A look at the Orioles' key homestand and today's draft

It was strange last night seeing the first two rounds of the First-Year Player Draft unfold and not dealing with the drama and suspense of waiting to see which player the Orioles would pick. From 2006-12 the Orioles had a top 10 pick in the first round, and for six straight years starting in 2007, the Orioles had a top five pick. They selected in order, Matt Wieters, Brian Matusz, Matt Hobgood, Manny Machado, Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman. Last year they selected high school pitcher Hunter Harvey with the 22nd overall selection. Later today the Birds will finally get to make their first pick of this draft. They have a selection in the middle of the third round, No. 90 overall. Then they select 121st overall in round four and every 30 picks after that. The draft resumes with the third round this afternoon at 1:05 p.m. and will go through the 10th round today. It is unlikely to draft a star player with the No. 90 pick. In fact, according to BaseballReference.com, only 13 of 49 players drafted with that selection ever made the majors. The two most well-known are Wil Clark and Luis Gonzalez. Without a top pick this year, O's scouting director Gary Rajsich told me earlier this week that he and his staff accepted the challenge to still try to find good players down in the draft. He felt his staff did an excellent job of draft prep in this his third year as O's scouting director. "I think it's been even better than the last two years," Rajsich said. "Guys have worked even harder and I'm proud of all of them. There was a renewed focus. There is as much energy in our draft meetings as there has ever been. A lot of positive discussions. "We are approaching it just like any year and trying to find the best player available. I know it sounds like a cliche, but it's true. We are looking for players and pitchers with tools that have upside. I know there are good players to be found all through the draft." The draft concludes on Saturday with rounds 11 through 40. Meanwhile, back to the big league club. The Orioles have played just 23 home games so far, which is the fewest of any team in the majors. But that all changes starting tonight. The Orioles begin a huge 10-game homestand against Oakland, Boston and Toronto. That is two first-place teams and a key division rival at the Yard. The Orioles will follow this homestand with a six-game road trip and then another 10-game homestand. By the end of that one, they will have played more home games than road. The A's bring the AL's best record to town at 37-23. They have the best road record at 20-11. They have a plus-120 run differential that is easily the best in the majors. In the AL, Toronto is second at plus-51. A big test has arrived for the Orioles. The A's followed by Boston followed by a four-game showdown against a first-place Toronto team that is 19-4 in its last 23 games. If they have a winning homestand here, they will have earned it. This would be a good time for the Orioles to put it all together now that they have fallen 5 1/2 games out in the AL East. Draft coverage today and tonight: Check back on my blog later today for Orioles draft coverage. I'll file information after each Orioles pick today and try to catch up with scouting director Gary Rajsich when the day's work is done and maybe some of the new O's as well. Check back often here this afternoon and tonight.