The Nationals have hit the pot of gold when it comes to the First-Year Player Draft. Three recent first-round picks, two of them No. 1 overall selections, are starters for the team right now. Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon are considered by many, including ESPN's Jim Callis, the best three-year run in the First-Year Player Draft ever. The Nationals have built their system behind strong pitching. They have also sent off top prospects like Alex Meyer to get starters like...

This evening, the Nationals will take part in the First-Year Player Draft for the 10th time. In their existence, they've drafted near the top more often than not, and their first season in 2005 was no different. The Nationals held the fourth pick in what would turn out to be one of the best first rounds of any MLB draft. With the fourth pick that year, the Nationals selected third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Two other third basemen were taken within the first five picks that year. All three of...

Once you have given up the 17th and 35th picks in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft, why not part with another one? That is a question the Orioles face now, as they have been linked to players like Nelson Cruz and Kendrys Morales on the free agent market. This morning on MLB Network, Ken Rosenthal said the Mariners and Orioles remain the most likely landing spots for Cruz, with his last team, Texas, still a possibility. Last summer, the Orioles traded a competitive balance pick to Houston in...

The Nationals have completed the First-Year Player draft, making their final seven picks (click here and here to get a rundown of today's previous draft action from MASNsports.com's Byron Kerr). At this point, most clubs are doing some serious prospecting on guy who may or may not pan out, but the Nationals came up with a couple of interesting names in the draft's later rounds. They took left-hander Jake Walsh out of Missouri with thir 34th-round pick, then followed up in the 35th with...

Following the selection of center fielder William Ballou in the 15th round, the Nationals picked another center fielder in the 16th round. At No. 496, the Nationals picked Willie Allen out of Western Oklahoma State College. The 6-foot-2, 191-pounder, is in his second season at the JuCo level, and throws and bats right-handed. In the 17th round, the Nationals selected catcher Geoffrey Perrott out of Rice University. The 22-year-old batted .271 in 57 games, with nine doubles, one triple, one...

Following the selection of Cody Gunter, the Nationals have made these selections: At No. 226 in the seventh round, the Nationals selected University of Delaware first baseman James Yezzo, the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year. The 21-year-old Yezzo is 6-foot-1 and 190 lbs., bats left and throws right. Yezzo hit .410 and slugged .714 for the Blue Hens this past season. At No. 256 in the eighth round, the Nationals picked left-hander David Napoli out of Tulane University. The...

The Orioles reached contract agreements with three draft picks today, coming to terms with second-round pick Branden Kline, a pitcher from the University of Virginia, along with fourth-rounder first baseman Christian Walker and seventh-round pick pitcher Matt Price. Both Walker and Price played at the University of South Carolina. Kline, from Thomas Johnson High in Frederick, Md., went 7-3 with a 3.56 ERA this year at UVa, pitching as a starter after being named all-ACC in 2011 as the...

The Orioles' scouting staff and scouting director Gary Rajsich have been very busy lately. Not only did the club draft 40 players last week but the team has already come to contract terms with over 20 players, MASNsports.com has learned. The team has only officially announced the signings of six players but that is just because they wait until the contracts have been approved by Major League Baseball to officially announce the names. Many more have agreed and it's just a matter of time until...

The Nationals announced they have signed 10 of their first 14 picks from last week's First-Year Player draft. They are second baseman Tony Renda (second round), outfielder Brandon Miller (fourth round), catcher Spencer Kieboom (fifth round), center fielder Hayden Jennings (sixth round), right-hander Derek Self (ninth round), catcher Craig Manuel (10th round), right-hander Brian Rauh (11th round), third baseman Carlos Lopez (12th round), left-hander Elliott Waterman (13th round) and right...

He pitched on the mound at Camden Yards yesterday and tonight he agreed to a contract with the Orioles. The Orioles this evening came to terms with a local Baltimore product, 19th-round draft pick Josh Hader, a left-handed pitcher from Old Mill High in Anne Arundel County, MASNsports.com has learned. The 6-foot-3, 160-lb. Hader had tremendous stats this season, going 10-0 with an ERA of 0.39. and he fanned 125 batters over 72 2/3 innings. Hader pitched two shutout innings yesterday at Camden...

Nationals director of scouting Kris Kline met with reporters via conference call Thursday to discuss the draft, which wrapped up earlier in the week. The Nationals selected right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito, out of Harvard-Westlake High School in Calif., at No. 16. The 6-foot-6, 230 lb., hurler has an explosive fastball and a power curve. Kline said general manager Mike Rizzo will handle negotiations with Giolito's representatives in hopes of getting him signed before the July 13 deadline at...

BOSTON - It's been another slow day covering the Orioles. They draft Cal Ripken's son and John Russell's son - who just happens to be sitting in their clubhouse - and Brian Graham's nephew. They activate Zach Britton from the 60-day disabled list and option him to Triple-A Norfolk. They transfer Stu Pomeranz to the 60-day DL. They sign 49-year-old Jamie Moyer to a minor league contract and announce that he's starting Saturday for the Tides. They put Double-A Bowie pitcher Mike Wright,...

BOSTON - Another version of Family Ties is airing in the Orioles organization today. Earlier this afternoon, they selected Ryan Ripken, the son of Hall of Famer Cal Ripken in the 20th round of the First-Year Player Draft. And a few minutes ago, they used their 32nd-round pick on Midland (Tx.) College catcher William "Steel" Russell, the son of bench coach John Russell Steel Russell has been with the team for a few days and sat in the visiting clubhouse at Fenway Park when the Orioles...

BOSTON - The Orioles haven't posted their lineup yet, but the Red Sox have shared their starting nine with us. For the Red Sox: Scott Podsednik CF Dustin Pedroia 2B Adrian Gonzalez 1B David Ortiz DH Kevin Youkilis 3B Jarrod Saltalamacchia C Ryan Sweeney RF Daniel Nava LF Mike Aviles SS Jon Lester LHP The Orioles swept the Red Sox in three games at Fenway Park on May 4-6 for the first time since June 10-12, 1994. They've won eight of their last 11 and 10 of their last 13 games overall...

In the fifth round of the First-Year Player Draft, the Orioles selected a left-handed pitcher from a Texas high school. They selected Colin Poche with the 162nd overall pick. Poche is a 6-foot-3, 190-lb. hurler from Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas. He has a college commitment to the University of Arkansas. He was rated as the 99th-best prospect in the state of Texas by Baseball America. He becomes the second high school player and third pitcher the Orioles have taken in this...

The Washington Nationals' first-round selection, right-hander Lucas Giolito, is another in the long line of big power pitchers that general manager Mike Rizzo and his staff covet. And as it seems every year in early June, Rizzo finds a way to get his man. "We have been on this guy from day one," Rizzo said. "The reward outweighs the risk. He is a power body with a power arm with three plus pitches."

Kevin Gausman, the LSU pitcher drafted fourth overall by the Orioles tonight, has heard scouting reports that call him quirky. He doesn't dispute that notion."My quirkiness, well, I've always been a little weird, really," the 20-year-old right-hander said. "You know I like sci-fi movies. I eat four donuts in between every inning. So you know, that's a little weird. It is something I started back in middle school, so I've been doing that for a while now. The way I live my life, I like to be a little different than other people,"On a more serious matter, Gausman has heard criticism of his breaking pitches also in those scouting reports on him."I think I definitely have it in there. I really just started throwing a true curveball this season. So, I haven't had much time to develop it," he said. "My slider has been a good pitch for me lately. That is another breaking pitch I have in my arsenal. Some days I really feel comfortable with it and other days I have to work to find it."I think my development as a pitcher and going forward is going to kind of depend on that. I'll be a fastball-changeup guy my entire career, but what is going to make the biggest difference is which breaking pitch I will decide to throw and which will be my bread and butter, and which one I may do away with."The guy at LSU working with him on all his pitches has been Tigers pitching coach Alan Dunn, a former Orioles bullpen coach and minor league pitching coordinator."A.D., he really came in here and hit the ground running with all the guys on our pitching staff. I have a great relationship with him and he definitely had something to do with this. His background with the Orioles is good and no one has a bad word to say about him," Gausman said."It has been huge for me coming here (to LSU) and I couldn't imagine being in the minor leagues at 19. I was pretty immature and didn't know anything about pitching and didn't have a pitching coach. Coming here and playing two years in the SEC, I think the best conference in all of baseball, has been huge for me. Every Friday night, we get about 9,000 here and it's pretty crazy. I've matured leaps and bounds since high school, not just on the mound, but as a person and in every aspect of my life."Gausman has heard his name linked to the Orioles for a while now but he said he still wasn't sure which team would call his name tonight when the draft began."This day has kind of been a roller coaster. I didn't sleep very much last night and woke up this morning and didn't know what to think. I really didn't know what was going to happen. It was a little weird to sit back and watch. I was kind of shocked that I was taken by Baltimore. Obviously I'm very honored," he said."The last (LSU) pitcher taken this high was Ben McDonald and he was an Oriole, so that is something I am excited about. I've met Ben before and he has great things to say about Baltimore. I keep hearing about the crabs, so I'm excited about that."With (Stanford pitcher Mark) Appel falling and everyone saying that he was the best pitcher, I obviously expected him to go before me. I'm just really honored they decided to pick me and see where this goes."Gausman was asked about signing with the Orioles and if he feels he will pitch in the minors for the club this summer at some point. Gausman has thrown 115 2/3 innings so far and LSU is in the NCAA Super Regionals this weekend. If the Tigers win that best-of-three series, they will advance to the College World Series."It kind of depends on how I feel and how many (more) innings I throw. I could end up throwing another 25, maybe even 30 innings. It kind of depends on that. I've been going at it for about two years straight and that has something to do with it. We'll sit down and figure that out in the later months," Gausman said."I feel confident (about signing). They feel strongly about me or they would not have picked me. I think they will get a deal done and I feel confident about it. I'm truly honored to be selected by Baltimore, an organization that is so well known and has been around baseball so long."Note about the minors: As I mentioned in an earlier entry, Norfolk catcher Luis Exposito, who was with the Orioles less than two weeks ago, suffered a broken hamate bone today and will be out four or more weeks for the Tides.I have learned that the Orioles will send catcher Caleb Joseph from Double-A Bowie to Norfolk to take his roster spot there and that Brian Ward, whose 50-game suspension ended over the weekend, will be going to Bowie.

Orioles scouting director Gary Rajsich was asked tonight on a conference call with Baltimore reporters about his decision to select LSU right-hander Mark Appel fell down the board and was available at four. What was the deciding factor between the two pitchers for Rajsich? "There were appealing things about both pitchers, although we feel we got the one we really wanted," Rajsich said. Rajsich told MASNsports.com tonight that Gausman was the highest-rated player on his draft board when it...

BOSTON - In the end, the Orioles couldn't resist the allure of a college pitcher. And they had their pick of the best ones. Despite strong interest in high school left-hander Max Fried and San Francisco right-hander Kyle Zimmer, and the unexpected availability of Stanford's Mark Appel, the Orioles chose LSU right-hander Dylan Bundy in 2011,

As of about 3:30 this afternoon, it appears that Orioles officials are still not certain who the top three selections in tonight's First-Year Player Draft will be and they are hoping to learn that before the draft starts so they can determine their best move with the fourth pick. In some past drafts, those top few picks were known among scouting directors with hours to go before the draft but not this year. No one seems certain even which player Houston will take with the draft's top pick....