Draft Talk

With the MLB draft approaching in a few days, the Orioles have a lot of options to consider. Unlike last years draft that was loaded with position players, this year is loaded with pitching. The Nationals have already announced they will draft Strasburg with the number one overall pick. After Strasburg, the draft picks are not predictable.

Seattle who has a very good pitching core, will most likely select the best position player Dustin Ackley. The next best position player is short stop Grant Green from USC. The Orioles who will try to develop a short stop over the next few seasons could very likely select him. Although, I don’t expect that is the route the organization will go this draft as Greens stocks have been fallen.

Now the question is what age level would we select. The draft has a lot of very good high school and college level pitchers at the top of the board. If it means anything, the Orioles have recently drafted more college pitchers than high school.

Some of the top college prospects that could be available are Kyle Gibson (Missouri/RHP) and Alex White (North Carolina/RP). Also, two players that are playing independent ball who will be selected early are Aaron Crow and Tanner Scheppers.

If we go the high school route for pitching, we have a lot  of potential to choose from. Here are a few that should be drafted in the early to mid first round, Zach Wheeler (Dallas, Ga/RHP), Tyler Matzek (Capistrano Valley, Calif/LHP), Jacob Turner (Westminster Christian Academy/RHP).

With the 5th overall pick, I believe we should draft Aaron Crow. I really like how he throws the ball and he has really good movement on his pitchers. He’s been a little more battle tested than some of the high school players, as he’s currently playing in independent ball. I also really like the lefty pitcher Tyler Matzek. You can never have enough left-handed pitchers in the organization and Matzek may have the highest upside in the draft.