masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgWill anyone here today be more excited than Jonathan Schoop?

The kid found out he made the roster on Saturday in Norfolk and today he will start at second base on opening day for the Orioles.

How is his excitement level right now? I asked him earlier in the clubhouse.

“I cannot explain, but it’s opening day and you’ve got to be excited. I love to play baseball. I dreamed for this moment. We’ll see how it goes,” said Schoop, who is batting ninth.

“You have to have some nerves, but in a…Will anyone here today be more excited than Jonathan Schoop?

The kid found out he made the roster on Saturday in Norfolk and today he will start at second base on opening day for the Orioles.

How is his excitement level right now? I asked him earlier in the clubhouse.

“I cannot explain, but it’s opening day and you’ve got to be excited. I love to play baseball. I dreamed for this moment. We’ll see how it goes,” said Schoop, who is batting ninth.

“You have to have some nerves, but in a good way. But I’ve been playing since I was a kid. With my teammates with me, those nerves will go away.”

Schoop said the time he spent here last September as a callup also helps him now. On Sept. 25, in his first big league game, Schoop homered to center off Toronto’s Kyle Drabek.

He went 4-for-14 (.286) in five games last September.

“It helped me a lot,” Schoop said. “You see the guys, how they work and how they go about their business. It helped me, the experience I got last year. It gave me a taste of the big leagues. It’s great to be here.”

Schoop is starting at second base today, but if he winds up playing some at third as well, he said that’s fine by him.

“I’m comfortable where the Orioles want me to be. I’m here for them. If they put me at second base, I’ll be ready. Third base, ready, shortstop, wherever they need me,” he said.

One thing is for sure for Schoop, the Orioles’ No. 5 prospect according to Baseball America – the thrill and excitement he felt Saturday, finding out he will start the year as an Oriole, won’t soon wear off.

“I called my mom. Talked with my mom and dad and my brothers. From there, everyone kind of found on from Twitter and they were calling and texting me with congratulations,” he said. “But first, I called my mom, dad and brothers.

“It’s going to stay with me for a long time. I love to be here. I dreamed for this moment.”