LAS VEGAS - The last catcher drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft was Joe Mauer, taken by the Minnesota Twins in 2001. There could be another catcher taken 1/1 in June and the Orioles hold that pick.
Earlier, it seemed that many analysts favored Texas high school shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. for that No. 1 pick. Now the sentiment seems to have strongly moved toward Oregon State's switch-hitting catcher, Adley Rutschman. And top draft analysts are reaching a consensus...
LAS VEGAS - In sizing up the hire of new Orioles general manager Mike Elias, the point has been made that he brings a background of both scouting and analytics to the team.
And while analytics will be huge moving forward for the Orioles, Elias knows about the old-fashioned eye test. He used to be the one doing the looking.
He began what has been so far a 12-year baseball career in 2007 as an amateur scout for the St. Louis Cardinals. Elias spent five seasons with Jeff Luhnow in St. Louis. The...
LAS VEGAS - As the Orioles move heavily into the analytics age in baseball, they are going to be cognizant of how that information gets to their players in a manner that is helpful to them. Bombarding them with data that won't lead to a better performance doesn't accomplish much.
New Orioles general manger Mike Elias knows how to get this job done. He was part of a front office that was on the cutting edge of doing this in Houston. In Baltimore, his front office and coaches will try to help...
LAS VEGAS - It seems every year at the Winter Meetings we have a chance to talk with MLB Network analyst and commentator Harold Reynolds. This year was no different. I interviewed Reynolds today at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and touched on several different baseball topics.
Reynolds on the possibility of MLB limiting defensive shifts: "It is going to be a very controversial topic. The commissioner is kind of in a box right now because the offense has been down. Players have clearly not...
LAS VEGAS - The Orioles have the No. 1 pick in the Rule 5 draft, which is the last event of the Winter Meetings. It takes place 9 a.m. Pacific time on Thursday at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
Baseball America executive editor J.J. Cooper is as knowledgeable of that draft as anyone and has written on it and studied it for years. Here is his latest story previewing this year's draft.
The Houston connection with the Orioles' Mike Elias and Sig Mejdal could come into play on...
LAS VEGAS - It's probably no surprise that while Orioles fans seem excited with their new general manager Mike Elias, and national reporters echo some of their feelings. Two I talked with yesterday, ESPN's Keith Law and Jonathan Mayo of MLBPipeline.com, spoke highly of what Elias can do for the Orioles.
"I think it's a great hire," said Mayo. "Obviously, you see the success the Astros have had in terms of what the Orioles now need to do in terms of rebuilding from within. That is in areas...
LAS VEGAS - Hiring the next manager for the Orioles is an important priority in the short term for new executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias. He will pick one of six candidates he's interviewed for the job.
Though Elias wouldn't confirm any of the reported names, the six candidates are known to be Nationals bench coach Chip Hale, Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde, Royals quality control/catching coach Pedro Grifol, Diamondbacks director of player development Mike Bell, Rockies...
LAS VEGAS - Just as we can't expect their won-loss record to quickly improve as they rebuild, the Orioles' battle against other teams off the field in the front office could be lengthy as well. We're talking about how the club catches up to other teams in analytics and in making data-driven decisions.
On Nov. 21, new Orioles general manager Mike Elias hired Sig Mejdal as the club's assistant general manager, analytics. He is tasked with building up the Orioles analytics department and...
LAS VEGAS - It will obviously be a huge moment for new Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias. But we are going to have to wait a few months for it. In June, the Orioles have the No. 1 pick in the first round of the First-Year Player Draft. For just the second time in team history, they select 1/1, the first pick in the first round. The Orioles took Ben McDonald out of LSU with that selection in 1989.
Right now, there are two players that are getting the most buzz for...
LAS VEGAS - A nice honor today for Orioles outfield prospect Ryan McKenna. He was named to the 2018 Arizona Fall League Top Prospects Team. The team is selected by AFL managers and coaches to recognize players that excelled during the six-week season.
In 17 games with Glendale, the 21-year-old McKenna hit .344/.474/.590. He scored 16 runs and produced six doubles, three triples, a homer and nine RBIs. He hit .383 against right-handed pitchers and finished second in the AFL with an OPS of 1.064....
LAS VEGAS - For years now, the Orioles have not been among the teams making major news at baseball's annual Winter Meetings. That didn't appear likely to change much this year as media and front office executives arrived at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino for the meetings, which officially begin today.
It seems like it has been years since the Orioles were involved in a transaction that led their key baseball operations decision-maker to the podium to hold an actual press conference for...
The Orioles have three catchers on their current 40-man roster after Caleb Joseph was recently non-tendered. They are Austin Wynns, Chance Sisco and Andrew Susac.
What will the Orioles do at the catching position in 2019? Are they going to add a veteran catcher and/or does Joseph still have a shot to come back? Will Sisco have to go back to the farm next April to try to re-ignite his career?
Here is the list of current free agent catchers: Drew Butera (35) A.J. Ellis (38) Yasmani Grandal (30)...
What if a baseball game were played, but players in the field were not allowed to roam anywhere they want? What if defensive shifts were limited or eliminated completely?
Would officials in Major League Baseball really take such action?
This week, Jayson Stark of The Athletic wrote an excellent article examining this topic.
"At last month's owners meetings, baseball's competition committee gave the commissioner 'strong' backing to try to 'put something in place' to limit shifts,...
When Orioles outfield prospect Ryan McKenna went to the Arizona Fall League in October, he had a chance to add to his batting average again. And he did that, batting well over .300 for Glendale as he faced some of the sport's top pitching prospects.
It was a return to success for McKenna, who began this year by tearing it up in the Carolina League. But that was followed by some struggles when he moved up to the Eastern League. And that was followed by an outstanding AFL performance.
McKenna...
We don't know yet who the next Orioles manager will be, but he might be among five names we will mention here today. The first four are expected to interview with the club, or maybe have already. The fifth name has ties to O's general manager Mike Elias. Both worked for the Houston Astros last season.
Will the next O's skipper be among this group?
Washington Nationals bench coach Chip Hale: The Nationals hired Hale for the 2018 season to assist a first-year manager in Davey Martinez. The...
Even listening through the telephone and using the assistance of a translator, you could tell it meant a lot to Miguel Castro. He recently recently took part in an event to help kids and it was most meaningful for the Orioles reliever.
In his hometown of La Romana, Dominican Republic, Castro was one of three major league pitchers taking part in a program to provide kids with some of the necessities in life. Things some of us may take for granted - like food, notebooks for school or a haircut -...
Orioles pitching prospect DL Hall, 20, continues to play to strong reviews for his very solid 2018 season. While his record was just 2-7, his ERA was 2.10 ERA in 22 games for Single-A Delmarva. Hall allowed no more than one earned run in each of his last 13 starts after June 10, pitching to an 0.89 ERA.
After the season, Hall was ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the South Atlantic League by Baseball America. The publication ranked Hall as the No. 2 Orioles prospect behind outfielder Yusniel...
There are likely not many players that have had two such very different first two full seasons in pro baseball than Orioles outfield prospect Austin Hays. In 2017, he was ranked among the best minor leaguers in the sport. But in 2018, a slow start at the plate and later an ankle injury left him with 20 fewer homers and an OPS nearly 300 points below the previous season.
Between Single-A Frederick and Double-A Bowie in 2017, Hays hit .329/.365/.593 with 32 doubles, five triples, 32 homers, 95...
The search for a new manager is a top priority for new Orioles general manager Mike Elias. A top priority, but far from the only one.
Building that elite talent pipeline has to be pretty high on the list. Elias was a big part of doing that in St. Louis and Houston, and if he can do it here it will produce a strong talent base to form the next winner in Baltimore.
In fact, that might truly be job one for him. However we characterize it, his vision for the building of the Orioles' player...
As new Orioles general manager Mike Elias said this week, he is looking to take the best player and not work to fill a need on his major league roster with top draft picks. You can't have a higher pick than No. 1 in round one, which the Orioles hold for the June 2019 First-Year Player Draft.
That could be a pick, however, that sees the Orioles not only take the best player, but fill a need. The club is not overflowing with top catching prospects, and a backstop could be their selection when...