With the 74th overall pick, the Orioles picked Ole Miss shortstop Anthony Servideo. That’s the fourth college bat in four picks for the O’s this draft. Previous picks: Round 1: Heston Kjerstad Comp Round A: Jordan Westburg Round 2: Hudson Haskin Here’s what MLB Pipeline had to say about Servideo: Servideo played sparingly as a Mississippi freshman in 2018, then spent most of 2019 shuttling between right field and center field for the Rebels before posting the worst batting line (.149/.228/.277) in the Cape Cod League. He looked like a […]

Arms galore were available at Pick 39. Instead, the Orioles yet again zagged, nabbing college outfielder Hudson Haskin. Haskin has a wonky swing, but the tools are there to be a solid pro. Here’s what MLB Pipeline has to say about him: Avon (Conn.) Old Farms School produced an athletic center fielder in 2008 who went on to become a first-round pick after three years in college and an eventual star with the Astros — George Springer. A decade later, the Beavers spawned another toolsy center fielder who should go […]

After surprising many and taking Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad with the second pick, the Orioles had another pick on night one of the draft, #30 overall, the first of the competitive balance picks between rounds one and two (it was tonight because the Houston Astros were stripped of their first round pick). With this one, they went with Mississippi State shortstop Jordan Westburg. Here’s what MLB Pipeline has to say about him: Though neither was a heralded prospect or drafted out of high school in 2017, Mississippi State’s Westburg and […]

The Orioles threw us a curveball with their first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, going with Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad. The guys on the ESPN broadcast were calling him the second-best power bat in the draft, after Spencer Torkelson, who went first overall to Detroit. His coach at Arkansas called him “the best left-handed hitter in the country.” He was number 10 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100. Here’s what they wrote about him, pre-draft: “A 36th-round pick by the Mariners as a Texas high schooler in 2017, Kjerstad teamed […]

MLB is about to embark on the shortest draft in baseball history. In a draft with only five rounds, there will be an increased emphasis on ‘hitting’ on picks to maximize value. While this is always the case, teams with struggling farm systems won’t have the opportunity to replenish the talent pipeline as extensively. The Orioles have a prospect system that is on the rise and is currently Top 15, if not Top 10. The hitch this year will be the undrafted free agents. Normally, with 40 rounds, very few […]

While MLB seems to be the league having the most trouble getting off its feet amidst the pandemic, they do at least have a draft coming up that will kick off on June 10th. For a rebuilding team like the Orioles, this is a massive opportunity to inject young talent into the system, with the hopes that some of those players will become critical members of the eventual turnaround. Last year, GM Mike Elias secured the incredible catching prospect Adley Rutschman with the first overall selection. This year, he’ll look […]

Disclaimer: Just as I did when writing about this topic on Russell Street Report, I need to state that sports are absolutely secondary/tertiary/etc. in the grand scheme of things, and that’s especially true at the moment. Please don’t berate me with cries of “THAT’S WHAT YOU’RE WORRIED ABOUT?!” I get it. This is a tough time for all of us. But these are sports blogs, so sports blogging I shall do. As the world waits for announcements on the plans that all sporting leagues have in place, the one that […]

During this time last year, most people didn’t have infielder Hanser Alberto breaking camp with the Orioles. I include myself among that list. But keeping him turned out to be a great decision by the club. He rotated between second and third base while contributing both in the field and at the dish. He got the job done, but did it in an unusual way. In 139 games in 2019, Alberto slashed .305/.329/.422 with 12 home runs. The .305 batting average obviously looks marvelous, but I continue to be stunned […]

In 2019, the Orioles selected catcher Adley Rutschman with the first overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft. The switch-hitting backstop out of Oregon State quickly jumped to the top of the Orioles’ top prospects list and became a  top-10 prospect throughout all of baseball. The Orioles’ plan was made very clear – Rutschman will be looked upon as the future face of the franchise. Although he is seen as the star catcher of the future, the club still needs to pencil catchers in two major league roster spots for […]

It’s early in Spring Training thus far, but it’s an important camp for many players and for the Baltimore Orioles organization. With a presence of fringe veterans and up-and-coming prospects, it is also an intriguing camp for fans like us. As I’ve followed the first week or so of camp and gameplay, here’s who’s impressed in the initial stages.   Chris Davis Craig Landefeld/GulfBird Sports I won’t waste any time getting to this name. Chris Davis has been outstanding thus far at the plate. Through his first few appearances he […]

(Ed note: Andrew submitted this last week as part of his regular Thursday Thoughts series. Due to some technical issues, we weren’t able to post it until today.) 1. The Orioles made a number of changes to freshen up their broadcasting team recently, as games got started down in Sarasota. We’ve heard from a number of the voices that will be on the call through both television broadcasts on MASN and on the Orioles Radio Network, but there are also some new ones to add to the mix. It includes […]

It could be another long season for the Orioles, as a franchise that had only lost 100 games in a season twice during its first 64 seasons in Baltimore is staring its third consecutive 100-loss season squarely in the face. PECOTA seems to think the team will at least avoid the feat, predicting a 63-99 finish, but still finishing with the worst record in baseball.  Don’t Miss Parts 1 and 2 of my Reasons to Be Excited Young Pitching Hays & Mountcastle Last Tuesday, the Orioles did their best to squash whatever optimism there may have been […]

Before the first game of the Spring Training season gets underway on Saturday, I think a fun experiment would be a sort of projection for the Orioles’ biggest question mark this year: the rotation. In this article, I will outline the players I feel will crack the Opening Day roster as the prototypical ‘starting five’ (yes, for the purpose of the piece I will assume that Brandon Hyde won’t use openers at the onset of the season). There are a lot of holes in the rotation this year, and that’s […]

When pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training in Sarasota, FL on Feb. 11th, excitement was in the air around one of the Grapefruit League’s finest facilities in the Ed Smith Stadium Complex. Yet despite the unbridled enthusiasm that usually surrounds the start of a new baseball season, some people think the Orioles have nothing at all to be excited about. And by some people, I mean David Schoenfield, who in a recent article for ESPN put the level of excitement around the team at zero. For people in Baltimore, […]

Spring has sprung in the baseball world, and for what it’s worth, I couldn’t be more excited for the O’s season to get underway. After such a heartbreaking playoff loss for the Ravens, it’ll be refreshing to watch a team I expect to lose. Even though the Birds might not be garnering much attention because of their status as a rebuilding team, I think that’s reason to find Spring Training even more intriguing. The emergence of players like John Means, Pedro Severino and Anthony Santander have set the precedent for […]

Spring Training is a time for excitement and optimism for fans of every MLB team, even if your team will more than likely lose its 400th game since 2017 sometime this summer. Yes, even Orioles fans have reason to be excited in 2020. Though David Schoenfield, a senior writer for ESPN, seems to think differently. Schoenfield wrote an article on Monday, the day before pitchers and catchers reported to Sarasota, highlighting what to watch for from all 30 teams, and the level of excitement for each team. For the Orioles, […]