At FanFest, he was more recognized as the local kid who played high school ball at Calvert Hall than as an Orioles minor league player.

But that was fine with 21-year-old Alex Murphy. He was excited to be there and happy to be healthy again after sports hernia surgery derailed what had the makings of a big 2015 season.

In the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, the Orioles selected three prep catchers among their first seven picks, taking Chance Sisco 61st overall, Jonah Heim with pick No. 129 and Murphy in round six with pick No. 189.

The Orioles quickly signed Murphy after the draft to a $275,000 bonus to buy him away from his Wake Forest commitment. He was the Gatorade High School Player of the Year as a senior in Maryland.

Murphy grew up in Monrovia, Md., not far from the home of the Orioles' Single-A Frederick affiliate. That is a team Murphy could play with this season.

The day the club selected Murphy, he was with 20 friends and family members at a restaurant when he got the official word. That night, I interviewed Murphy about getting selected by his hometown team.

"It was an unreal feeling," Murphy said then. "I thought they might draft me. When I saw my name go across the screen, it was an indescribable feeling. There is nothing in my life that has ever been like that. It gave me chills. Now I get to follow my goals and my dreams.

"My dad had season tickets when I was growing up to the O's games and the Frederick Keys stadium is 15 minutes from my house. I go there all the time."

The sports hernia surgery limited Murphy to 49 games in 2015. He hit .257/.332/.426 in 183 at-bats with 15 doubles, two triples, four homers and 36 RBIs. He began the year with Single-A Delmarva and was among the South Atlantic League RBI leaders when he got hurt. He batted .327 with runners in scoring position with the Shorebirds. But then he missed three months from mid-May until mid-August.

"It was a little unfortunate," Murphy said. "Kind of unlucky there, but not really much you can do about it. Just hope to prevent it for next year."

He came back for the final three weeks of the season and finished strong with short season Single-A Aberdeen. In his last six games with the IronBirds, he went 10-for-24 (.417) with five doubles, two homers and four RBIs.

Murphy said taking part in FanFest was a thrilling experience.

"It means the world. Growing up as a kid, coming to FanFest, going to Orioles games. There is no better experience than being a hometown kid playing for the team you grew up watching," he said.

Scouts say Murphy, a big, strong right-handed batter, shows good bat speed and some power to all fields. His intensity has impressed the O's staff. Behind the plate, he has shown decent receiving and blocking skills, but some inconsistency throwing and with his mechanics.

What does Murphy need to work on to improve?

"Consistency with a little bit of everything," he said. "Not getting too high or too low hitting-wise. Trying to stay in that middle plateau all the way through the season. Same thing with catching. Just try to throw a little better and stay solid behind the plate."

During instructional league workouts, Murphy began to play some first base and the plan is for him to be used as a catcher and first baseman during the 2016 season.

"Any way to get to the big leagues is the way I look at it," Murphy said.

Now we wait to see how Murphy progresses over the next season or two, and whether he can become another Baltimore prep product, like Steve Johnson and Steve Clevenger, to make it to the bigs with his hometown club.

One man's take: MLB.com columnist Phil Rogers lists the Orioles as one of his "5 teams that could still make noise this offseason" and many Orioles fans are hopeful that he is right. The O's are one of five teams that he still expects to make a bold move. He predicts they will trade for outfielder Andre Ethier of the Dodgers.