First-Round Picks Finally Coming Through

The Orioles should feel good about their first-round picks the last few years, as most of these players are key contributors to the team.

The last seven first-round picks were catcher Matt Wieters, shortstop Manny Machado and pitchers Brian Matusz, Matthew Hobgood, Dylan Bundy, Kevin Gausman and Hunter Harvey.

Every player still remains with Baltimore, while Bundy, Hobgood and Harvey are the only three that still remain in the minors. Bundy at least had a cup of tea with the big club in 2012 before dealing with injury issues.

These picks shine even brighter when compared to those from the team’s brutal drafts from 2000-2006.

The Orioles drafted 12 players in the first round from 2000-2006 and only five of those players are still active. Only one of those players remains on a 25-man roster. Want to guess who? Right fielder Nick Markakis.

Now that Markakis has left for Atlanta, the Orioles cupboard is completely devoid of first-round draft picks from that timespan, which shows just how badly the front office struck out. It seems even worse when five of those players were top-10 picks.

However, times have changed for the Orioles and a lot has to do with smart draft selections.

Baltimore had a top-10 pick from 2007-2012 and made good use of its selections.

Wieters was the first pick and became the first building block. The Orioles had a big hole at catcher ever since Chris Hoiles left and Wieters was brought in to fill that void.

Wieters only spent three seasons in the minors and quickly became one of the best defensive catchers in the MLB.

Matusz was the next pick and while he didn’t turn out to be the ace the team wanted, he has provided tough left-handed pitching out of the bullpen.

Hobgood is the only blemish on the list, as he hasn’t shown any signs of improvement in his five seasons in the minors. It also hurts to see outfielder Mike Trout was taken 20 picks later (wish there was a crystal ball at the time.)

However, Machado was drafted the next season and reminds nostalgic Baltimore fans of the great Brooks Robinson.

Bundy, Gausman and Harvey all came next and look to become stars. Yes, we have heard that before with young Oriole pitchers. However, Gausman has already locked himself into the starting rotation, Bundy is on right track to join the team at the end of this season and Harvey shows a lot of promise at 20-years-old.

The important note to take away from these last seven picks is that they are all still Orioles. The front office did its job to bring in contributors from the first-round, which is all fans can ask for.

The MLB has the most difficult draft of any sport because prospects are extremely hard to judge. It’s hard to tell which players can take their game to the next level and which ones will plateau, sticking out their career in the minors.

Baltimore fans should be pretty satisfied with the latest first-round selections since they see most of them in an Orioles’ uniform every game.