One analyst's take on O's No. 1 farm rankings

One analyst's take on O's No. 1 farm rankings
When FanGraphs.com placed six Orioles among its top 69 prospects this week in their ranking of the top 100 in baseball, it was certainly an impressive haul for the O's. But they were not the first outlet to rank six Orioles in the top 100, as ESPN beat them to it by a few days and the O's placed a half-dozen players among the top 98 in baseball. Six Orioles were in the ESPN top 100: 1 - Adley Rutschman 8 - Grayson Rodriguez 74 - Colton Cowser 94 - DL Hall 96 - Gunnar Henderson 98 - Coby...

Taking a last look at possible protections in Rule 5 draft

Taking a last look at possible protections in Rule 5 draft
The Orioles' 40-man roster is holding at 32 players and must be set by Friday, before a Rule 5 draft at the Winter Meetings that remains in limbo, as well as Orlando, with the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement. Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias will complete the task of protecting players, which follows the many transactions that cleared room for them. There will be the obvious calls and probably at least one that seems possible but falls a little short of a...

Taking a closer look at some minor league free agents (updated)

Taking a closer look at some minor league free agents (updated)
No matter if baseball's Winter Meetings proceed as planned next month in Orlando, Fla., or are shelved while a new collective bargaining agreement is negotiated, Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias will be keeping both eyes on the major and minor league free agent markets. Large sums of cash won't be spent, but there are ways to upgrade the roster and depth at the highest levels of the farm system. Venturing to the minor league side allows the Orioles to increase camp...

Some of the top farm pitchers get closer to Baltimore

Some of the top farm pitchers get closer to Baltimore
As the Orioles work to improve their pitching in 2022, there remain a few ranked pitching prospects the club has yet to see pitch in Baltimore. And there are others, like Zac Lowther and Alexander Wells, that we saw get their feet wet this year. Enough to know how tough it is to pitch in the American League East. The Orioles still play more than half their games outside of the East, this is true, but the division remains the best in the baseball and maybe the toughest in all of sports. Topping...

Orioles bullpen brings its best until 10th in 3-2 loss (updated)

Orioles bullpen brings its best until 10th in 3-2 loss (updated)
The bullpen game plotted tonight by Orioles manager Brandon Hyde began to live up to its definition perhaps a bit sooner than anticipated. Conner Greene couldn't give the Orioles a second inning as the opener, his 24 pitches in a scoreless first against the Phillies beginning the parade of relievers. Marcos Diplán tossed two scoreless innings. Thomas Eshelman stranded a runner in the fourth, retired the side in order in the fifth and struck out two batters in the sixth around J.T....

Jordan Westburg homers, but Bowie loses Game 1

Jordan Westburg homers, but Bowie loses Game 1
BOWIE - The Bowie Baysox got an early lead tonight in Game 1 of the Double-A Northeast Championship Series. But the lead didn't hold up as the Baysox bats were silenced most of the night. Akron right-hander Peyton Battenfield allowed just one hit over seven innings as the RubberDucks beat Bowie 5-1 in the opener of the best-of-five series. Bowie will try to get even at home tomorrow night at 6:35 p.m. Battenfield was acquired by Cleveland on July 30. The Indians traded outfielder Jordan Luplow...

Bowie's Cody Roberts on his game-winning hit Sunday

Bowie's Cody Roberts on his game-winning hit Sunday
BOWIE - Two days removed from the must-win game that saved their season and got them to tonight, Bowie opens the Double-A Northeast Championship Series tonight, hosting Akron in Game 1 of a best-of-five series. Bowie's three-run rally in the eighth inning on Sunday gave the Baysox a 7-5 win over Altoona and sent Bowie to the playoffs, where tonight they begin a series seeking their second league championship after winning the 2015 Eastern League title. With the game tied 5-5 on Sunday, catcher...

Fast start, strong finish, final day win leads Bowie to playoffs

Fast start, strong finish, final day win leads Bowie to playoffs
As they get ready to play for a league championship for the third time in the team's 28-year history, the Double-A Bowie Baysox can look back on a special regular season where they got off to a sizzling start and produced a strong finish. The Baysox were 21-5 on June 4 and were about the best team in all of Minor League Baseball to that point. Late in the year, as they pushed for a postseason spot, Bowie won 12 of 14 in the last two series, going 7-0 versus Harrisburg and 5-2 against...

Orioles surrender five home runs in 7-2 loss (updated)

Orioles surrender five home runs in 7-2 loss (updated)
Alexander Wells trailed by two runs tonight just two batters into his latest start with the Orioles. The first three batters produced three hits. The flashbacks to the past three games, with 44 runs surrendered, were blinding. It never got that bad. There was no need to begin researching past records within the organization or the league. But the Orioles assumed the position and fell again on hard times. Wells followed a scoreless second inning by serving up back-to-back home runs in the third,...

After strong outing, lefty Zac Lowther looks for two in a row

After strong outing, lefty Zac Lowther looks for two in a row
For Orioles left-hander Zac Lowther, the handful of games left in the 2021 season and the starts he may get are very meaningful. After a year where he has gone 0-5 with a 6.53 ERA at Triple-A Norfolk and also missed time while rehabbing a shoulder strain, these outings, like his start today, are big. He wants to show he is healthy and also that the Orioles still can consider him as a candidate for their 2022 rotation. Lowther provided a nice glimpse of what he can do Monday versus Kansas City....

Harvey retires 16 in a row, but O's lose 6-3 (updated)

Harvey retires 16 in a row, but O's lose 6-3 (updated)
Ditching a 19-game losing streak and winning two in a row created a positive energy with the Orioles that couldn't withstand the cold water dumped on it tonight. By a team that brings its own buckets. The Rays maintained their hold on the Orioles tonight, scoring three runs in the first and seventh innings with nothing in between, and registering a 6-3 victory before an announced crowd of 7,155 at Camden Yards. Matt Harvey retired the last 16 batters he faced, beginning with his strikeout that...

Yankees make short work of Wells and defeat O's 13-1 (updated)

Yankees make short work of Wells and defeat O's 13-1 (updated)
The home debut for Orioles rookie Alexander Wells remains on hold through five major league appearances. His acts are played on the road. Auditions that he hoped would lead to a regular gig. Off-days Thursday and Monday can jumble the rotation again, but Wells appeared to have a shot at pitching at Camden Yards against the Rays or, more likely, the Tigers before the Orioles flew to Boston next weekend. In the meantime, tonight marked his first appearance at Yankee Stadium. The audition hit a...

The O's '21 draft class of pitchers looks a lot like 2019

The O's '21 draft class of pitchers looks a lot like 2019
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...

Harvey still can't locate win, Orioles lose to Jays 10-2 (updated)

Harvey still can't locate win, Orioles lose to Jays 10-2 (updated)
Matt Harvey has pitched in some tough luck this season, as Orioles manager Brandon Hyde mentions with great frequency. Tonight, he pitched in confusion. Mark it on the Matt Harvey bingo card. Umpires ruled that left fielder Ryan McKenna made a diving catch of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s sinking liner after the first two batters reached. Marcus Semien was tagged after rounding third base, the call requiring him to go back to second, and two runners stood on first. A double play? A triple play? The...

Mullins big night, Friday farm pitching and more

Mullins big night, Friday farm pitching and more
Excellent pitching, timely hitting, a curtain call and a win. Pretty good Friday night in Birdland. Cedric Mullins hit his sixth career leadoff homer and third this year, and then produced his third career two-homer game, with all three coming this year. He and the pitchers led the Orioles past Toronto 7-1. When Mullins blasted a three-run homer in the eighth he put an exclamation point on a win to snap an eight-game losing streak. He had a 3-for-4 night with his first four-RBI game and...

Finding the good during another down period

Finding the good during another down period
The Orioles tend to create a reflex action of eyes darting to the farm system in search of anything positive. A No. 5 ranking is a vision of loveliness during an unsightly rebuild. However, there are individual stories on the major league club that shouldn't be treated as if invisible. And it's good for the soul to embrace them. Three examples immediately came to mind yesterday. With arms wide open. Of course, the first baseman getting drilled on the right elbow last night by a 95 mph...

Orioles and Athletics lineups (updated)

Orioles and Athletics lineups (updated)
Shortstop Freddy Galvis remains out of the Orioles lineup tonight, his day-to-day status extending at least to Saturday. Ramón Urías is the shortstop for the series opener in Oakland. Pat Valaika is the second baseman. Rio Ruiz is playing third base instead of Maikel Franco. Austin Hays stays in left field and DJ Stewart stays in right. Ryan Mountcastle gets another start at first base, with Trey Mancini the designated hitter. Left-hander John Means has allowed one run or fewer in eight...

Back with Orioles, Gray Fenter sizes up his Rule 5 experience

Back with Orioles, Gray Fenter sizes up his Rule 5 experience
It was the top of the fifth inning on March 2 at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz. For most of those watching that day, it was just another spring training baseball game with the Chicago Cubs hosting Kansas City. But for right-hander Gray Fenter, it was not just another day. He was about to pitch in a big league game for the first time. Taken by the Cubs from the Orioles organization in December's Rule 5 draft, Fenter was trying to beat long odds and win a bullpen job for a team that has been in the...

Lingering questions about the lineup

Lingering questions about the lineup
If it's too early to make final calls on the Orioles' 26-man roster, the same rule should apply to the opening day lineup. The mind starts to work on it with the announcement that the Red Sox are starting left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez on April 1 at Fenway Park. Begin building the right-handed order. The Orioles could go left-on-left from the leadoff spot with center fielder Cedric Mullins abandoning switch-hitting. He homered off a southpaw last night, but also was batting ninth. They...

This, that and the other

This, that and the other
The growing possibility that Chris Davis begins the season in the injured list, whatever its length, removes the misguided argument that he's blocking a prospect. Davis hasn't done it. Prospects aren't kept at Triple-A or the alternate camp because he's in the organization. Ryan Mountcastle wasn't making the club on opening day 2020. Yusniel Diaz isn't making it next month. (Mountcastle is 2-for-19 with a double, home run, five RBIs, no walks and four strikeouts. Don't panic.) A four-man...