Roch Kubatko

Baseball's shutdown impacting prospects and draft picks (updated)

June 11, 2020, 7:53pm

Orioles

Baseball's shutdown impacting prospects and draft picks (updated)

Two days of the First-Year Player draft provided the ideal distraction from the back and forth between ownership and the Major League Baseball Players Association. Barely a peep about the length of a proposed season, percentages of prorated pay and an expanded playoff format that could shove 16 teams into October. And now, back to our regularly scheduled bickering, already in progress. Selecting players from the college and high school ranks is followed by negotiations on contracts, with the...

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Orioles take Haskin 39th, Westburg talks selection (updated)

June 11, 2020, 1:27pm

Orioles

The wait for the Orioles to select a pitcher in the 2020 First-Year Player Draft is continuing. They passed yesterday on the arms with the second and 30th overall picks and used the 39th this afternoon in the second round to nab Tulane outfielder Hudson Haskin. MLB.com ranked Haskin, who's sophomore-eligible, as the 74th-best talent in the draft. But Baseball America had him 211th. Haskin, 21, is a right-handed hitter described as a toolsy center fielder who was chosen by the Athletics in the...

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Reflecting on past drafts and more from Elias

June 10, 2020, 8:50pm

Orioles

Reflecting on past drafts and more from Elias

The Orioles made the first round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft a breeze for the beat crew. They didn't pull any surprises. They didn't choose a player who required a hasty Google search or leave us frantically tearing through the pages of Baseball America's preview issue. Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman was the obvious choice two years ago as the first overall selection, though prep shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. had the endorsement of at least one former scout in the organization....

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Elias calls Kjerstad "the best left-handed hitter in the country"

June 10, 2020, 7:55pm

Orioles

Elias calls Kjerstad "the best left-handed hitter in the country"

The Orioles knew fairly early in the draft process that they were taking a position player. Executive vice president Mike Elias especially liked one pitcher, but not with the second overall pick. Not with so many intriguing hitters. Elias didn't meet in person with Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad, who in the executive's words was more of a dark horse candidate to join the organization. Their Zoom call proved to be an important step in solidifying the decision. The player that they liked...

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Orioles select Heston Kjerstad with second overall pick (updated)

June 10, 2020, 3:43pm

Orioles

The second-best power bat in baseball's First-Year Player Draft is headed to the Orioles organization. With their choices narrowed to five players heading into tonight, the Orioles passed on Vanderbilt's Austin Martin and chose Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad with the second overall pick. The first surprise of the night didn't take long to surface. Kjerstad, 21, slashed .448/.513/.791 with five doubles, six home runs and 20 RBIs in 16 games before baseball shut down due to the...

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Final pre-draft thoughts on the Orioles

June 09, 2020, 9:41am

Orioles

Baseball has found its window to be active tonight beyond negotiations and hostilities with the start of the First-Year Player Draft. The festivities kick off at 7 p.m. on MLB Network and ESPN. Names will begin dropping off the virtual board, with Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson likely to go first to the Tigers. Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias indicated during Monday's Zoom call that there's little suspense behind the pick, though he never said...

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Latest on negotiations for a 2020 season and more from Elias

June 08, 2020, 11:07am

Orioles

Latest on negotiations for a 2020 season and more from Elias

The latest Major League Baseball economic proposal sent yesterday to the MLB Players Association assures that the 2020 season won't start before July 10. And it heightens suspicions that we're facing a 50-game schedule that, in the immortal words of heavyweight boxer Clubber Lang in "Rocky III," is going to produce a paper champion. As first reported by ESPN's Karl Ravech, ownership is now seeking a 76-game season, concluding on Sept. 27, that pays players 75 percent of their prorated...

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Elias says Orioles to choose among five players for first pick

June 08, 2020, 10:05am

Orioles

With two days remaining before the start of the First-Year Player Draft, the Orioles have reduced the number of possibilities with the second overall selection but aren't ready to pinpoint their preference. Speaking to the media today on a Zoom call, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said the Orioles are "actively discussing" five players and probably won't make a final decision until the day of the draft. It's a fairly typical stance for a team positioned in such a high...

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Milone on workouts, health and uncertain season

June 03, 2020, 12:33pm

Orioles

Milone on workouts, health and uncertain season

Orioles pitcher Tommy Milone is spending his days and nights working out and finding tasks to stay busy at his home in Santa Clarita, Calif., a city that's located about 45 minutes north of Los Angeles and known for its variety of roller coasters at the Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park. Milone should be used to the ups and downs. But his first year with the Orioles has been a shock to the system. How could the veteran left-hander have anticipated everything thrown at him? The coronavirus...

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Remembering a few brushes with greatness

June 03, 2020, 10:39am

Orioles

Remembering a few brushes with greatness

A sportswriter walks into a bar and ... I'm not reciting the first line of a joke. I'm actually going somewhere with this. The sportswriter was me and it happened many years ago - so long that I can't remember the exact location. I'm fairly certain that it was Sullivan's Steakhouse, a few blocks from Camden Yards. But this isn't the important part of the story. I ducked inside the men's room before last call - the bar's, not the bathroom's - and saw Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter at one...

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Two more names to toss into the draft mix

June 03, 2020, 10:27am

Orioles

Two more names to toss into the draft mix

As we binge on mock drafts, fight the confusion and wish that we could gain some clarity, the Orioles are attached to multiple players depending on the hour and who's doing the predicting. The consensus in my informal poll remains Vanderbilt third baseman/center fielder Austin Martin with the second overall pick. But there's some hedging. Baseball America's Carlos Collazo and The Athletic's Keith Law, to name just two, have heard that the Orioles could go under slot. Baseball America's 6.0...

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Orioles issue statement against "racial bias and violent abuse"

June 02, 2020, 1:35pm

Orioles

The Orioles turned to social media today to join the chorus of teams speaking out against racial injustice in the country. The club released a lengthy statement this afternoon on its official Twitter and Instagram accounts. The avatars have been altered as part of the Blackout Tuesday initiative, promoted by activists to observe and push for policy changes following George Floyd's death last week in Minneapolis. Office Derek Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and...

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Another lost weekend for Orioles during baseball's shutdown

June 02, 2020, 12:13pm

Orioles

The Orioles are supposed to be hosting a weekend series against the Astros, but the 2020 season remains on hold. Fans were supposed to be gathering at Camden Yards to make trash can jokes and boo one of baseball's cheaters. Or have we already forgotten the scandal that dominated spring training conversations until the shutdown? Until the coronavirus pandemic shoved it into darkness. Major League Baseball delivered one of the harshest punishments in the sport's history after the Astros were...

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Doing more with draft as Orioles decide on second overall pick

June 02, 2020, 12:04pm

Orioles

Exactly one week remains before the start of the First-Year Player Draft and absolutely no one knows who's going to the Orioles with the second overall pick. The Orioles must wait until the Tigers choose ahead of them and most likely will lose an opportunity to select Arizona State first baseman Spencer Torkelson. He's expected to be the guy if he stays on the board, but I probably have a better chance of staying in my 50s. Assuming that Torkelson is gone, the Orioles must reach a consensus...

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Dealing with baseball's trade deadline

June 01, 2020, 9:17am

Orioles

While owners and players keep digging in their heels and the threat remains that the 2020 season is going to be buried, I wonder about its structure if it can be salvaged. I'm waiting for clarification on the taxi squad beyond the expectation that it would hold 20 players. I'm waiting for clarification on the trade deadline. As in, will one exist? Major League Baseball eliminated the Aug. 31 waiver deadline last year. The July 31 deadline could be pushed back due to the season's late start...

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This, that and the other

May 31, 2020, 11:17am

Orioles

The length of baseball's shutdown is allowing players to heal and get deeper into their rehabs after sustaining injuries in spring training. It isn't much of a silver lining, but let's try to stay positive today. I've heard that reliever Evan Phillips, sidelined in early March due to a sore right elbow, is feeling much better. The long layoff and rehab process have brought positive results. Phillips could progress to bullpen sessions in a few more weeks. He was a certainty to begin the...

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Because You Asked - I Want to Believe

May 28, 2020, 7:48am

Orioles

Because I've become quite adept at disappointing fans who seek answers from me during the coronavirus pandemic, I'm comfortable opening my latest "mailbag" and also putting the word in quotation marks. With all of the binge-watching that's taking place in households around the world, I'm hoping that you'll happily accept my latest sequel. Try to fit it in between episodes of "Ozark" and "Tiger King." In a related story, I haven't seen either one. I actually thought the latter was a...

More of what we're missing without the majors

May 27, 2020, 10:37am

Orioles

More of what we're missing without the majors

The weekend was supposed to conclude another month of baseball, most likely leaving the Orioles at the bottom of the division standings, but we'll never know. We do know what happens when we assume. It isn't about wins and losses in a rebuild, the reminders coming at us like line drives. However, we could have checked on the progress of some important players in the organization. Players who are supposed to be pieces rather than placeholders moving forward. Under normal circumstances, if we...

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More memories from the Orioles beat

May 27, 2020, 9:09am

Orioles

The baseball shutdown keeps plowing through the month of May, as we knew it would, and the people who cover the sport are digging through a mountain of memories. I've been fortunate to attend some historic moments in a working capacity, including the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park, when players surrounded Hall of Famer Ted Williams during an emotional tribute in the infield - and I got stuck in the elevator afterward - the 2000 Subway Series that shifted between Yankee Stadium and Shea...