O's calling on Mayo, plus draft math and notes on Thursday's loss

When the Orioles beat Toronto 10-4 on Wednesday and Jackson Holliday hit a grand slam, the high of that win got deflated postgame by the news that Jordan Westburg had fractured his right hand and would miss significant time.

When they got hammered 10-3 by Cleveland last night as lefty Trevor Rogers gave up five runs in his O’s debut, the gloom and doom of that loss was lifted by the news that Coby Mayo is joining the Orioles today in Cleveland.

The news was first reported here on MASNSports.com last night.

Mayo is ranked as baseball’s No. 12 prospect in the top 100 by Baseball America and No. 15 via MLBPipeline.com.

It seemed that when Westburg got hurt, that Mayo might replace him at third base. But Livan Soto was called up yesterday. However now, just like that, the team is turning to Mayo.

He’s had a fantastic year, batting .308/.384/.619/1.003. That includes four games on injury rehab with High-A Aberdeen. In his 77 games with Triple-A Norfolk, he’s hit .301 with 20 homers, 61 RBIs and a .961 OPS.

On Wednesday, Holliday was asked about playing alongside Mayo this year with the Tides.

“It’s unbelievable," Holliday said of Mayo's season. "Everyone is so astonished by his power but he’s a good hitter (for average too). Just a good hitter. Hitting like .300 in Triple-A. It’s a big-time bat. He’s got a helluva arm and I know how hard he works. If they need to call on him to play third, he’ll be able to do it."

Most organizations could only dream of producing a homegrown first-to-third infield of players like Ryan Mountcastle, Holliday, Gunnar Henderson and Mayo. And that is with Westburg out injured. So yeah, pretty good.

Draft math as O's signed all their picks: The Orioles drafted 21 players this year and as of yesterday, they signed 21-of-21. Early in the day Thursday, they agreed with their top pick, UNC outfielder Vance Honeycutt. And later they got their remaining unsigned player, lefty pitcher Iziah Salinas, taken in round 17. Yesterday was the final day to sign 2024 draft picks.

According to MLB.com’s Jim Callis, Honeycutt signed a $4 million dollar bonus. The listed slot amount for the No. 22 overall pick was $3,802,200.

A center fielder for the Tarheels, and right-handed batter, Honeycutt hit .318/.410/.714 with 13 doubles, two triples, 28 homers, 70 RBIs and with an OPS of 1.124 over 62 games in his junior season. The homer total was a single-season school record. He also was named the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year two straight years, a first in the conference.

“Super exciting day," said Honeycutt, 21, on an O's Zoom press conference. "Super exciting last couple of weeks. You know just kind of felt like part of your journey, a chapter is kind of closing, and you start a new chapter. Just trusting the process, trust representation. It’s been great.

“Have heard nothing but great things about their player development in those guys that came through the system. So super exciting to have an opportunity to be able to do that. Looking forward to getting going."

Honeycutt is heading to Sarasota, Fla. for orientation and then when he's deemed ready is likely to start his pro career with Low-A Delmarva.

By my calculations with bonuses reported by Baseball America and MLBPipeline.com, the O's exceeded their total draft pool of $10,920,900 by $545,900. Teams pay a 75 percent tax on the overage. They would lose a draft pick if exceeding the pool by more than five percent. Five percent of the O's pool is $546,045, so they cut it close. That is if my math is correct. The tax overage they would need to pay is $409,425.

So it appears the O's went the extra mile financially this year to get all their draft picks signed.

A loss at Cleveland: Lefty Trevor Rogers struggled in his O's debut. He gave up five runs in 4 1/3 innings last night as the O's lost 10-3 at Cleveland. 

The Orioles fall to 65-45 and are now tied for first with the Yankees atop the AL East. The Orioles have lost seven of their past 12 games. They are 16-20 since June 21 with a -39 run differential.

The Orioles are 35-73 (.324) at Progressive Field in Cleveland since 1994. 

Last night was the O's eighth loss this year by seven or more runs.

The Orioles are 1-3 this year and have lost seven of their past 11 games against Cleveland. They are 15-30 in the last 45 games versus the Guardians.

Colton Cowser extended his hitting streak to 14 games last night, going 1-for-2 with a double and a walk. His OPS is up to .790. During his hitting streak he is 20-for-52 batting .385/.441/.673/1.114 with four homers and 13 RBIs.

Anthony Santander hit his 32nd homer last night, one off his career-high of 33 two years ago. He now has hit three homers his last five games, nine in 15 games and 23 in 54 games since June 1. In those 54 games, Santander is batting .282/.335/.643/.978.