Some Orioles draft notes

The Orioles are certainly aware that their third-round draft pick, high school shortstop Adrian Marin, announced last night via Twitter that he has signed with the club. But don't expect an announcement on that from the Orioles until early next week after he takes his physical and officially signs his contract. The club does not announce signings until that part is completed. When Marin's agreement does become official, he will likely join the O's Gulf Coast League club and play shortstop there. It appears that the Orioles may have anywhere from 10 to 14 players in Baltimore next week for physicals, which is a good sign that the team is close to coming to terms with that many players already. We could see all those players, or many of them, playing for short-season teams in the Gulf Coast League or with Aberdeen when those clubs open their seasons on June 18. When a player becomes officially signed, he will report to the O's facility in Sarasota, Fla., for a brief orientation before they join an affiliate. The Orioles are very hopeful of signing all ten of their top ten round picks, but so far, they are not close to an agreement with the highest pick they can currently talk with, second-round selection, pitcher Branden Kline from the University of Virginia. The Orioles are expecting some of the players they drafted between rounds 11 and 15 to be tough to sign. With LSU and South Carolina playing this weekend in NCAA Regionals, the Orioles cannot negotiate with players from those schools, including top pick Kevin Gausman, until their seasons are over. The Orioles are hopeful of signing around 20 to 25 players from this draft class of 40. That would include a Baltimore product, 19th-round pick Josh Hader from Old Mill High in Anne Arundel County. He is pitching in an All-Star game this weekend, and after that, the club will begin talking contract with Hader. A pitcher the Orioles are pretty high on, right-hander Matt Price, the seventh-round pick from South Carolina, was listed as a senior, but because of a redshirt year he took earlier, he does have one year of eligibility remaining and could potentially return to South Carolina next season as a fifth-year senior. Finally, I have gotten some questions about Charles Porter, a lefty pitcher taken in round 35 that was listed as having no school. Porter did graduate high school and was at Miami-Dade Junior College planning to play JuCo ball, but he left the school, and thus the no-school listing for him.