Boras on client Aloy as "an adaptive athlete"

Shortstop Wehiwa Aloy doesn’t possess a broad knowledge of the team that drafted him 31^st overall earlier this month. He grew up in Hawaii and attended college at Sacramento State and Arkansas. He won’t nail a quiz on the Orioles, though he’s probably done some homework since hearing his name called.

Here’s what he does know, which he shared yesterday in a video call with the local media:

“Just the development of players that have come through here. Seen it for a long time now and it’s just getting better every day.”

That’s what the Orioles expect Aloy to do.

They were linked to him at No. 19 in some mocks, but he fell to their third pick of the evening. The first round wasn’t in doubt. The only mystery was where he’d land, and the answer came while he sat on a couch with his parents, grandmother and sister.

“I think gradually as I kind of matured in college, going from Sacramento State to Arkansas, I just developed into the player I am today,” he said. “And once I got to Arkansas, I think it was a very high possibility.”

Teams tend to notice when a young player is named Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, and wins the Golden Spikes and Southeastern Conference Player of the Year awards as a junior. Aloy slashed .350/.434/.673 with 19 doubles, two triples, 21 home runs and 68 RBIs this season. Over his college career, he hit .332/.406/.609 with 43 doubles, seven triples, 49 homers and 170 RBIs in 181 games.

“Wehiwa is an adaptive athlete,” agent Scott Boras, who joined Aloy on the video call, said when asked to provide a comp. “He is someone that really has evolved in the collegiate world and going from Sac State to Arkansas, facing velocity, and also facing an SEC opponent where you’re on an infield playing in front of an audience. So the idea of who he’s like is probably your more athletic major leaguers, where he’s got power to the opposite field, power to the gaps. He’s got arm strength. But the truth of it is that what player Wehiwa will end up being will be one where you’re looking at athletes who come to the major leagues and you’re finding that they’re most adaptive.

“It reminds me of - not in form because Wehiwa, obviously, is bigger and more stronger than he was in college - but Trea Turner was an athlete that played center field, played shortstop, that really can play most anywhere on the infield. And Wehiwa has that touch power, where he has the ability to really drive the baseball to the opposite field with power. So it’s something that adds to an organization where you get someone that is very offensive-inclined with power but they can play in the dirt, really play anywhere.”

Aloy won’t fight change but he has an obvious preference.

“As long as possible, I think shortstop would be the decision,” he said, “and in the long run, just wherever they need me.”

Aloy wouldn’t be the first Hawaiian native to play for the Orioles, but he could be the first draft choice. They can go way back to infielder/emergency catcher Lenn Sakata, or left-hander Sid Fernandez, or more recently, starter Scott Feldman, and much more recently, reliever Rico Garcia. The foursome is among 49 to do it in the majors. But it isn’t always easy to get on the map from so far away.

“I feel like it was not really known for Hawaii kids to go out there and go to the mainland and just take opportunities to be in sports or anything like that,” Aloy said. “So it’s just very cool.”

Aloy wasn’t alone in this draft. The Marlins selected Oregon State infielder Aiva Arquette, from Kailua, Hawaii, at seventh overall. Aloy knew him growing up, competed against him in high school.

“Kind of showing the kids back home that it’s possible,” he said.

Boras referenced it when asked about the intangibles that Aloy brings to the organization and what Orioles fans should know about him.

“Just the will and the drive to take on the challenges,” Boras said.

“When you go through the process that Wehiwa’s gone through, from high school to college, being a player in Hawaii, where the colleges didn’t really address him initially to know his abilities. And then he got some great coaching at Sac State, and then he advanced. And then he goes to Arkansas and he advances even further. So it says a lot about his adaptiveness, his intellect, his willingness to take a challenge. Really, that’s why pro ball, I think, will be great for Wehiwa, because each step of the way he’s enjoyed, he’s accomplished, and he’s had a personality where he’s just really got the character to take on the struggles of it, achieve it, overcome it.

“And the other thing about the Aloy family is that you’re just not going to find a more positive group. They bring a culture to them that I think is very rewarding to a locker room, and I think the Oriole organization is certainly going to enjoy Wehiwa and the Aloy family that comes with it.”

Boras wasn’t done.

“And by the way, the Hawaiian food is extraordinary,” he said. “Just so you know.”