Some thoughts on the O's draft

Whether they get a player that can throw a fastball 99 miles per hour, or a shortstop that may be a five-tool talent, the Orioles figure to come out of the first round of Monday's First-Year Player Draft feeling pretty good about things. After the Nationals take Bryce Harper with the first pick as expected, the Pirates are up. Baseball America and ESPN are now projecting that Pittsburgh will select Texas prep pitcher Jameson Taillon with the second pick. Under that scenario the Orioles would likely take high school shortstop Manny Machado. It appears the O's prefer Taillon and that is the player they'd most like to have, but Pittsburgh could foil that plan. While the O's would likely take Machado if Taillon goes to the Bucs, it does not seem a lock at this point. The Orioles could surprise and take a college bat there and they like Christian Colon, the shortstop from Cal State Fullerton among others. While Scott Boras represents Machado, the O's will not avoid him because of that. They have a draft history with Boras, who represented Matt Wieters in 2007. The Orioles will likely know which player Pittsburgh wants ahead of time, but as of Sunday afternoon, they did not know who Pittsburgh would take. The Pirates were said to be more interested in Machado with that second pick, but it appears they may have made recent change to Taillon. It doesn't appear that much will change in the next 24 hours, but sometimes there are draft-day suprises. The Orioles don't have a second-round pick and prefer to take a college hitter with their third-round pick unless a player they have rated highly drops to them in the third-round. Check back later today here for some interesting quotes from Joe Jordan from an interview earlier today here at Camden Yards. He'll discuss the O's likely direction with their third-round pick and something the O's want to emphasize in this draft. Be with us here at MASNSports.com Monday for some special draft-day coverage.