Baltimore Orioles Finish MLB Draft By Adding Loads Of Strikeouts

After 40 rounds and 41 total picks, Mike Elias has completed his first draft as general manager of the Baltimore Orioles.

That was fun. The MLB draft is always one of my favorite events on the sports calendar and 2019 did not disappoint. The Baltimore Orioles made 41 selections in all, sticking mainly to college bats and arms. Some may return to finish their college careers and some may elect to honor their college commitment, so we won’t know the final number for a few weeks, but we do know that Mike Elias had a clear plan with this draft and he executed.

The first ten rounds featured strength up the middle, with the Orioles selecting three catchers, three shortstops, three center fielders, and two pitchers. We talked about each of those picks here. Elias had another plan for the remainder of the draft- college arms. The Baltimore Orioles took 13 college pitchers between rounds 11-40, staying in the college ranks for every pick on day three, except for their final four selections.

One common thread among the majority of these day three selections is strikeouts. The vast majority of the 13 college pitchers drafted on day three posted high strikeout, low walk numbers during their collegiate career. Without knowing a significant amount about the majority of these players, the numbers are quite the sight; a highly positive and intriguing sight.

Baltimore Orioles add pitchers with strikeout ability to close out the 2019 MLB draft.

Here are a few of the more notable names and numbers from this group, beginning with RHP Dan Hammer (13th round) out of the University of Pittsburgh. Hammer brings a fantastic name and the ability to rack up punchouts. After recording less than a strikeout per inning during his freshman and sophomore seasons, Hammer recorded a strikeout rate of just under 11/9 IP, posting 80 punchouts in 66 innings.

Hammer also put in a solid summer in the Cape Cod League last year, going 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 25 innings. His fastball reportedly reaches 95 mph and even though his walk and hits allowed numbers weren’t pretty, he can clearly miss bats.

The Orioles are already familiar with Fordham pitchers, selecting RHP Jimmy Murphy two years ago. Baltimore went back into New York and grabbed RHP Kyle Martin (15th round). Martin was a reliever for the Rams and dominated for three seasons.

Appearing in 78 total games, Martin went 14-5 with a 2.29 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. He struck out 153 hitters in 105 innings, resulting in a career K-rate of 12.95/9 IP (compared to 3.05 BB/9). Best of all, he gave up just four home runs throughout his entire career. He’s also Pitching Ninja famous.

This next pick is a personal favorite of mine. I’m 100% biased here after watching every single one of his outings over the past two years, but I’m going to try and separate myself a bit when talking about him. RHP Shelton Perkins (16th round) brings attributes you can’t teach to Birdland. Originally committed to ECU, Perkins found himself in the JUCO ranks for his first season of college ball at the age of 20. He went 11-0 with a 2.96 ERA.

Perkins then made his home in Harrisonburg, VA as a member of the James Madison University baseball team. With JMU, Perkins struck out 72 hitters in 45 innings this season; allowing just 27 hits. He found himself in high-leverage situations often, using his big breaking pitches and fastball location to work through jams, strand runners, and fire up his teammates.

Perkins was a member of a JMU pitching staff that set a school record for strikeouts in a season with 553. The staff, led by pitching coach Jimmy Jackson, has fully embraced the analytical movement and the results were phenomenal. Perkins found his niche in the bullpen this season and I’m extremely excited to see what he can do once he gets into the Baltimore Orioles organization.

The story of New Mexico’s Malachi Emond (18th round) is the type of story I love reading. No D-I offers out of high school and found himself in the D-III and JUCO ranks before landing at New Mexico. A closer last season, Emond struck out 48 hitters in 38 innings, walking nine and recording 10 saves. He gave up just one home run this season. Emond averaged more than 11 K/9 IP in each of his two seasons with the Lobos.

We aren’t done highlighting these high strikeout guys Mike Elias brought into the organization on Wednesday. The Baltimore Orioles also grabbed the Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year in Jacksonville State’s RHP Garrett Farmer (25th round). He led the conference in ERA (2.56) and recorded 110 strikeouts in 106 innings. Farmer fanned 107 in 90 innings last season.

He slashed his walk rate from 2.4 BB/9 IP to 0.97 BB/9 IP and slashed his home run rate from 1.2 HR per game to 0.39 HR/9 IP. Something clicked this season and those improvements, along with his ability to miss bats, make for an intriguing arm.

If you’re a fan of athletes from the bigger schools, the Orioles did go with RHP Houston Roth out of Ole Miss in the 29th round. Roth fanned 146 hitters across 110 career innings, largely out of the pen. Walks were a bit of an issue but he showcased the double-digit strikeout rates and low home run totals that all of the previous names mentioned above also possessed.

The last name I want to highlight is LHP Dalton Stambaugh out of Morehead State. Stambaugh was a three-year starter in college, going 17-12 with a 5.61 ERA. However, his numbers show a big improvement from his sophomore to junior season. Home runs were still an issue, but his strikeout numbers skyrocketed.

Stambaugh struck out 10.3/9 IP, nearly two strikeouts per game more than last season. His hits allowed per game dropped from 10.8/9 IP to 7.9/9 IP, and his walk rate dropped from 3.3/9 IP to 2.9/9 IP. Opponents went from hitting .298 against him in 2018, to just .230 this season.

Will any of these guys make it? Get out to a Baltimore Orioles minor league game and see for yourself!