O's game blog: Ryan Mountcastle signs and a look at tonight's game

The Orioles have officially announced the signing of just one of their draft picks but many more should soon follow.

The Orioles are likely to have signed 10 of their first 11 picks by this Saturday. The only one that would not be in that group is their top pick, outfielder DJ Stewart of Florida State. I have not heard of any negotiating holdups with Stewart, it is just going to take longer than some others. But it certainly should get done.

Today, the Orioles announced the signing of their second first-round pick, shortstop Ryan Mountcastle from Hagerty (Fla.) High School. According to Jim Callis of MLBPipeline.com, Mountcastle, the 36th overall pick, got a signing bonus of $1.3 million, about $400,000 under slot for that selection.

Scouting director Gary Rajsich said he will start his pro career in the Gulf Coast League. Games start there on June 22.

Mountcastle today talked about what the last few days have been like for him and why he signed with the Orioles, bypassing a chance to play in college.

"There are a lot of reasons," he said. "The money was lifechanging to forgo college and go pro. I just want to start my career a little bit earlier and try to make to the big leagues as fast as I can. This has been the greatest time of my life so far. I've just loved the experience here in Baltimore.

"Baltimore was one of the teams I thought may pick me. There were a bunch of other ones. I am just so happy to be an Oriole, and I would not (have) picked a better city than Baltimore."

Here is what Rajsich said about Mountcastle:

"Ryan is an advanced hitter. He has on-base and slugging ability," he said. "He has bat speed and will grind at-bats with pitch recognition and discipline at the plate. He likes to hit, he's aggressive, but he's also selective and patient and has a very good feel for situation hitting.

"You watch his approach in games - especially in showcases where we saw him against top competition - we saw him change his approach in the middle of an at-bat. Those are the things we notice. Defensively he has loose actions, sure hands and a good first step for the left side of the infield and an accurate arm. He's a heads-up baserunner and we look forward to watching him out here at Camden Yards."

A video made the rounds on Twitter of the loud celebration at Mountcastle's house when the Orioles drafted him.

Congrats Ryan!! @RyanMountcastle pic.twitter.com/mN6wAO7vZa

-- toast (@travishosterman) June 9, 2015

"All my friends and family, there were about 30 of us and they just erupted when they heard my name. Definitely the greatest day of my life so far. It was amazing," Mountcastle said.

Also today on the farm: Short-season Single-A Aberdeen's "break camp" roster includes these six 2015 draft picks: outfielder Cedric Mullins (13), infielder Drew Turbin (14), outfielder Mike Odenwaelder (16), catcher Jerry McClanahan (19), infielder Steve Laurino (25) and catcher Stuart Levy (27).

Single-A Frederick third baseman Drew Dosch today was promoted to Double-A Bowie. Delmarva closer, lefty Donnie Hart, was promoted to Frederick.

As for tonight's game: The Orioles will try for a two-game series sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies tonight here at Camden Yards. Even though the teams are playing four straight games, they are also officially playing a pair of two-game series, one in Baltimore and one in Philadelphia.

The Orioles recorded the season's fourth shutout last night, as Wei-Yin Chen pitched eight innings of four-hit ball and Zach Britton pitched the ninth in a 4-0 win.

The Phillies are the lowest-scoring team in the majors and have now been shutout three times in the last four games and are 1-for-30 with runners in scoring position in that stretch.

The Phillies have lost seven in a row and 10 of 11 games to fall to 22-43, the worst record in the majors. The Phillies are 7-27 in road games with 11 consecutive road losses. That is their longest road loisng streak since 11 in a row from July 20 to Aug. 11, 2013.

The Phillies have not won a series against an American League East opponent since July 1-3, 2011 against Toronto. They are 0-7-2 in nine series since.

O's pitchers have been very solid over the last 12 games, pitching to a team ERA of 2.63 in that stretch. That has lowered their ERA for the year to 3.75, which is now sixth-best in the AL.

The O's bullpen has allowed just one run in the last 25 1/3 innings for an ERA of 0.36. Over those last 12 games, the 'pen ERA is 0.92.

Chris Tillman (4-7, 5.68 ERA) takes the mound for the Orioles tonight, and right-hander Jerome Williams (3-6, 5.71 ERA) starts for the Phillies. Tillman has just four quality starts on the season and is 1-4 with a 7.28 ERA at home. In the first two innings of his starts, he has an ERA of 2.63. That goes up to 7.34 for innings three through five.

Williams went 2-1 with a 3.80 ERA in April. But, in nine starts since that month, he is 1-5 with a 6.70 ERA. In six road starts, he is 0-4 with a 7.18 ERA.