Doing more with draft as Orioles decide on second overall pick

Exactly one week remains before the start of the First-Year Player Draft and absolutely no one knows who's going to the Orioles with the second overall pick.

The Orioles must wait until the Tigers choose ahead of them and most likely will lose an opportunity to select Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson. He's expected to be the guy if he stays on the board, but I probably have a better chance of staying in my 50s.

Assuming that Torkelson is gone, the Orioles must reach a consensus on the best available player and it's a process that hasn't run its course. The board is evolving. It's a shorter version with the sport shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic and the draft reduced to only five rounds.

Six picks are the limit in Baltimore, including the 30th overall on the first day. The Orioles didn't take a pitcher last year until College of Charleston's Griffin McLarty in the eighth round. They didn't believe that anyone was worthy of a higher selection and focused on the middle of the field.

Catchers Adley Rutschman and Maverick Handley, shortstops Gunnar Henderson, Joey Ortiz and Darell Hernaiz, outfielders Kyle Stowers, Zach Watson and Johnny Rizer.

(I tried to explain this to one guy in particular who kept venting on Twitter about the club's lousy pitching and its stupidity in using the first overall pick on a catcher. I repeated that there wasn't a pitcher worthy of that selection and Rutschman or prep shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were the obvious choices. A pitcher didn't go in the first round until seventh overall and only one was chosen in the top 10. But as you can imagine, I got absolutely nowhere because it's Twitter.)

McLarty made 14 relief appearances for short-season Single-A Aberdeen and allowed seven runs with five walks and 25 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings. He didn't surrender a home run.

The Orioles wouldn't have waited until the eighth round this year if it existed. The draft is deeper in pitching and there are several enticing college options who could join the organization.

Maybe not with the second overall pick, but a little later.

Baseball America's 5.0 mock has Texas A&M left-hander Asa Lacy going third to the Marlins, Minnesota right-hander Max Meyer sixth to the Mariners, Georgia right-hander Emerson Hancock seventh to the Pirates and Louisville left-hander Reid Detmers 10th to the Angels.

Nine more pitchers are projected to go before the Orioles choose again at No. 30. Baseball America has them taking Baylor shortstop Nick Loftin, with the Pirates selecting Auburn right-hander Tanner Burns at No. 31.

I'll say again that no one knows which player is going second overall to the Orioles, and that includes media covering the draft. Some guesses are better than others based on industry buzz, on scouts who can offer some insight. But if the Orioles haven't settled on their guy, no one else is able to do it. And they aren't going to announce it to the world until next Wednesday.

Baseball America and other outlets have the Orioles selecting Vanderbilt third baseman/center fielder Austin Martin and I'm making the same prediction, but trust me, I'm gathering information on five or six guys, just in case.

Martin slashed 377/.507/.660 in 69 plate appearances this year before the shutdown. Super-agent Scott Boras is his "advisor," but the Orioles can deal with him.

They'd need to decide on a position for Martin, who's certainly athletic enough to play center field. So is Austin Hays, but they can figure it out later.

My backup pick is Lacy, though there are some people in the industry who think the Orioles will wait to choose a pitcher. Stud lefties are hard to ignore, no matter which team is on the clock.

Lacy made four starts this year and allowed two earned runs in 24 innings. He struck out 46 batters. The Texas native, who turned 21 yesterday, posted a 2.13 ERA and 1.038 WHIP in 15 starts as a sophomore and struck out 130 batters in 88 2/3 innings.

The fastball can touch 98 mph and the slider also is a plus pitch. The curveball and changeup can rate as above average. His control is shaky at times, the biggest knock against him, but he's become the best pitcher in the draft class.

New Mexico State infielder Nick Gonzales is hovering and there's been some speculation that the Orioles could select him based on "signability." And because he can flat-out hit, for average and power, as he also demonstrated in the Cape Cod League.

Gonzales would be the dark horse pick. I'm still riding Martin to the finish line.