My take on the Orioles draft tonight

For the last week or two, most pre-draft speculation has centered on the Orioles taking Oklahoma high school pitcher Dylan Bundy with the fourth pick in tonight's draft. But what if University of Virginia lefty Danny Hultzen and Bundy are both still on the board when the Orioles pick? What if Hultzen is gone, but Trevor Bauer of UCLA is still out there? (I am kind of assuming that Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon will be gone by the fourth pick, but nothing is for sure in the draft). A choice between Hultzen and Bundy could be a choice between a polished college lefty that could get to the majors quicker and a high school hurler with a big-time arm that scouts say also could move very fast through the minors. Hultzen, should he get drafted by the O's and make it to Baltimore, could give the O's three lefties in a rotation in a division filled with top left-handed bats. He pitches from 90-93 but has touched 95 this year. Some have compared him to Brian Matusz in that he is a polished college lefty with several quality pitches along with poise and smarts. He has more fastball than Matusz however. Bundy could have more "upside" as they say and one day be a number one caliber big league pitcher. His makeup and passion are considered top notch and scouts are not even a little concerned that he is just 6-feet or 6-foot-1 depending upon which report you look at. If somehow Rice infielder Anthony Rendon falls to the Orioles, I say they don't take him. If he falls that far, the top teams would clearly be scared off by this year's shoulder injury and why should the O's take that risk if no team above them will? Still, they need power bats in the minors and this guy has one. Yeah, the O's could have some big decisions to make with a pick that fans feel they really need to hit on. I have heard enough raving about Bundy in the last few days to think he is still the guy the O's would love to get. Not because his brother plays at Frederick, but because he is simply the best pitcher in this draft. Just about everyone seems to think he ranks right up there with any college pitcher on the board tonight. ESPN's Keith Law told me Bundy could need just two years in the minors, not four or more like many high school hurlers. He could be an Oriole at the age of 20 or 21. That is the tiebreaker for me, how fast this kid could progress. Law also says Bundy's strong lower body helps his delivery and means he is putting less pressure on his arm and is thus less of an injury risk. I am not even the least fearful of the O's taking another high school pitcher. Not one with the resume of Bundy. O's scouting director Joe Jordan won't make tonight's pick with any fears in his mind either. I asked him recently if he had any trepidation about taking a high school pitcher with the fourth pick. This is what he said: "The best way for me to answer that is I refuse to do this job scared. I do think that each draft is different. The players change, but the process and scrutiny we put ourselves through is the same. Yeah, you try to learn from the past, what worked and what didn't. But I'm not going to do this job as a coward, I refuse to. We'll do what we think is the best for the organization." I like that answer. Jim Callis of Baseball America told me he had Bundy rated even higher than Jameson Taillon, the right-hander that was taken with the second pick of the draft last year by Pittsburgh. "Taillon at 6-foot-4 has more of a classic pitcher's frame, but where Taillon has two dominant pitches, I think Bundy has three. His changeup is more advanced than Taillon's was and I think his command is a little bit better. He's 6-foot-1 but he doesn't pitch like he's 6-1 if that makes any sense. Bundy I think is the slightest bit better," Callis said. So I am just about convinced that Bundy would be a great choice for the O's. If Hultzen is there (again, I think Cole is gone by four) I could see the O's taking an advanced college lefty with the pick. I would be thrilled with either one, but if you made me take a stand right now, I'd take Bundy over Hultzen by a nose if it comes to that.