The Baltimore Orioles tonight selected center fielder ENRIQUE BRADFIELD JR. from Vanderbilt University (TN) with their first selection as the 17^th overall pick of the 2023 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The Orioles also selected outfielder MAC HORVATH at No. 53 overall from the University of North Carolina and right-handed pitcher JACKSON BAUMEISTER at No. 63 overall out of Florida State University.

Bradfield Jr., 21, slashed .279/.410/.429 (65-for-233) with 13 doubles, two triples, six home runs, 69 runs scored, 34 RBI, 45 walks, and 37 stolen bases in 62 games during his junior season. He was named a unanimous preseason All-American, earning first team honors from Baseball America and second-team honors from D1Baseball.com, Perfect Game, and Collegiate Baseball. He was also selected to the Preseason All-SEC First Team and the Preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List. His 130 career stolen bases are the most in program history. Bradfield Jr. attended American Heritage High School in Hialeah, Fla., and helped lead the school to back-to-back 6A District Championships in 2018 and 2019. He was ranked as the fifth-best outfield prospect and the No. 21 overall draft prospect by MLB Pipeline.

Horvath, 21, slashed .305/.418/.711 (73-for-239) with 21 doubles, two triples, 24 home runs, 73 runs scored, 66 RBI, 43 walks, and 25 stolen bases in 60 games during his junior season. He became the first player in school history and first ACC player since 1999 to hit 20 home runs, 20 doubles, and steal 20 bases in a season. Horvath paced the Tar Heels in slugging percentage, runs, RBI, triples, home runs, total bases (170), and stolen bases, earning Second Team All-ACC honors as a result. He attended IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where he pitched and played shortstop. Horvath was ranked as the No. 82 overall draft prospect by MLB Pipeline. 

Baumeister, 21, pitched to a 5-5 record with a 5.09 ERA (39 ER/69.0 IP) with 95 strikeouts in 15 appearances (14 starts) for the Seminoles during his sophomore season, earning a spot on the All-ACC Third Team for his efforts. He was also named National Pitcher of the Week by Perfect Game and NCBWA and ACC Pitcher of the Week after striking out 14 against Clemson on April 6, the most by an ACC pitcher and eighth-most by a Division I pitcher last season. Baumeister attended The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., where he was named an All-American by Baseball America and Florida Times-Union First Coast Player of the Year in his senior year. He was ranked as the No. 167 overall draft prospect by MLB Pipeline.

The Draft continues with Day Two on July 10, with rounds 3-10, and Day Three on Tuesday, July 11, with rounds 11-20, with each day beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET on MLB.com.

In the end, the Nationals didn’t get to make the choice for themselves. The Pirates did it for them.

When Pittsburgh went with right-hander Paul Skenes as the No. 1 pick in this tonight’s Major League Baseball Draft, the Nats made the easy decision to follow with his LSU teammate, award-winning center fielder Dylan Crews, as the No. 2 selection. In the process, the organization used its first draft slot on a position player for only the seventh time in 11 years, though for the third consecutive year.

The Nationals later selected another position player, University of Miami third baseman Yohandy Morales, with the first pick of the second round.

General manager Mike Rizzo, vice president of scouting Kris Kline and their team thought they might wind up having to choose between Skenes or Crews if the Pirates went for a potential cost-saving move and took Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford or Indiana high school outfielder Max Clark with the top pick.

That scenario, which was speculated all week, never came to fruition. Pittsburgh wasn’t scared off by the injury risk of a power pitcher like Skenes and went ahead and drafted the flame-throwing ace anyway.

The Washington Nationals selected collegiate third baseman Yohandy Morales out of the University of Miami with the No. 40 pick in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft on Sunday. President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo, Assistant General Manager & Vice President of Scouting Operations Kris Kline and Director of Scouting Operations Eddie Longosz made the joint announcement.

Morales, 21, garnered Third-Team All-America honors from The American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings and First-Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference recognition following the 2023 season.

The No. 20 draft prospect according to MLBPipeline.com and No. 26 draft prospect according to Baseball America, Morales hit .408 with 13 doubles, 20 home runs, 70 RBI, 30 walks, 55 strikeouts, seven stolen bases and 58 runs scored in 61 games. He posted a .475 on-base percentage and a .713 slugging percentage. Morales ranked in the ACC in batting average (1^st, .408), slugging (3^rd, .713), OPS (3^rd, 1.187), RBI (4^th, 70) and home runs (6^th, 20).

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound junior reached base in 55 of his 61 games in 2023, hitting safely in 50 of those contests. Morales also posted four multi-home run games and 19 multi-RBI games, including three five-RBI performances.

As a sophomore in 2022, Morales was named Second-Team All-Region by ABCA/Rawlings and Second-Team All-ACC after he hit .329 with 17 doubles, three triples, 18 home runs, 59 RBI, 34 walks, six stolen base and 65 runs scored.

The Washington Nationals selected collegiate outfielder Dylan Crews out of Louisiana State University with the No. 2 pick in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft on Sunday. President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo, Assistant General Manager & Vice President of Scouting Operations Kris Kline and Director of Scouting Operations Eddie Longosz made the joint announcement.

Crews, 21, was the winner of the 2023 Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the top amateur player in the country. In addition, he garnered consensus First-Team All-American honors and won a Rawlings/ABCA Gold Glove following the 2023 season. Crews was named the 2023 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Year for the second consecutive season – becoming the first player to win the award in back-to-back seasons, and was a member of the SEC All-Defensive Team two years in a row (2022-23). He was a finalist for the Dick Howser Award (top collegiate player).

The No. 1 draft prospect according to Baseball America, Crews hit .426 with 16 doubles, two triples, 18 home runs, 70 RBI, 71 walks, 46 strikeouts, six stolen bases and 100 runs scored in 71 games as he helped lead LSU to its seventh national championship in the 2023 College World Series. He posted a .567 on-base percentage and a .713 slugging percentage. Crews led the SEC and ranked among NCAA Division I hitters in runs scored (1^st, 100), walks (1^st, 71), hits (2^nd, 110), on-base percentage (2^nd, .567) and batting average (3^rd, .426).

The six-foot, 205-pound junior reached base safely in all 71 games in 2023, a streak that extends to 75 games dating to the end of the 2022 season. Crews hit safely in 26 straight games from Feb. 19 to April 1 of this season. He hit .495 (49-for-99) with an .879 slugging percentage, 11 doubles, nine homers, 35 RBI, 27 walks, three stolen bases and 46 runs scored during the streak.

Crews was a consensus First-Team All-American and the SEC co-Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2022. He hit .349 with 11 doubles, four triples, 22 home runs, 72 RBI, 42 walks, five stolen bases and 73 runs scored in 62 games. He was Louisiana State’s first SEC Player of the Year since 2012, and his 22 home runs were the most by an LSU player since 2009.

MINNEAPOLIS – He is less than a year removed from being selected as the No. 1 overall pick by the Orioles in the 2022 Major League Draft. And today, as a new draft arrives tonight, shortstop Jackson Holliday is headed to Double-A.

MASNSports.com has learned via a team source that Holliday, who played in the All-Star Futures Game Saturday, going 0-for-1, will play his next game for the Double-A Bowie Baysox moving up from High-A Aberdeen.

Holliday, 19, is ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the sport by MLBPipeline.com and No. 2 via Baseball America. He had set a goal to get to Bowie this season and now he has achieved that. 

This move comes with other promotion news as infielder Coby Mayo will move up from Double-A to Triple-A Norfolk and right-hander pitcher Chayce McDermott is also moving from Bowie to Norfolk.

Holliday began this year with Low Single-A Delmarva, but after 14 games there moved to High-A Aberdeen. In 71 games between those clubs, he batted .331/.466/.523/.989 with 17 doubles, six triples, seven homers and 51 RBIs. He controlled the strike zone very well with 64 walks to 67 strikeouts and scored 67 runs with 20 stolen bases.

MINNEAPOLIS – A day that started out with the Orioles striking out often, ended with them pounding the Minnesota Twins 15-2 today behind a barrage of six homers, a few blasted well over 400 feet.

It was a nice way to say goodbye to the first half by saying goodbye to a few baseballs against the pitching staff that began today with the second-best ERA in the majors at 3.56 to Atlanta at 3.55.

The Orioles hit the break at 54-35 with a five-game win streak and they tie a season-high at moving to 19 games above the .500 mark.

The Orioles' .607 win percentage at the break is the eighth-best in team history at this point of the year.

The Orioles scored seven runs in the fifth inning to lead 8-1 and six in the sixth to make it a 14-1 blowout. The six homers are a season-high, doubling up any game this year save for one when they hit a previous season-high four on June 13 versus Toronto.

MINNEAPOLIS – The Orioles have won their past four games by a combined 29-7 score. And, after a 3-1 win in 10 innings Friday and a 6-2 win on Saturday afternoon, the Orioles can complete a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins this afternoon at Target Field.

The Orioles won the last two games of their series at New York by a 20-4 score and carried that momentum into Minnesota. They are 53-35 for the season and have the American League’s best road record at 27-17. A win today would give them a 5-2 road trip and 54 wins heading into the All-Star break.

The Orioles have three sweeps of three games this season:

* At Detroit April 21-23
* At Toronto May 19-21
* Versus Kansas City June 9-11

Saturday’s win for Baltimore was marked by a six-run top of the second inning. It was a strange game in that the Orioles scored six runs on six hits in that inning, but had no runs and no hits in any other inning yesterday. They went 0-for-24 at-bat outside of the second inning versus Twins pitching.

As the baseball world turns to tonight’s Major League Baseball Draft and the upcoming All-Star Game festivities, there were still games to be played today before the close of the season’s unofficial first half.

For the Nationals, that meant going for a series win against the first-place Rangers before they make the second overall pick later tonight.

It’s been a tough week – and to a greater extent month – for the Nats on South Capitol Street. Entering today’s finale, they had lost 15 of their last 17 home games, last night’s 8-4 win being one of the two exceptions.

But after losing six straight at home after Friday, the Nationals now enter the All-Star break as the winners of two straight with this afternoon’s 7-2 victory over the Rangers in front of 17,547 fans in attendance.

“Well, it's a good way to finish off. Boys played well," manager Davey Martinez said after the game. "It was good. You're playing a team that's got some horses over there. To come out the way we did the last two games was awesome. These guys, I'm proud of the way they're playing and the way they played."

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

- Reinstated INF Ryan Mountcastle from the 10-day Injured List.

- Optioned LHP Bruce Zimmermann to Triple-A Norfolk.

The Orioles announced a roster move this morning, reinstating first baseman Ryan Mountcastle from the injured list and optioning left-hander Bruce Zimmermann to Triple-A Norfolk.

Mountcastle was set to complete his 20-day rehab assignment with Norfolk after going on the IL with vertigo. He hasn’t played for the Orioles since June 8 in Milwaukee and was in a 4-for-30 slump.

Mountcastle told the media in Minnesota that he hadn’t felt the effects of vertigo in the past. He isn’t in the lineup.

Today’s transaction leaves the Orioles with 12 pitchers and 14 position players. Manager Brandon Hyde used only two relievers yesterday, Bryan Baker and Danny Coulombe, behind starter Tyler Wells in a 6-2 win.

The Orioles play their final game of the season’s first half this afternoon. They’re two behind the first-place Rays in the division, and both teams have 35 losses.

The day before the All-Star break is always a slow one. It’s especially slow when playing a noon game after a night game that included an hour and 17-minute rain delay.

Guys are packing their bags to head home for the break and making sure all of their gear is ready to be shipped to meet the team in St. Louis at the end of the week.

So let’s talk more about the Nationals’ biggest development over this weekend, shall we?

Joey Meneses’ swing may be back.

After only hitting two home runs over the first 87 games of the season, he hit three in less than 24 hours in the previous two. Over the first two games against the Rangers, Meneses has gone 4-for-8 with a double, three homers, four RBIs and no strikeouts.

Before we turn our attention to the Nationals’ No. 2 overall pick in tonight’s MLB Draft and the upcoming All-Star Game festivities, there is still one more game to be played before the unofficial first half of the season ends.

The Nats will look to close this first part of the season on a high note, one of the few they’ve seen at home this season. They have lost 15 of their last 17 home games and need a win this afternoon for some sort of momentum heading into the break.

Patrick Corbin will hope to lead the Nats to that victory in his 19th start. The left-hander is 5-10 with a 5.13 ERA and 1.593 WHIP this season. He got knocked around for six runs and 10 hits over five innings during his July 4 start against the Reds, which came after one of his best starts as a National in the form of seven shutout innings and nine strikeouts against the Mariners. Corbin is 4-3 with a 4.75 ERA and 1.373 WHIP in eight interleague starts this season.

A familiar face will start for the Rangers. Dane Dunning was a first-round pick (29th overall) by the Nats in the 2016 draft. The University of Florida product was traded that December along with Lucas Giolito and Renaldo López to the White Sox in exchange for Adam Eaton. Dunning was traded again in 2020 to the Rangers as part of the two-player package for Lance Lynn.

The 28-year-old right-hander is enjoying his best year in the majors with an 8-1 record, 2.61 ERA and 1.100 WHIP over 19 appearances (11 starts). He’s pitched to a 2.28 ERA over his last four starts, allowing no more than two runs in any of them. His only start against the Nationals came last year here in D.C., when he completed six innings of one-run ball while taking a no-decision in the Nats’ 2-1 win.

MINNEAPOLIS - A four-game win streak by the Orioles as the first half is about to end today was a nice response to a 1-6 stretch. Where some feared they could get swept by the Yankees after losing Monday and Tuesday in the Bronx, they are 4-0 since and have outscored their opposition 29-7.

They've won a couple of close games, one in extra innings, gotten four games of clutch hits, had one resounding blowout and one comfortable win and otherwise showed a nice finishing kick. 

They are who you thought they were if you thought that was a solid playoff contender and one with one of MLB's best records. 

Some of Birdland's angst and panic by a few recently was unfounded.

And last night, Atlanta beat Tampa Bay 6-1, handing the Rays a seventh straight loss. The Orioles moved to within two games of first place and the O's and Rays both now have 35 losses. 

Since they arrived in Washington nearly two decades ago, the Nationals have been in this position – owners of one of the top two picks in the Major League Baseball Draft – twice. In each case, they owned the No. 1 pick. And in each case, they drafted a generational talent whose name and reputation were already well-known throughout the sport.

Tonight, they’re back in this position for the first time since 2009-10, when they selected Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper and set a course toward an eight-year run of success and an eventual World Series title.

It’s not the No. 1 pick this time around. But if ever there was a year to have the No. 2 pick, this appears to be it. No matter who they end up with, the Nationals are going to draft a player every notable expert insists is good enough to be the No. 1 player selected in the country. Not to mention one who should find himself on a fast track to the big leagues.

“This pick could be somebody that changes us really quick, within one or two years,” manager Davey Martinez recently admitted. “It’s definitely exciting how this is all going to work out.”

There was little drama the last time the Nats were here. Everybody knew Strasburg was the choice in 2009, and everybody knew Harper was the pick in 2010. That’s not the case this time.

The first two rounds of the draft air tonight beginning at 7 p.m. on ESPN and MLB Network. Pick your prospect poison.

The Orioles have the 17^th, 53^rd and 63^rd selections tonight, the latter in Competitive Balance Round B. This is the latest that they’ve gone since taking Georgia high school left-hander DL Hall 21^st in 2017.

Hall remains in Sarasota on a program to build strength and velocity before reentering Triple-A Norfolk’s rotation. That’s the last we’ve heard about him.

I saw that the Tides placed outfielder Heston Kjerstad on the temporary inactive list yesterday, had a brief panic attack and remembered that he played in last night’s All-Star Futures Game in Seattle.

Kjerstad started in right field and went 1-for-2. Jackson Holliday came off the bench, because being the No. 1 prospect in baseball doesn't guarantee you a spot in the lineup, and struck out in his only at-bat.

Forgive anyone who sat through today’s proceedings at Nationals Park and worried things were going to end up just like they did the previous five days here. It was hot again. It was humid again. It rained again. A first-place team was in the visitors’ dugout again. Surely, another loss by the home team was forthcoming again, right?

Not so fast. The conditions may have felt familiar, but the end result was most unfamiliar. The Nationals actually won.

Yes, for only the second time in their last 17 home games, the Nats emerged victorious, storming out to an early lead against the Rangers, then weathering another rain delay before cruising to an 8-3 win before a crowd of 29,042 that barely remembered how to celebrate such an occasion.

That crowd was treated to a 4-0 lead by the Nationals before they even made an out in the first, an 8-0 lead by the time the third inning came to a close.

"I talk about it all the time: It's a lot different ballgame if you go out there and score first," manager Davey Martinez said. "I hope these guys learned today by going out there and putting some runs up on the board early, our pitcher gets to relax a little bit, and they get to relax a little bit and have some fun. Hopefully, we come out tomorrow and do the same thing." 

Jeimer Candelario is back in the Nationals lineup after one day off with a knee injury, but he’s not back at third base yet.

Candelario, who was struck in the right knee with a pitch during the 10th inning of Thursday’s loss to the Reds, sat out Friday night’s series opener against the Rangers. He attempted to take swings in the cage prior to the game but wasn’t comfortable doing it.

The 29-year-old gave it another try today and felt better, telling manager Davey Martinez he could hit but probably not play the field. So he’ll serve as designated hitter for this afternoon’s game.

“We talked to him; he said he could hit,” Martinez said. “We’ll just DH him today, and hopefully by tomorrow he’ll get back on the field.”

The Nationals sorely missed Candelario’s bat during Friday’s loss, one that saw them score only two runs, each via Joey Meneses solo homers. Candelario has statistically been the team’s second-best hitter this season, trailing only Lane Thomas with 12 homers and an .814 OPS. He’s also second in the National League with 27 doubles.

Will the Nationals win a home game today? If they do, will they pop champagne in the clubhouse? At this point, anything’s possible.

Having begun this homestand 0-5, and having lost 15 of their last 16 home games overall, the Nats are desperate for something positive to happen on South Capitol Street. The good news: All the top relievers should be available today after sitting Friday night. So if Jake Irvin can give them five or six quality innings (no guarantee, of course) they should at least be in a good position to compete late.

Above all else, though, this lineup needs to start scoring some runs. The Nationals have totaled 14 runs on this homestand, an average of 2.8 per game for those who need help with the math. They’re asking an awful lot of their pitching staff to compensate for that. Perhaps they can finally enjoy some success this afternoon against Rangers lefty Andrew Heaney.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. TEXAS RANGERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 86 degrees, wind 6 mph right field to left field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
RF Lane Thomas
DH Jeimer Candelario
1B Joey Meneses
C Keibert Ruiz
LF Stone Garrett
3B Ildemaro Vargas
2B Luis García
CF Alex Call

Joey Meneses didn’t need to be told. He knew how long it had been since he’d hit a baseball over a fence in a game.

Not that it stopped anyone and everyone from talking to him about it. Which, in turn, made it awfully hard not to think about it.

“Absolutely,” the Nationals designated hitter said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “It seems like everybody reminds you of that. Friends. Teammates. Just in general, it seems like you get a comment saying: ‘Why aren’t the home runs coming?’ So you always have it in your mind.”

Perhaps that’s what prompted Meneses to do what he did in the bottom of the sixth Friday night: Toss his bat in defiant celebration and look at his dugout after he ended a two-month home run drought with a two-homer game.

“It’s somewhat of a relief,” he said. “I can take a deep breath and relax a little bit. It’s my job to hit, so it was great to be able to hit two home runs today.”

MINNEAPOLIS – Cole Irvin was not “swirvin” this time. Irvin, who uses that nickname in his Twitter handle, was very much in balance and control tonight and he was setting down the Minnesota Twins with regularity.

His season ERA was 6.32 at game time, but his ERA since his latest return to the Orioles roster June 10 was 3.44 in five games. He gave up two runs in eight innings his last two starts, one rain interrupted. He had shown signs he was getting his act together.

Tonight, in front of 32,724 fans at Target Field in the opener of this three-game series, we saw more evidence.  

Irvin left with a lead but could not get a win tonight.

But the Orioles did.