How do win-now O's approach the draft? (plus O's-Yankees preview)

With several key Orioles players - a list that includes Manny Machado, Zach Britton, Adam Jones and Chris Tillman - eligible to be free agents in the next year or two, the Orioles are in win-now mode.

The latest First-Year Player Draft begins Monday and runs through Wednesday. The Orioles have four of the first 100 selections, picking at Nos. 21, 60, 74 and 98. The O's have 11 picks in the first 10 rounds.

So does a win-now situation affect how they proceed in this year's draft? Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette suggests that the answer is no. Last year, the Orioles had a heavy pitching draft, selecting 27 pitchers and signing 23.

"We were trying to get some pitching depth to replenish our pitching staff," Duquette said. "We made a lot of trades from our minor league operation to keep the team in contention in the last couple of years, so last year we focused on pitchers. There were college pitchers that could come and help us, either quickly in the big leagues or be available for trade via draft so that we could complement our team.

"We've got to do everything we can to stay competitive against the Red Sox and the Yankees in the East. Having a decent draft and having pitchers available from the farm system that can either contribute to the team on the field or be utilized in trades when we're in contention. That's what we're trying to do every year."

Duquette said the goal is to draft players that can develop over a period of time on the farm and then arrive each year to help the big league club.

"If you bring up a player or two every year from your farm system to help your club, to me you have a healthy and productive farm system," he said.

And even though the major league team is making a push to win now, that doesn't necessarily mean the Orioles intend to draft more college players that can reach the majors more quickly than high school-drafted players.

"We've taken both, and historically the college kids are more physically mature, and they should have a shorter training period to get to the big leagues to help the club," Duquette said. "The high school kids that you take that are premium position players. They can get there after a couple of years and be there for a long time.

"It varies, but I think, generally, Major League Baseball is doing a good job signing the premium high school position players, and then getting them to the big leagues."

Here are the allotted signing bonuses for the Orioles' top four selections:

No. 21 - $2,892,400
No. 60 - $1,068,700
No. 74 - $779,500
No. 98 - $547,700

The No. 21 pick will be the highest for the Orioles since they drafted Kevin Gausman No. 4 overall in 2012. A look at the Orioles top picks since then:

2013 - No. 22 overall, pitcher Hunter Harvey
2014 - No. 90 overall, pitcher Brian Gonzalez
2015 - No. 25 overall, outfielder DJ Stewart
2016 - No. 27 overall, pitcher Cody Sedlock

On to the Bronx: The Orioles may have the best record of any American League East team in division games this year, but they are in third-place in the standings. Tonight the Orioles (31-27) begin a series against the first-place New York Yankees (34-23), who just took two of three from Boston.

The Yankees lead the Red Sox by three games and the Orioles by 3 1/2 games as the clubs are set to begin a three-game series. The Orioles are 21-13 in AL East games and New York is 17-13. The Orioles lead the season series 5-4 over New York, and the Birds are 10-6 versus the Yankees since last Aug. 28.

Orioles pitchers have 6.34 ERA in the season series against New York but still managed to win five of the nine games. Slugger Aaron Judge is batting .429 (12-for-28) versus Baltimore pitching with five homers and 10 RBIs. Matt Holliday is hitting .364 (12-for-33) with five homers and 10 RBIs. The duo has combined to hit 10 of the Yankees' 18 homers off O's pitchers this season.

O's starters Wade Miley and Alec Asher combined to pitch just 6 2/3 innings over the past two games, allowing nine runs. Over the last 12 games, O's starters have pitched to a 6.03 ERA, with four quality starts. The Orioles have allowed 29 runs their past five games.

On the mound tonight, right-hander Dylan Bundy (6-4, 2.93 ERA) faces left-hander Jordan Montgomery (3-4 3.67 ERA). Bundy has faced the Yankees once this season and got the win on May 29. Over seven innings, he allowed seven hits and two runs. Montgomery is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in two starts versus the Orioles.