a...

Minors matters: Shorebirds still winning, Walker still hitting homers

Minors matters: Shorebirds still winning, Walker still hitting homers
The Orioles Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds affiliate is on a real hot streak right now. After a doubleheader sweep of first-place Hagerstown on Monday, the Shorebirds are now 29-21. The Shorebirds produced a pair of comeback victories in that doubleheader. Delmarva erased a 6-0 deficit, coming up with a 7-6 walkoff win with three runs in the seventh in the opener. In the nightcap, Drew Dosch launched a tie-breaking home run in the sixth. Jimmy Yacabonis shut the door for his league-leading 12th...

Minor league notes on Bridwell, Walker and more

Minor league notes on Bridwell, Walker and more
Single-A Frederick pitcher Parker Bridwell has been named the Pitcher of the Week in the Carolina League after his near no-hitter last Tuesday. Bridwell becomes the first Key to be named Pitcher of the Week since Tyler Wilson won the award in September 2012. Bridwell was the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week last August. He lost a no-hitter with one out in the ninth against the Potomac Nationals. Bridwell established a new career high for innings pitched at 8 1/3, which is the longest...

Christian Walker's good start for Bowie and some O's rotation talk

Christian Walker's good start for Bowie and some O's rotation talk
Double-A Bowie first baseman Christian Walker is off to another good start. The 23-year-old right-handed hitter was named the Eastern League's Player of the Week yesterday. Last April, while with Single-A Delmarva, Walker hit .360 with three homers and 16 RBIs on the way to being named O's minor league Player of the Month. He made it all the way to Bowie last summer and starts there this season. Through 17 games, Walker is batting .306 with two doubles, a triple, two homers, 10 RBIs and a...

Three O's prospects expected to start in AFL championship game

Three O's prospects expected to start in AFL championship game
Three Orioles prospects are expected to start tomorrow for Surprise when the Saguaros take on Mesa at 3:10 p.m. eastern in the Arizona Fall League championship game, which will be televised by MLB Network. Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez gets the start on the mound and will likely pitch three innings. Henry Urrutia is expected to start in left field with Jonathan Schoop at shortstop. Rodriguez is 0-1 with a 5.52 ERA in five AFL starts. Urrutia is batting .377 with three homers, 15 RBIs, a .551...

Minor league notes: Alvarez set to debut, Walker has MRI (Alvarez homers)

Minor league notes: Alvarez set to debut, Walker has MRI (Alvarez homers)
Cuban outfielder Dariel Alvarez, signed by the Orioles in late July, will make his debut for the organization when he plays this afternoon for the Gulf Coast League Orioles. The 24-year-old Alvarez recently acquired his work visa, the last step before he could take the field. Alvarez, who signed for $800,000, played for Camaguey in the Cuban League from 2007-11 and Tuxpan in Mexico in 2012. In five seasons with Camaguey, he batted .297 (341-for-1,147) with 37 home runs and 180 RBIs. In 2011,...

Three O's prospects play on the big stage today in the All-Star Futures Game

Three O's prospects play on the big stage today in the All-Star Futures Game
Over the last five years, the Orioles have sent eight players to the All-Star Futures Game, which will be played today at 2 p.m. at Citi Field in New York. It has become a prestigious event featuring some of the top young prospects in the sport in a game pitting the U.S against the world. The Orioles are one of six major league organizations that will have three players on the field today (nine have just one) in Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia, Venezuelan pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez and first...

Frederick's Christian Walker added to Futures Game roster

Frederick's Christian Walker added to Futures Game roster
The Orioles will now have three players representing the organization in the All-Star Futures Game set for Sunday, July 14. Frederick's Christian Walker has been added to the U.S. team roster. Earlier, Henry Urrutia and Eduardo Rodriguez were named to the World team. The 22-year-old Walker began this season with Single-A Delmarva. In 31 games, he hit .353 with three homers and 20 RBIs. Walker moved to Single-A Frederick on May 12 and in 49 games with the Keys, he is batting .288 with 16...

From Delmarva to Frederick, Christian Walker's bat keeps rolling

From Delmarva to Frederick, Christian Walker's bat keeps rolling
He is the leading hitter in the Orioles minor leagues and he's been doing very well at two levels this season. Christian Walker, the club's fourth-round pick last June out of the University of South Carolina, began this season pounding baseballs for low Single-A Delmarva. Moved to high Single-A Frederick May 12, he picked up in the Carolina League right where he left off in the South Atlantic League. "He just needs to continue the process and the day-to-day grind," O's director of player...

In the third round ... (Christian Walker in fourth, Colin Poche in fifth)

In the third round ... (Christian Walker in fourth, Colin Poche in fifth)
BOSTON - We've moved into the third round of the First-Year Player Draft, and the Orioles used the 99th overall pick to select shortstop/second baseman Adrian Marin of Gulliver Prep School in Miami. Marin is listed at 6 foot and 170 pounds. He's regarded as a plus-runner who's been timed at 6.65 in the 60-yard. He's committed to the University of Miami. Baseball America ranked Marin as the 192nd-best prospect in the draft. Your browser does not support iframes. Here's what Baseball...