Roch Kubatko

Neustrom and Dorrian getting extra looks at minicamp

January 20, 2022, 3:17pm

Orioles

Neustrom and Dorrian getting extra looks at minicamp

The Orioles opened their second January minicamp yesterday, and the first for hitters, with a modest invite list that featured six of their top 11 prospects per MLBPipeline.com. Four of the other prospects in the elite 11 are pitchers. The only position player who's absent right now is infielder Connor Norby, a second-round pick in 2021 who will participate in the second hitting camp that opens Tuesday morning. (Here's a reminder from earlier this week.) The current gathering is headlined...

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Another sampling of Orioles spring training storylines

January 20, 2022, 11:13am

Orioles

Orioles pitchers and catchers are supposed to report to the Ed Smith Stadium complex on Feb. 15. The date remains alive during the lockout, but is threatened by the lack of a new collective bargaining agreement. The ticking of the clock is getting louder. Edgar Allan Poe might write a short story about it if he were alive today. The sides reportedly will meet in person Monday, with the union offering its counterproposal. The first bargaining session since a video conference Jan. 13 I've...

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Conway on Stallings, Peek and Brnovich

January 19, 2022, 12:04pm

Orioles

When the Orioles acquired pitcher Garrett Stallings from the Angels in the JosÃ© Iglesias trade on Dec. 2, 2020, there were no professional starts to sift through. No professional data to digest. Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias knew Stallings from the University of Tennessee, targeting him in the previous year's draft before the Angels selected him in the fifth round. Elias kept tabs on the right-hander while Los Angeles shut him down that summer and COVID-19 forced the...

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Because You Asked - A New Era

January 18, 2022, 12:55pm

Orioles

What's better than a midweek mailbag? Basically anything, but it's not up to me to supply the questions here. That's your job. The fans have spoken - or written. They won't be ignored or put in the corner. I present to you the latest sequel to the original. You ask, I answer, you ask again, I answer again. It's the same old story, same old song and dance, my friend. We don't edit for anything. What you send is what I post. OK, maybe a word or a comma ends up on the cutting room...

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Rutschman, Kjerstad, Cowser headline next minicamp (plus notes)

January 17, 2022, 12:31pm

Orioles

Rutschman, Kjerstad, Cowser headline next minicamp (plus notes)

With the pitching minicamp wrapping up over the weekend in Sarasota, the Orioles are ready to conduct two others geared toward hitters in their organization. The breakdown puts more experienced and higher-profile prospects in the first camp, which begins on Friday, followed next Tuesday by a gathering of newer, younger players. The initial wave will consist of first-round selections Adley Rutschman, Heston Kjerstad and Colton Cowser, along with Kyle Stowers, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg,...

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More on Orioles' signings and releases

January 16, 2022, 7:17am

Orioles

The noticeable increase in international spending by the Orioles included six-figure bonuses for Edwin Amparo and Leandro Arias. They have more in common than cash. Amparo ($650,000) and Arias ($600,000) are Dominican-born shortstops. They're teenagers and switch-hitters, with the latter ranked as the No. 46 prospect in MLBPipeline.com's Top 50 list. Here's what the club said about both players in Saturday's news release announcing the 24 signings: Arias, 16, is a shortstop prospect...

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Reviewing the latest news from the Orioles

January 15, 2022, 11:59am

Orioles

Who needs major league roster moves when a team can stir up its fan base with adjustments to the ballpark's dimensions and an historic day of international signings? Reaction to the former has been mixed on social media. It's much harder to argue an organization's willingness to spend proficiently in the foreign market after years of resistance. And honestly, the latter is much more important. The Orioles made a big splash by doing a cannonball into the international pool. They spent the...

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Grayson Rodriguez also bringing value off the field (updated)

January 08, 2022, 6:47am

Orioles

Grayson Rodriguez also bringing value off the field (updated)

Seven of the first 10 picks in the 2018 draft were position players, just as the Orioles anticipated. They knew there would be no shortage of pitching at their disposal. They had lots of appealing options with University of Florida right-hander Brady Singer, prep left-hander Matthew Liberatore, prep right-hander Cole Winn and South Florida lefty Shane McClanahan on the board. The industry was thrown a curve with the announcement that the Orioles selected right-hander Grayson Rodriguez of...

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Conway on Lucas: "He gave us a lot out of the bullpen"

January 07, 2022, 10:27am

Orioles

Conway on Lucas: "He gave us a lot out of the bullpen"

The non-tender deadline in 2019 brought a trade that wasn't popular with Orioles fans who still vented over the decision a week earlier to place infielder Jonathan Villar on waivers. Villar wasn't coming back with an estimated arbitration raise pushing his salary to $10.4 million. The Orioles were motivated to move him for the right return, which turned into left-hander Easton Lucas. "It's hard to let him go, but we've got to keep an eye on our strategic objectives, which prioritize the...

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Conway on how Rom "didn't skip a beat" in 2021

January 07, 2022, 6:48am

Orioles

Conway on how Rom "didn't skip a beat" in 2021

The anticipation surrounding the major league debuts by top Orioles pitching prospects Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall in 2022 is thicker than wet concrete. The foundation of the rebuild. MLBPipeline.com ranks Rodriguez as the No. 1 pitching prospect in baseball and eighth overall. Hall is 72nd overall. Drew Rom isn't in the top 100. He's 25th among Orioles prospects, the seventh pitcher listed and the fourth left-hander after Hall, Kevin Smith and Zac Lowther. Pitchers who didn't match...

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Orioles make sure their system stays in sync

January 06, 2022, 5:01pm

Orioles

The talent that pumps through the pipeline in the Orioles system, with renewed force over the last few years, is accompanied now by an even flow that's moving managers and coaches. The club hasn't announced its minor league staffs, but Single-A Aberdeen manager Kyle Moore is going to Double-A Bowie, while Buck Britton replaces Gary Kendall at Triple-A Norfolk. IronBirds pitching coach Josh Conway has been bumped up to the Baysox as the replacement for Justin Ramsey, who joins the Tides. The...

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A bunch of business remains for Orioles brass

January 06, 2022, 7:52am

Orioles

Unless the Orioles conducted minor league business in secrecy and the transactions didn't hit the wire, there hasn't been a move made since the Dec. 16 announcements on catcher Anthony Bemboom and pitcher Matt Vogel. The Vogel deal was confirmed earlier that week and the club later shared the news. Bemboom will try to win a job in spring training, perhaps starting if Adley Rutschman remains in Triple-A. Vogel hasn't pitched for an affiliated team since 2017 and hasn't moved past high...

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Sifting through more spring training storylines

January 06, 2022, 4:57am

Orioles

Sifting through more spring training storylines

Mother Nature handled most of the snow that buried my driveway and car last Monday and again Friday morning. Wait for the temperatures to move above freezing and do some light sweeping later in the day. A veteran move. Also, a pandemic move with little reason for me to be driving. The lockout could impact the report dates for spring training, where the biggest weather menaces are those torrential downpours that last about 15 minutes and threaten morning workouts. They also make for a sloppy...

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Because You Asked - A New Legacy

January 06, 2022, 4:47am

Orioles

A week has passed since I stuck my head inside my mailbag. And I've been told many times to get my head out of my mailbag. Or something similar. You ask, I answer, you ask again and I'm either accommodating or a jerk. It's fun for the whole family. Your questions and my responses are unedited. We run with scissors here. We pet stray dogs. We go to 24-hour diners and order fish at 2 a.m. We live on the edge. Also, my mailbag takes the last chocolate chip cookie on the tray and leaves your...

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Bickering over latest Hall of Fame ballot

January 06, 2022, 4:31am

Orioles

Bickering over latest Hall of Fame ballot

The Baseball Writers' Association of America will announce the results of the Hall of Fame voting on Jan. 25. A recent update from Ryan Thibodaux (@NotMrTibbs), Twitter's king of Cooperstown calculators, had David Ortiz (83.2 percent), Barry Bonds (80.4) and Roger Clemens (79) above the 75 percent threshold for induction. No ballot is perfect. The inclusion of "cheaters" sickens fans or validates their beliefs. The media tries to figure out where lines should be drawn. Sadly, they're more...

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The more you know about Orioles hitters

January 02, 2022, 1:52pm

Orioles

The proverb that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" states that even a tiny amount of it might fool people into believing they're an expert on a particular subject, which can lead to mistakes. So true. But we still won't let that deter us this morning. The more you know about Orioles hitters in 2021 ... * Third baseman Kelvin GutiÃ©rrez's five outs above average led Orioles infielders and ranked second on the team behind Cedric Mullins (11). GutiÃ©rrez registered a .327 on-base...

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The more you know about Orioles pitchers

January 01, 2022, 12:20pm

Orioles

The proverb that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" warns that even a small amount of it might lure people into believing they're an expert on a particular subject, which can lead to mistakes. So true. But we won't let that deter us this morning. The more you know about Orioles pitchers in 2021: * All nine of Keegan Akin's appearances at home came against a different opponent - the Yankees, Rays, Indians, Astros, White Sox, Tigers, Braves, Angels and Blue Jays. I mean, what are the...

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Raising the bar on resolutions

January 01, 2022, 10:47am

Orioles

Some new year's resolutions are made to be taken more seriously than others. Stop using your treadmill to dry laundry. Stop using vodka to hydrate in warm weather. Stop using Zoom calls as an excuse to skip showers. None of these can be spun as asking too much. Here are a few goals for 2022 that may be harder to execute: Get John Means to the plate A new collective bargaining agreement could bring a universal designated hitter to the sport, but Means needs a bat in his hands. Let the ace...

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A new year's resolution idea for the Orioles

January 01, 2022, 8:29am

Orioles

The first week of a new year hasn't brought us closer to a new collective bargaining agreement. At least from what's known in front of the scenes. The view is more obstructed behind them. National media would be all over renewed talks and any progress made, and it's been very quiet on Twitter beyond hilarious videos of Betty White and the touching tributes to a comedy legend. Man, 2021 showed no mercy, and 2022 started with the passing of former NFL running back and head coach Dan Reeves,...

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Debating dates of Orioles debuts in 2022

January 01, 2022, 7:20am

Orioles

Based on draft status, expectations and various prospect lists, Orioles fans are likely to get most excited about the anticipated 2022 debuts of catcher Adley Rutschman and pitchers Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall. MLBPipeline.com, Baseball America, Prospects 1500 and I'm assuming everyone else with a list ranks them in that order as the top three prospects in the system. Rutschman is going to arrive in Baltimore first. Rodriguez and Hall haven't pitched above Double-A, but are primed to join...