Steve Melewski

An Orioles draft update from scouting director Joe Jordan

July 08, 2011, 12:50pm

Orioles

Orioles scouting director Joe Jordan has yet to sign his first-round pick, pitcher Dylan Bundy, or second-round pick, Vanderbilt third baseman Jason Esposito, but he has agreed to terms with 15 draft picks so far. He has signed six of his top 10 picks, all pitchers, including Mike Wright (round 3), Kyle Simon (round 4), Matt Taylor (round 5), Trent Howard (round 7), Devin Jones (round 9) and Tyler Wilson (round 10). "It's going fine," Jordan said of the progress of the signings. "We've...

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Oliver Drake is not pitching like a 43rd-round draft pick (Bascom note added)

July 08, 2011, 9:43am

Orioles

Oliver Drake is not pitching like a 43rd-round draft pick (Bascom note added)

He was just named the Orioles organization's minor league Pitcher of the Month for June: Right-hander Oliver Drake is on quite a roll right now as he heads into his next start for Single-A Frederick tonight at home against Potomac. Drake has put together a current streak of 22 consecutive scoreless innings. That counts a two-inning stint on June 23 for Triple-A Norfolk and 20 innings with Frederick. On the year, the 24-year-old Drake is 7-3 with an ERA of 2.24. Over 88 1/3 innings he has...

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No concerns over Machado & Schoop

July 08, 2011, 4:52am

Orioles

They are two of the best prospects in the Orioles' organization and both are just 19 years old. But, after putting up some big stats in the South Atlantic League, both Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop have struggled in the Carolina League. They will both play in the Futures Game this Sunday. Here is how they have done this year: Machado at Delmarva: .276-6-24 in 38 games with .859 OPS Machado at Frederick: .209-1-3 in 13 games with .616 OPS. Scoop at Delmarva: .318-8-34 in 51 games with...

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Not expecting a repeat of last season for the Orioles

July 07, 2011, 12:34pm

Orioles

Can lightning strike twice for the Orioles? Last year they went to Texas for the last series before the All-Star break and swept that four-game series. Tonight they begin a four-game series in Boston that leads into the break. I'm pretty sure most fans are not expecting four O's wins over the next four days, but last year's team did lose six of seven before that Texas sweep. This club has now lost eight of nine and is 6-17 over the past 23 games. In that stretch the team ERA is 5.78, the...

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MacPhail indicates he wants Jordan to return as scouting director

July 06, 2011, 9:41pm

Orioles

MacPhail indicates he wants Jordan to return as scouting director

We don't yet know whether Andy MacPhail will return after this season as the Orioles president of baseball operations. But if he does, MacPhail made it clear during an interview this week that he'd like director of scouting Joe Jordan to return on his staff. The contracts of both men are up after this season. Jordan took his current position in November of 2004 and has led the last seven O's drafts. "This thing is never going to work if Joe doesn't do his job well," MacPhail said....

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Orioles agree with 10th-round draft pick

July 06, 2011, 3:50pm

Orioles

The Orioles have come to terms with their 10th-round draft pick, University of Virginia right-handed pitcher Tyler Wilson. He went 10-0 with an ERA of 2.24 this year as a senior for a Cavalier team that made the College World Series. The Orioles have now signed six of their top 10 picks getting pitchers Mike Wright (round three), Kyle Simon (round four), Matt Taylor (round five), Trent Howard (round seven) and Devin Jones (round nine) along with Wilson. They have come to terms with 15 picks...

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Has J.J. Hardy taken the upper hand in contract talks with the Orioles?

July 06, 2011, 11:20am

Orioles

You have to figure J.J. Hardy has the upper hand right now in any contract negotiations he and his agent will have with the Orioles. For one, he is having a super season and playing at a very high level. For two, he can simply choose to be a free agent at the end of this year and have several teams pursuing him. For three, the Orioles might be facing a deadline in these talks. If they can't sign him over the next few weeks, would they be forced to trade him by the July 31 deadline before he...

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Hobgood and Berry will likely be Aberdeen-bound soon

July 05, 2011, 9:30pm

Orioles

Hobgood and Berry will likely be Aberdeen-bound soon

Two Orioles pitching prospects that are on the comeback trail from injuries are expected to soon join the short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds. Right-handers Matt Hobgood and Ryan Berry are expected to pitch one more time for the Gulf Coast League O's, probably July 11, and then move to Aberdeen. The 20-year-old Hobgood, the Orioles' top pick in the 2009 draft, is rehabbing a strained right rotator cuff. He is 0-0 with a 3.52 ERA in four games over 7 2/3 innings in the GCL. He has...

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Reynolds homer notes and minor league monthly awards

July 05, 2011, 3:12pm

Orioles

Reynolds homer notes and minor league monthly awards

Here are some Mark Reynolds homer notes after he hit Nos. 19 and 20 in Monday's game. * Reynolds' last five hits have been homers and seven of his last eight hits are home runs. * With 20 homers, Reynolds became the first Oriole since Charles Johnson in 2000 to hit 20 or more homers before the All-Star break. Johnson hit 20 in 2000. According to Elias, the last Oriole to hit 20 before the break in his first year with the Orioles was Frank Robinson (21) in 1966. Robinson won the Triple Crown...

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Minor league notes on Hoes and Snyder

July 05, 2011, 7:31am

Orioles

After getting nine at-bats late last year with Double-A Bowie, Orioles prospect LJ Hoes began this season back with Single-A Frederick. But on May 23, he moved back to Double-A and this time he is staying there. Hoes currently is wielding one of the hottest bats on the O's farm and in 35 Baysox games, he is now batting .320 with no homers, 17 RBIs and a .745 OPS. He also has a most respectable 16-to-13 strikeout-to-walks ratio. Over his past four games, Hoes is 10-for-16. Over his past 14...

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Guerrero's days as Orioles' cleanup hitter could be numbered

July 05, 2011, 4:20am

Orioles

You have to wonder if Vlad Guerrero's time as the Orioles' cleanup hitter is coming to an end. Manager Buck Showalter talked about his concern over Guerrero during the O's last homestand and made similar comments to reporters in Texas yesterday, indicating that if he needs to make an adjustment there, he will. The time has pretty much come for that. I still remember the excitement around Baltimore when Guerrero was signed and the message boards leading up to that were buzzing with how the...

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Aberdeen adds three O's top-10 draft picks

July 04, 2011, 2:10pm

Orioles

Aberdeen adds three O's top-10 draft picks

The Short-Season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds today added three Orioles top-10 draft picks from the 2011 class. The IronBirds added third-round pick RHP Mike Wright, fifth-round pick LHP Matt Taylor, and ninth-round pick RHP Devin Jones. They join seventh-round LHP Trent Howard, and the IronBirds now have four of the Orioles' top-10 draft picks on their roster. Wright made 16 starts this past spring for Eastern Carolina University. A three-year starter for the Pirates, Wright went 6-4 with a...

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The Orioles have good memories of their last Texas trip

July 04, 2011, 11:02am

Orioles

The Orioles begin a series in Texas tonight against the Rangers. The Orioles really enjoyed their last visit to Arlington. They swept four straight, July 8-11 last year right before the All-Star break, from a Rangers team that would go on to win the American League. They won by scores of 6-4, 7-6, 6-1 and 4-1. This was the Orioles' first four-game sweep at Texas in 34 years, since June of 1976 and their first four-game road sweep of any kind since 1995. The players that drove in the runs in...

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Are O's fans diggin' the longball?

July 04, 2011, 5:07am

Orioles

Mark Reynolds can sure fill up a stat sheet. He now has 18 homers to lead the Orioles. He has 46 RBIs and that ties Adam Jones to lead the club. He is also first on the Orioles or tied for first in doubles (15), runs (43) and walks (50). His 50 walks are more than twice the next highest total on the club and that is the 24 walks issued to Luke Scott. Reynolds is batting .229 and is on a pace for 36 homers and 92 RBIs with the Orioles at the mid-point of the season, the 81-game...

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Reynolds' homer saves the day as O's win at Atlanta

July 03, 2011, 12:47pm

Orioles

Reynolds' homer saves the day as O's win at Atlanta

Batting fourth for the first time all year, Mark Reynolds hit another homer, and this one helped get the Orioles a win. After the Birds blew a 3-0 lead, Reynolds' two-run blast to left off Scott Proctor in the seventh, gave the Orioles a 5-4 lead and win today by that score as they salvaged the final game of the series in Atlanta. The Orioles ended a five-game losing streak and are 36-45 at the 81-game, halfway point of the season. Reynolds, who earlier had a sac fly, went 3-for-9 in this...

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Wins have become scarce for Britton but he could get one today

July 03, 2011, 10:53am

Orioles

Wins have become scarce for Britton but he could get one today

When rookie lefty Zach Britton was 4-1 with an ERA of 2.84 at the end of April, his first month in the majors, who would have thought he'd have just six wins total with the All-Star game approaching? But Britton posted just one win in May and one win in June. It certainly wasn't because he had pitched poorly. His ERA is 3.38 through 16 starts. But when Britton took the mound in Atlanta today, he did so with just one win over his last 10 starts since a May 1 victory versus the Chicago White...

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Road trip off to bumpy start

July 02, 2011, 7:54pm

Orioles

Those that were expecting the Orioles to have a tough 10-game road trip are probably not surprised at the losses the last two nights in Atlanta. The Orioles got shut out on one hit in losing Friday. They got three homers and 13 hits and still lost last night. They have that look and feel again. That look of a team heading south and the feeling when watching them that something will go wrong at some point to make them lose again. How you get out of such a rut I am not sure, as Orioles teams...

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Reynolds homers twice, but O's fall 5-4 at Atlanta

July 02, 2011, 5:52pm

Orioles

Reynolds homers twice, but O's fall 5-4 at Atlanta

Mark Reynolds hit two homers tonight in Atlanta and Nick Markakis added another for the Orioles. But, thanks in part to a play that was not made in Atlanta's fourth inning, the Orioles lost 5-4 to the Braves tonight. With two outs and none on in the Atlanta fourth, Chipper Jones doubled and Freddie Freeman walked. Then Dan Uggla hit a liner to left. Luke Scott got his glove on the ball, but could not make the catch as a run scored and the O's failed to nail down the inning's third out on...

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Josh Bell leaves Triple-A game

July 02, 2011, 3:32pm

Orioles

Orioles third base prospect Josh Bell left Game One of Triple-A Norfolk's doubleheader tonight with a left knee injury. He had just one at-bat in the Tides' 4-2 loss to Charlotte. Bell is leading all O's minor leaguers in home runs. On the year he is batting .256 with nine doubles, two triples, 13 homers, 36 RBIs and an OPS of .733. A club official did not know the severity of the injury yet but initially thought it was likely that Bell would not need to go on the minor league seven-day...

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Control and command will be important again for Arrieta tonight

July 02, 2011, 2:59pm

Orioles

Control and command will be important again for Arrieta tonight

As Jake Arrieta takes the mound tonight at Atlanta, here is an interesting Arrieta stat. He is the toughest Orioles' starter to get a base hit off of. Opponent batters hit just .233 off Arrieta while that number is .251 against Zach Britton and .263 against Jeremy Guthrie. There are some observers that feel Arrieta has the best "stuff" on the staff. He has a fastball that hits the mid-90s and a nasty slider. But he struggles with command and control and that is often a battle for him. If...