Eller on Servideo: "He's got every tool you can think of"

Eller on Servideo: "He's got every tool you can think of"
The attitude is the first trait that really got Anthony Servideo noticed. Tom Eller, who would have been serving as Single-A Frederick hitting coach prior to the shutdown, got an up-close look at the Orioles' third-round draft pick back in 2018. Eller was coaching the Maryland Redbirds in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League and Servideo had joined the team after his freshman season at the University of Mississippi. Eller's initial thought? "I was watching him in the Super Regionals two...
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Who's ready for a really short baseball season?

Who's ready for a really short baseball season?
Baseball is going to be played in 2020. And you might actually recognize some of it. Negotiations appear to be done between owners and the Major League Baseball Players Association. Proposals have been rejected on both sides and talks are dead. The counter-offers and counterpunching will stop. We've reached the point where players are waiting for commissioner Rob Manfred to set the schedule, which is going to consist of roughly 50 games. And then they'll accuse MLB of not trying harder to...
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Updates on Orioles signing drafted and undrafted players (more)

Updates on Orioles signing drafted and undrafted players (more)
On the same day that teams are allowed to begin signing undrafted players, cleared to make some noise following the 48-hour quiet period, the Orioles have reached agreements with two of their selections from last week. Both are high school players chosen at the backend of the abbreviated draft. Both are over-slot. Right-hander Carter Baumler, a fifth-rounder from Dowling Catholic High School in Iowa, has agreed to terms on a $1.5 million contract, as first reported by Prospects 365's Mason...
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Orioles to pay minor leaguers through end of season

Orioles to pay minor leaguers through end of season
The 2020 Minor League Baseball season is likely to be canceled as the sport remains shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the Orioles have made the decision to continue paying the players' stipends through the rest of the schedule. The team made the announcement earlier today. The final day of the regular season would have been Sept. 7, but the spring training camps closed on March 12 and there's been no activity. The Orioles already had agreed to $400 weekly payments through...
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Can Orioles' first-round draft picks win a championship?

Can Orioles' first-round draft picks win a championship?
If the Orioles can complete their rebuild project and become perennial contenders, which is how it's supposed to play out, there could be a handful of first-round draft picks to hoist the World Series trophy. A team can dream. Adley Rutschman is supposed to be behind the plate for pitchers Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall. Maybe Cody Sedlock as well, though he's much lower on various prospect lists. Hunter Harvey could close out the final game, assuming that he earns the role of late-inning...
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Remembering a Powell who won after leaving Orioles

Remembering a Powell who won after leaving Orioles
While waiting for the commissioner to try to sell us on a season that will last about as long as spring training ... As I reviewed the list of past Orioles selections in the First-Year Player Draft, a yearly endeavor that illuminates the misses more than the hits, I stumbled upon a reliever taken with the 19th overall pick in 1993 out of Mississippi State. The same school, by the way, that produced shortstop Jordan Westburg, selected by the Orioles on Wednesday with the 30th pick. Jay Powell...
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This, that and the other

This, that and the other
The Orioles didn't select a pitcher in the 2019 First-Year Player Draft until the College of Charleston's Griffin McLarty in the eighth round. They kept bypassing the top-rated arms this week and choose Carter Baumler from Dowling Catholic High in Iowa in the fifth and final round. Are the Orioles duplicating the approach used by the Astros to build a World Series champion? It would make sense, given executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias' role in those drafts. But the Astros...
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Hudson Haskin: "Couldn't think of a better fit"

Hudson Haskin: "Couldn't think of a better fit"
When Hudson Haskin's world shut down in March, lives changing in drastic measures due to the coronavirus pandemic, he had no idea whether he'd play college baseball again. And whether the impact on his status in the First-Year Player Draft would be minimal or severe. Like so many other people around the world, all he could do was wait through it and count his blessings. Haskin wouldn't see another pitch at Tulane University, but the Orioles made it clear that they wanted him in their minor...
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Baseball's shutdown impacting prospects and draft picks (updated)

Baseball's shutdown impacting prospects and draft picks (updated)
Two days of the First-Year Player draft provided the ideal distraction from the back and forth between ownership and the Major League Baseball Players Association. Barely a peep about the length of a proposed season, percentages of prorated pay and an expanded playoff format that could shove 16 teams into October. And now, back to our regularly scheduled bickering, already in progress. Selecting players from the college and high school ranks is followed by negotiations on contracts, with the...
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Orioles take Haskin 39th, Westburg talks selection (updated)

Orioles take Haskin 39th, Westburg talks selection (updated)
The wait for the Orioles to select a pitcher in the 2020 First-Year Player Draft is continuing. They passed yesterday on the arms with the second and 30th overall picks and used the 39th this afternoon in the second round to nab Tulane outfielder Hudson Haskin. MLB.com ranked Haskin, who's sophomore-eligible, as the 74th-best talent in the draft. But Baseball America had him 211th. Haskin, 21, is a right-handed hitter described as a toolsy center fielder who was chosen by the Athletics in the...
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Reflecting on past drafts and more from Elias

Reflecting on past drafts and more from Elias
The Orioles made the first round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft a breeze for the beat crew. They didn't pull any surprises. They didn't choose a player who required a hasty Google search or leave us frantically tearing through the pages of Baseball America's preview issue. Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman was the obvious choice two years ago as the first overall selection, though prep shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. had the endorsement of at least one former scout in the organization....
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Elias calls Kjerstad "the best left-handed hitter in the country"

Elias calls Kjerstad "the best left-handed hitter in the country"
The Orioles knew fairly early in the draft process that they were taking a position player. Executive vice president Mike Elias especially liked one pitcher, but not with the second overall pick. Not with so many intriguing hitters. Elias didn't meet in person with Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad, who in the executive's words was more of a dark horse candidate to join the organization. Their Zoom call proved to be an important step in solidifying the decision. The player that they liked...
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Orioles select Heston Kjerstad with second overall pick (updated)

Orioles select Heston Kjerstad with second overall pick (updated)
The second-best power bat in baseball's First-Year Player Draft is headed to the Orioles organization. With their choices narrowed to five players heading into tonight, the Orioles passed on Vanderbilt's Austin Martin and chose Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad with the second overall pick. The first surprise of the night didn't take long to surface. Kjerstad, 21, slashed .448/.513/.791 with five doubles, six home runs and 20 RBIs in 16 games before baseball shut down due to the...
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Final pre-draft thoughts on the Orioles

Final pre-draft thoughts on the Orioles
Baseball has found its window to be active tonight beyond negotiations and hostilities with the start of the First-Year Player Draft. The festivities kick off at 7 p.m. on MLB Network and ESPN. Names will begin dropping off the virtual board, with Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson likely to go first to the Tigers. Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias indicated during Monday's Zoom call that there's little suspense behind the pick, though he never said...
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Latest on negotiations for a 2020 season and more from Elias

Latest on negotiations for a 2020 season and more from Elias
The latest Major League Baseball economic proposal sent yesterday to the MLB Players Association assures that the 2020 season won't start before July 10. And it heightens suspicions that we're facing a 50-game schedule that, in the immortal words of heavyweight boxer Clubber Lang in "Rocky III," is going to produce a paper champion. As first reported by ESPN's Karl Ravech, ownership is now seeking a 76-game season, concluding on Sept. 27, that pays players 75 percent of their prorated...
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Elias says Orioles to choose among five players for first pick

Elias says Orioles to choose among five players for first pick
With two days remaining before the start of the First-Year Player Draft, the Orioles have reduced the number of possibilities with the second overall selection but aren't ready to pinpoint their preference. Speaking to the media today on a Zoom call, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said the Orioles are "actively discussing" five players and probably won't make a final decision until the day of the draft. It's a fairly typical stance for a team positioned in such a high...
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Milone on workouts, health and uncertain season

Milone on workouts, health and uncertain season
Orioles pitcher Tommy Milone is spending his days and nights working out and finding tasks to stay busy at his home in Santa Clarita, Calif., a city that's located about 45 minutes north of Los Angeles and known for its variety of roller coasters at the Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park. Milone should be used to the ups and downs. But his first year with the Orioles has been a shock to the system. How could the veteran left-hander have anticipated everything thrown at him? The coronavirus...
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Remembering a few brushes with greatness

Remembering a few brushes with greatness
A sportswriter walks into a bar and ... I'm not reciting the first line of a joke. I'm actually going somewhere with this. The sportswriter was me and it happened many years ago - so long that I can't remember the exact location. I'm fairly certain that it was Sullivan's Steakhouse, a few blocks from Camden Yards. But this isn't the important part of the story. I ducked inside the men's room before last call - the bar's, not the bathroom's - and saw Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter at one...
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Two more names to toss into the draft mix

Two more names to toss into the draft mix
As we binge on mock drafts, fight the confusion and wish that we could gain some clarity, the Orioles are attached to multiple players depending on the hour and who's doing the predicting. The consensus in my informal poll remains Vanderbilt third baseman/center fielder Austin Martin with the second overall pick. But there's some hedging. Baseball America's Carlos Collazo and The Athletic's Keith Law, to name just two, have heard that the Orioles could go under slot. Baseball America's 6.0...
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Orioles issue statement against "racial bias and violent abuse"

Orioles issue statement against "racial bias and violent abuse"
The Orioles turned to social media today to join the chorus of teams speaking out against racial injustice in the country. The club released a lengthy statement this afternoon on its official Twitter and Instagram accounts. The avatars have been altered as part of the Blackout Tuesday initiative, promoted by activists to observe and push for policy changes following George Floyd's death last week in Minneapolis. Office Derek Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and...
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