The Orioles have selected Palm Beach State second baseman Austin Knight, a Baltimore native, in the 37th round. Knight, a switch-hitter who graduated from Boys Latin, has committed to play at the University of South Florida. Anyone familiar with him? I'll take a scouting report. Read more about him here. The story mentions how Knight will play this summer in the "Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League." The Orioles also took Southeastern University utility player Joseph Donaldson in the...

The Frederick Keys, who are closing in on the first half Northern Division championship in the Carolina League, have even more good news on the way. Their talented, young second baseman, L.J. Hoes, should be back in the lineup soon. The 20-year-old, right-handed hitter has not played since May 15th. He's been out with an illness but is feeling better now and has been taking batting practice and ground balls for about a week. "I'm very excited to get to this point and get healthy again. ...

If the reports are true - and they likely are - that Jake Arrieta is Baltimore bound to start Thursday's game against the Yankees, I have no real problem with that. We reported in this space yesterday that Tim Bascom was going to join the Norfolk squad and that could lead to Arrieta in Baltimore and that is about to happen. It's about time really. Maybe the O's were holding Arrieta out to avoid Super Two status, although they'll never say that, but he sure has been pitching well. The...

Draft update: The Orioles selected Stanford third baseman Adam Gaylord with the third overall pick in the 31st round. Gaylord, a junior, batted .232 with two doubles, one homer and nine RBIs in 31 games (eight starts). He didn't commit an error. The Orioles chose College of Southern Nevada right-hander Joe Robinson in the 32nd round, Notre Dame right-hander Steven Mazur in the 33rd and British Columbia shortstop Samuel Starr in the 34th. Jake Arrieta apparently has become the latest player...

Before Tuesday's game, Nats Buzz caught up with some Nationals fans to talk about the debut of Stephen Strasburg. As you already know, the crowd was electric, collectively hanging on every pitch and creating a playoff-like atmosphere that gave all of us goosebumps. The crowd met every strike with roars of approval and every strikeout with a standing ovation. The fans were very much a part of the game and the win. "When the fans are into every single pitch, we as players feed off of...

If my math is correct, the Orioles have 20 more rounds to complete on the final day of the first-year player draft. And if that's the highlight of my day, I might cry. A few items to pass along: A club official told me via text message that Nolan Reimold sat out the last two games at Triple-A Norfolk because he needed "a couple days rest, but nothing is wrong." We'll see if he's back in the lineup tonight. If not, then I'll start wondering if something is wrong. I talked to Troy Patton...

Scouting directors have turned the corner and are heading home in the First-Year Player Draft. There are thirty rounds now in the books and today the clubs select for rounds 31 through 50 when the draft resumes at Noon. O's scouting director Joe Jordan talks about his goals for today and those final 20 picks. "Obviously the (draft) board has been decimated, but we're going to look for whose got top end. Do we have the ability to chase another guy or two? "If there are rosters that need...

The storybook ending that was almost all for naught. The Pirates had a good shot of ruining the Stephen Strasburg party before it got started, even with an outstanding pitching performance by the much hyped top selection from San Diego State. Pittsburgh led 2-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning of a soldout game at a rocking Nats Park. Strasburg had pitched very well except for one mistake: a changeup that actually was a good pitch, left up for Delwyn Young, who had smacked a...

Unlucky seven: The seven runs the Orioles scored was their most since a 13-7 loss to Texas on May 20. They had scored just 14 runs over their previous nine games. They are now 1-3 on a nine-game homestand, 4-18 over the last 22 games, 7-24 vs. the AL East and 16-42 on the season. Is this good?: The Orioles are 1-9 this year versus New York with nine losses in a row. The Yankees have won 20 of the last 23 and 29 of the last 35 games between the teams. New York is 10-4 over its last 14...

The Orioles' offense has been the subject of ridicule and scorn for much of the season, so it's only fair to point out that it did plenty to deliver a win tonight. Too bad the pitching allowed 12 runs and 15 hits. Matt Wieters notched his first three-hit game of the season, and his first multi-hit game since May 27 against Oakland. "Very positive," interim manager Juan Samuel said. "I think those few days (off) just kind of helped get some things off his mind. It was very nice to see him...