Jim Callis' take on O's 2021 draft picks and a look ahead to 2022

Jim Callis' take on O's 2021 draft picks and a look ahead to 2022
They are still a long way from the major leaguers, but seeing a host of players from the 2021 Orioles draft class end the year playing so well at low Single-A Delmarva was a real plus for the organization. After drafting players they are high on in the first two drafts under Mike Elias - like Adley Rutschman, Kyle Stowers, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Coby Mayo and Heston Kjerstad - the class of '21 was raking late in the year with the Shorebirds after starting their pro careers this...

Will new CBA impact draft order, plus more notes

Will new CBA impact draft order, plus more notes
Only 20 times since 1901 has a big league team lost 110 or more games in a single season. Two teams did that this year - the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Orioles. You lose that much, you have earned the No. 1 draft pick. But Arizona, thanks to a walk-off homer on the season's final day, is not going to get one next year. That is, barring something in the new collective bargaining agreement that changes that. When teams tie for a spot in the draft - in this case the No. 1 pick - the previous...

Losing streak puts Orioles in position for first pick in 2022 draft

Losing streak puts Orioles in position for first pick in 2022 draft
Moving below the Diamondbacks for the worst record in the majors has put the Orioles in front of everyone else for the No. 1 pick in the 2022 amateur draft. There must be a reward for enduring such agony. Baseball America's early mock draft, published last month, has IMG Academy outfielder Elijah Green as the top choice. It noted his "special combination of elite physicality, electric tools and an impressive underclass track record of hitting." Former Orioles bench coach John Russell, a...

Ryan McKenna's impact on a win, plus getting the draft picks going

Ryan McKenna's impact on a win, plus getting the draft picks going
He flashed some power, some speed and he flashed some defense in the outfield. He can fly on the bases. Cedric Mullins, right? Well, yes, but this time we are talking about his teammate, Ryan McKenna, who made a major impact on the Orioles' 5-4 walk-off win over the Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon. McKenna scampered home from third base with the winning run in the last of the ninth and who else would you have wanted 90 feet away from winning the game than the fastest player on the...

O's end K.C. series on high note and Elias on the draft

O's end K.C. series on high note and Elias on the draft
For an Orioles team that had given up nine runs on Friday night and allowed 27 runs in three games against the Chicago White Sox before the break, Sunday was needed and a very nice change. Right-hander Matt Harvey had pitched to an ERA of 11.20 over his previous 11 starts with an OPS against of 1.035 in that span, but he and four relievers teamed on a shutout. The 5-0 win over Kansas City lifted the O's record to 30-62 and they ended this series with 13 consecutive scoreless innings. It was...

Mullins scores a run in All-Star Game

Mullins scores a run in All-Star Game
Cedric Mullins was able to serve as a leadoff hitter tonight in the All-Star Game at Coors Field in Denver. Just in a different manner than his usual role with the Orioles. Batting ninth in the American League's order but the first to the plate in the top of the third inning. Mullins struck out against the Brewers' Corbin Burnes and watched from the dugout as the Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a long home run to left field for a 2-0 lead. But he got one more chance in the fifth,...

Wrapping up the draft, possibly eliminating shifts and more

Wrapping up the draft, possibly eliminating shifts and more
Under former Orioles general manager Andy MacPhail, the motto "Grow the arms, buy the bats," was popular. Under current exec Mike Elias, the motto could be, "Take elite college bats with good contact skills and draft pitchers later on that you are confident you can develop." OK, that might be way too many words for a T-shirt. But in the 2021 First-Year Player Draft, the Orioles selected 21 players with just one from the high school ranks. They drafted nine pitchers, but just one in the...

Draft tracker: Nats make final picks of 2021 draft (multiple updates)

Draft tracker: Nats make final picks of 2021 draft (multiple updates)
The 2021 First-Year Player Draft concludes today with the 11th through 20th rounds, as the Nationals continue to fortify their farm system with young talent. With picks in each of the first 10 rounds, the Nationals have strayed away from their traditional approach of stocking up on pitchers by selecting seven position players and only three hurlers over the first half of this draft, headlined by high school shortstop Brady House with the No. 11 pick Sunday night. "We accomplished what we kind...

Draft tracker: Nats continue adding players with second-day picks (multiple updates)

Draft tracker: Nats continue adding players with second-day picks (multiple updates)
The First-Year Player Draft continued today with the second through 10th rounds, and the Nationals continued to stock up on hitters in the early portion of Tuesday's action. In the second round, with the 47th overall selection, the Nats chose another prep player, left-handed hitting outfielder Daylen Lile of Trinity High School in Louisville, Ky. Lile hit .510 (45-for-88) with 10 doubles, eight triples, 14 home runs and 48 RBIs. The 32 extra-base hits show emerging power and Lile walked 35...

O's add East Carolina second baseman in second round (multiple updates)

O's add East Carolina second baseman in second round (multiple updates)
The First-Year Player Draft resumed this afternoon and the Orioles selected East Carolina second baseman Connor Norby with their second-round pick, No. 41 overall. Norby led the nation with 102 hits this year as he batted .415/.484/.659 with 15 doubles, 15 homers, 18 steals, 64 runs and 51 RBIs. He finished eight in the nation in batting average. He was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year. Norby was ranked as the No. 25 prospect for this draft by FanGraphs.com, No. 44 by...

Colton Cowser: "It's a dream come true"

Colton Cowser: "It's a dream come true"
Sam Houston State outfielder Colton Cowser said that when the Orioles invited him to Baltimore for a pre-draft workout, he knew they were serious about potentially making him the No. 5 overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft. "It's a dream come true," he said late Sunday night in a Zoom interview. "I've dreamed about this and my family's invested a lot into me. You know they've sacrificed all the time. Just to be able to spend it with friends and family means the world to me." For...

Nats go with high school shortstop House as No. 11 pick (updated)

Nats go with high school shortstop House as No. 11 pick (updated)
The Nationals veered off their typical course tonight and did not select a pitcher with their first pick of the First-Year Player Draft. But in making Brady House their choice at No. 11, they did go back to a familiar well they've tapped before when taking a position player. House, a high school shortstop from Georgia, is only the second position player the Nats have selected with their first draft pick since 2011. The other was Carter Kieboom, a high school shortstop from Georgia. The...

Orioles select college outfielder Colton Cowser in first round

Orioles select college outfielder Colton Cowser in first round
The 2021 First-Year Player Draft is defined by the number of high school shortstops residing near or at the top of boards across the industry. The Orioles helped to steer it in a different direction tonight. Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias used the fifth-overall selection on Sam Houston State outfielder Colton Cowser. This is the second year in a row that the Orioles chose an outfielder with their first pick, following the University of Arkansas' Heston Kjerstad, who still...

Britton on Rutschman in Futures Game, plus it's draft day

Britton on Rutschman in Futures Game, plus it's draft day
BOWIE - Since he would be departing his team after Friday's doubleheader to head to Denver for the All-Star Futures Game, catcher Adley Rutschman may have wanted to leave his club on a high note. A go-ahead solo homer to left-center to break a 2-2 tie and lift Bowie to a 3-2 win in Game 2 on Friday was a nice parting gift to the Baysox players he would temporarily say goodbye to. His blast in the fifth inning helped the Baysox get a win for right-hander Mike Baumann. Rutschman is the Orioles'...

Some draft talk, minor league scores and Home Run Derby field

Some draft talk, minor league scores and Home Run Derby field
The draft analysts that post mock drafts and try to figure out which players might get selected in which spots on Sunday night have one tough job. Those analysts sometimes look to past behavior to try and predict future actions. When it comes to the Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias, they look at the past and sometimes speculate what it could mean to his 2020 O's draft. These predictions sometimes indicate and mostly speculate that he may be reluctant to take a...

A few draft notes as the Orioles offense perks up

A few draft notes as the Orioles offense perks up
It seems like it could be a real clue as to which player the Orioles might select with the No. 5 overall pick in the upcoming First-Year Player Draft. The first 37 selections will be made Sunday night as the three-day, 20-round draft begins. After they selected No. 1 overall in 2019 and took Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman, and No. 2 overall last year and took Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad, the O's will pick No. 5 this time. The clue as to which player they pick could come in which...

A look at O's draft preparations with Brad Ciolek

A look at O's draft preparations with Brad Ciolek
After picking first in the draft in 2019 and second overall last year, the Orioles have the No. 5 pick in round one this year. The three-day, 20-round draft begins at 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 11, when picks No. 1 through No. 37 will be selected. During a Zoom interview with reporters Friday, O's supervisor of domestic scouting operations Brad Ciolek provided an update on the club's draft prep for this year. "It's a little bit of a different animal (picking fifth)," said Ciolek. "We have to,...

Feeling a draft: Jim Callis on the O's at No. 5

Feeling a draft: Jim Callis on the O's at No. 5
On Sunday, July 11, the First-Year Player Draft for 2021 will begin at 7 p.m. There is no consensus No. 1 pick this year, as in some previous years, but there is surely plenty of speculation about what the Orioles will do. After executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias selected Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman No. 1 overall in 2019 and Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad No. 2 overall last year, he will make the No. 5 pick in round one this time. In a Zoom interview taped...

Nationals all in on developing pitching

Nationals all in on developing pitching
It is no secret that the Nationals have made a commitment to drafting and developing pitching. Cade Cavalli, their first-round pick in the 2020 First-Year Player Draft, is the most recent example of that strategy. The Nats have selected 34 pitchers in the first 10 rounds of the last five drafts, and if this year's draft was not shortened to just five rounds, that number would likely be higher. General manager Mike Rizzo built a championship team on starting pitching, and it is clear that he...

Will the Orioles go position player with another high draft pick?

Will the Orioles go position player with another high draft pick?
There was no announcement or press release from Major League Baseball. But numerous outlets this week reported that the order of the First-Year Player Draft is set for 2021. The Orioles will have the No. 5 pick in the first round. After speculation that MLB would use the reverse standings, as always, for the draft order, several outlets confirmed this week that will be the case. After selecting No. 1 overall in 2019 and No. 2 in June, the O's will pick after Pittsburgh, Texas, Detroit and...