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Orioles CEO and Chairman John Angelos and Gov. Wes Moore issued a joint statement this morning saying that progress is being made on their vision to “expand and revitalize the Camden Yards campus.”
The timing of the statement comes as the All-Star break nears its conclusion, which probably isn't a coincidence.
Angelos told the media in February, during a visit to the spring training complex in Sarasota, that he hoped a new stadium lease would be finalized by the break as a “gift for everybody, really, in the community.” However, a deal with the Maryland Stadium Authority hasn’t been struck.
Today’s statement didn’t provide details on negotiations or a timeline, but it read:
“The last four months have been exciting on and off the field. Baltimore City and the State of Maryland all have Orioles fever. We’ve laid the groundwork for success, and progress is also being made on our vision to expand and revitalize the Camden Yards campus.
Yesterday in this space we discussed the 100-pitch mark for starting pitchers in big league baseball. It is becoming more and more rare for some to hit the century mark in pitch cout. The Orioles have just 11 games this year where their starter went 100 or more pitches. Yet they still rank 12th in MLB and seventh in the AL as their starters average 88.9 pitches per game.
There are just six teams in MLB that average 90 or more starter pitches per night at the All-Star break and the leader is the Chicago White Sox at 94.1. No MLB team even averages 95 pitches per game from their starting rotation.
The White Sox lead the majors with 33 games with a hurler going 100 pitches or more this year, per Stats Perform. Philadelphia is next with 27 followed by San Diego and Toronto with 25 and Atlanta with 23. At, the O's rank tied for 19th. Colorado is last with just two such games and Tampa Bay has second fewest with five.
O’s manager Brandon Hyde discussed in this space yesterday the trend throughout the industry where, and he said, “for some very good reasons” teams don’t train pitchers on the farm to throw this many pitches. Some pitchers have to learn to get deeper only when they get to the majors.
“I’d love to push these guys as far as they possibly can go. Yeah,” Hyde said recently. “You know, it’s a lot easier to do when you are up 6-1 than in a 3-2 game when you walk the leadoff hitter in the sixth or seventh inning. Every circumstance is totally different and things change on a night-to-night basis. But I go into a game, excluding Tyler Wells last year, saying I’m going to take our pitcher that day as far as I can possibly go to try and win the game. Thinking that way.”
The 2023 baseball draft started Sunday night with the Orioles picking Vanderbilt center fielder Enrique Bradfield at No. 17 overall and concluded this afternoon with their selection of North Greenville (S.C.) University shortstop Jalen Vasquez in the 20th round.
The next steps are getting as many signatures on contracts as possible, figuring out minor league assignments, and making cuts to create room.
Twenty-two players were drafted, only two out of high school. The first 16 were college players.
The Orioles selected 13 college pitchers, five outfielders, one shortstop and one catcher. They also picked a high school outfielder and shortstop.
"In terms of what we're looking to accomplish, I think a lot of our resources are dedicated toward the college crop," said director of draft operations Brad Ciolek. "However, we did extensive work on a lot of high school players, a lot of junior college players. ... But yeah, we do focus a majority on the college crop because that's a lot of the data that we do get and allows us to do a deep dive on those players."
It has become a barrier for starting pitchers in Major League Baseball. A pitch count that reaches 100. We don’t see it very often anymore. Commonplace back in the day, so to speak, not so much anymore.
In fact there are just six teams that average even 90 or more pitches per night from their starters among the 30 clubs in the major leagues right now.
94.1 - Chicago White Sox
92.1 - Houston
91.1 - Washington
91.0 - Toronto and St. Louis
90.6 - Los Angeles Angels
That is the list. No other team averages more than 90 pitches a game from their starters.
The team ranking last is a shocker. It’s Tampa Bay at 74.1. I imagine that's due in part to the Rays' frequent use of openers.
The Orioles apparently had a need for speed in the first round of the draft.
They used the No. 17 overall selection on Vanderbilt outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr., 21, a left-handed hitter who Baseball America grades an 80 runner and fielder.
Bradfield stole 130 bases at a 90.9 percent success rate in 191 games. He batted .311/.426/.447 with 31 doubles, 11 triples, 15 home runs and 108 RBIs.
Also appealing to the Orioles is the 14.7 percent walk rate, compared to a 13.5 percent strikeout rate. He made contact at an 87 percent rate this season.
The power is lacking, with Bradfield given a 30 grade as more of a line drive hitter.
The Baltimore Orioles made 10 selections on Day Three of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft, completing Rounds 11-20. This year, the Orioles selected 22 players overall: 13 pitchers and nine position players, with 20 of the selections being college athletes and two from the high school ranks. The Orioles selected 12 right-handed pitchers, one left-handed pitcher, six outfielders, two infielders, and one catcher.
ROUND PLAYER POS SCHOOL HOMETOWN D.O.B. HT WT B/T Scout
1 (17) Enrique Bradfield Jr. CF Vanderbilt University (TN) Hialeah, FL 12/2/2001 6-1 170 L/L Friedrich
2 (53) Mac Horvath OF University of North Carolina Rochester, MN 1/28/2002 6-1 195 R/R Boyd
The media scrums at designated tables and the red carpet fashion show were over. The four Orioles All-Stars could just play baseball tonight. Hoping to do it in the same way that got them to Seattle.
Some succeeded, but it wasn’t a clean sweep.
Austin Hays went 1-for-2 as the starting center fielder for the American League, making him a career .500 hitter in the Midsummer Classic.
The top of the sixth belonged to Yennier Cano, who struck out two batters and stranded two. Adley Rutschman entered at the same time, caught the last four innings and went 0-for-1.
Félix Bautista worked the eighth, a familiar masked face setting the target, and he surrendered a go-ahead, two-run homer to Rockies catcher Elias Díaz.
Orioles director of draft operations Brad Ciolek was excited to nab each of the 12 picks the club has made during the first two days of the MLB Draft. The Orioles selected seven pitchers and five outfielders through 10 rounds.
But one player that showed the club especially loud tools and did so in a pre-draft workout at Camden Yards was round five selection, UNC-Charlotte outfielder Jake Cunningham. The right-handed batter and thrower hit .267/.359/.519 this past season with 14 doubles, 11 homers and 41 RBIs. Ranked as the No. 140 draft prospect by Baseball America and No. 147 by MLBPipeline.com, he has hit 29 homers in 146 career college games.
"I think the one name that we were excited about getting him where we did - we're actually ecstatic about all these guys - is Jake Cunningham," said Ciolek. "He was on our radar last year at UNC-Charlotte. He is a tool shed. He has double plus raw power in BP. He is a plus runner and one of those guys that has instincts for center field.
"In a workout at Camden Yards leading up to the draft, he was up to 111 (exit velocity mph) with wood. So, we are very excited to get all these guys, but to get Jake where we got him, coming into the year he did battle some injuries, but we were excited to get Jake where we did."
You can take a look at this story posted yesterday for write ups on all the draft picks from Day 2 with a few more Ciolek quotes there as well.
Orioles closer Zack Britton earned the save in the American League’s 4-2 win in the 2016 All-Star Game in San Diego, with teammate Matt Wieters catching him in the ninth inning.
Could Félix Bautista be next tonight, with Adley Rutschman setting the target for him?
Bautista became the full-time closer last summer after Jorge López was traded to the Twins, but he already had two saves in a May series in St. Louis. López was on the bereavement list.
The series is referenced a lot when the subject turns to the moment that the Orioles knew they could be a winning team, though they went to Detroit and were swept. The May 12 game was special because the bench was depleted due to injuries, Bryan Baker started in a bullpen game, and the conditions were miserable.
Bautista got the four-out save in a 3-2 win. Jorge Mateo ran down a popup with his back to the infield, spun and doubled off Tyler O’Neill at first base to end the game. Anthony Bemboom received a rare start against a left-hander, Steven Matz – the Cardinals were slow to reveal their starter - and he hit a rare home run in the seventh inning.
The Baltimore Orioles today made nine selections on Day Two of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft, completing Rounds 3-10. The Orioles started the day by selecting right-handed pitcher KIEFER LORD at No. 86 overall from the University of Washington. The Orioles also selected outfielder TAVIAN JOSENBERGER at No. 100 overall from the University of Arkansas, right-handed pitcher LEVI WELLS at No. 118 overall from Texas State University, outfielder JAKE CUNNINGHAM at No. 154 overall from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, right-handed pitcher JACOB CRAVEY at No. 181 overall from Samford University (AL), right-handed pitcher TEDDY SHARKEY at No. 211 overall from Coastal Carolina University (SC), right-handed pitcher BRAXTON BRAGG at No. 241 overall from Dallas Baptist University (TX), right-handed pitcher ZACH FRUIT at No. 271 overall from Troy University (AL), and outfielder MATTHEW ETZEL at No. 301 overall from Southern Mississippi University.
Lord, 21, sported a 6-5 record with a 6.19 ERA (52 ER/75.2 IP) and 78 strikeouts in 15 starts for the Huskies during his junior season. He earned an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention nod after leading the conference in K/BB ratio (4.59) and BB/9 (2.02). Lord was named Collegiate Baseball National Pitcher of the Week by Perfect Game and Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week after tossing 6.0 perfect innings with 10 strikeouts on March 4 against Northern Colorado. He was again honored as the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week after working 8.0 scoreless frames on three hits with 10 punchouts on April 22 at No. 9 Stanford. He spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn. A California native, Lord attended Menlo High School in Atherton, Calif. He was ranked as the No. 127 overall draft prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Josenberger, 21, slashed .286/.414/.490 (55-for-192) with nine doubles, 10 home runs, 51 runs scored, 33 RBI, 41 walks, and 13 stolen bases in 52 games during his junior season for the Razorbacks. He paced the team in stolen bases and finished second on the team with 19 multi-hit games. Earned All-SEC Defensive Team honors after logging a perfect fielding percentage in 137 total chances, recording a team-leading seven outfield assists and helping to turn five double plays. He was named SEC Player of the Week on April 3 after helping power the Hogs to a 3-1 week, including an SEC weekend series win against Alabama, slashing .571/.657/1.143 (8-for-14) with two doubles, two home runs, eight runs scored, and six RBI. Josenberger spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at the University of Kansas. He attended Park Hill High School in Kansas City, Mo. He was ranked as the No. 156 overall draft prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Wells, 21, pitched to an 8-4 record with a 5.02 ERA (45 ER/80.2 IP) and a team-high 98 strikeouts in 14 starts for the Bobcats during his junior season, earning a spot on the All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team as a result. He was also tabbed as a preseason Third-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, D1Baseball.com, Perfect Game, and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Wells was named Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week and Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week after tossing a complete game with a career-high 13 strikeouts on April 14 vs. Marshall. He was also recognized as the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week after working 5.0 scoreless innings on two hits with three walks and nine punchouts on February 17 vs. Northwestern, his 2023 debut. Wells spent his freshman season at Texas Tech University. He attended La Porte High School in his hometown of La Porte, Texas. He was ranked as the No. 96 overall draft prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Cunningham, 21, slashed .267/.359/.519 (50-for-187) with 14 doubles, 11 home runs, 40 runs scored, 41 RBI, 25 walks, and one stolen base in 49 appearances (47 starts) during his junior season for the 49ers. During his sophomore season in 2022, he played and started in center field in all but one of Charlotte's 58 games. slashed .304/.410/.595 (69-for-227) with 12 doubles, three triples, 16 home runs, 38 walks, 16 stolen bases, and 52 RBI. Cunningham launched his second grand slam of the season in the Conference USA Tournament against Middle Tennessee on May 26, 2022. He earned C-USA Hitter of the Week on May 16, 2022. Cunningham attended Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, N.C. He was ranked as the No. 147 overall draft prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Enrique Bradfield Jr. received Mike Elias’ cell phone number last night from his agent and decided to show the same aggression that he does on the basepaths.
Bradfield wasn’t going to wait to hear from Elias, who made the Vanderbilt outfielder the 17th overall pick in the draft. He took control of the situation, much to Elias’ amusement.
“I took that as, ‘Hey, let me give him a call,”’ Bradfield said this morning on a video chat with the media. “So, I went ahead and dialed the phone and gave him a call.”
Elias noted last night how a deep pool of collegiate position players delayed Bradfield’s selection and kept him on the board for the Orioles.
“It was a lot of emotions, especially for my family, just being there, kind of just waiting, getting phone calls, trying to see what was going to be the best decision for me,” Bradfield said.
MINNEAPOLIS – It was just last Tuesday, on the Fourth of July. The New York Yankees beat the Orioles 8-4 and had taken the first two games of a four-game series. After losing two of three last weekend and scoring just three runs in three games versus Minnesota, the Orioles had lost six of their past seven.
The Orioles had fallen six games behind Tampa Bay. Catch the Rays? How about try to hold on to a wild-card spot first. Was the season starting to slip away from the Orioles?
Some in Birdland posed such a question.
It looks like a foolish one this morning. Since that loss the Orioles have won five in a row by a 44-9 score. They hit a barrage of six homers yesterday and won 15-2 against a Minnesota pitching staff that began the weekend leading the majors in team ERA at 3.55 and in rotation ERA at 3.54.
Last weekend in Baltimore the Twins held the Orioles to three runs. This past weekend in Minneapolis they “held” the Orioles to 24.
The Baltimore Orioles tonight selected center fielder ENRIQUE BRADFIELD JR. from Vanderbilt University (TN) with their first selection as the 17th 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.
MINNEAPOLIS - It had to be troubling, concerning and maybe a bit scary at times as O’s first baseman Ryan Mountcastle dealt with the impact of vertigo and has not played in the majors since June 8. But he returned to the Orioles active roster today.
While he is not in the lineup, he’s ready to go, feels his swing is in fine shape and is excited to hopefully have this all over with. He said he didn’t have vertigo before this year but believes they got it under control so he can return today to the team.
“This feels like the longest I’ve ever gone without playing (in the majors),” said Mountcastle whose 20-day minor league rehab assignment had one day yet to go. “It wasn’t fun at all. Just happy to be back and feel like a normal human again.
“It was my first time. It hit me in waves. Took longer than I thought, but just happy to be back. Probably like a week or so ago, I felt good. They just wanted to take their time. Came up today and hopefully, I can come off the bench and get an at-bat or two. Feel good, ready to go.”
Mountcastle said this first became something significant for him when the Orioles played in Milwaukee June 6-8.
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.
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.
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.
MINNEAPOLIS – It was unexpected but very welcome. The Orioles got a big inning early in the game against the club with the best team ERA in Major League Baseball. A club they had scored six runs off in four games over the last two weekends.
But their 6-2 victory today over the American League Central-leading Twins was keyed by a huge six-run six-hit top of the second inning. They batted 10 players and five different Orioles drove in runs.
The uprising came against right-hander Sonny Gray, a pitcher who threw six scoreless on two hits against Baltimore batters last Sunday at Oriole Park. A pitcher who entered with a 2.50 ERA that ranked second-best in the AL and third in the majors. A pitcher who had given up three runs or less in 17 of 17 starts this year.
So the big inning was indeed unexpected.
But it lift the Orioles' record to 53-35 and they have won four in a row after losing six of seven. They have the best AL road record, which is now 27-17 and have a winning road trip at 4-2 with one game to go.
MINNEAPOLIS – The Orioles didn't have a huge night on offense or produce some record-setting numbers last night. They used old school pitching and defense to win.
Cedric Mullins made a great catch in center to rob a three-run homer and that helped lefty Cole Irvin continue to turn his season around with 6 1/3 innings allowing one run last night. When the Orioles broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run top of the 10th, it was enough to beat the first-place Twins 3-1 in the series opener at Target Field.
The Orioles are 52-35 and moved within three games of first in the American League East as the Braves beat the Rays, handing Tampa Bay a sixth straight loss. The Orioles are now 26-17 on the road and 3-2 on this road trip. They are 4-3 in July, 5-5 in extra-inning games and 19-10 in series-opening games.
One more win in this series and the Orioles will be 17-9-3 in their series before the All-Star Game.
Minnesota (45-44) had won five of its past six games as the series began. The Twins fell to 26-20 at home, to 14-15 in series openers and 8-4 in extra-inning games.
MINNEAPOLIS - Colton Cowser has been with the Orioles for four days now and today the rookie will make his fourth start, batting seventh in right field. He has made a strong early impression on manager Brandon Hyde.
"I think he's been amazing," Hyde said pregame today. "Love his at-bats. Looks like he's been doing that for a while up here. Even that at-bat against (Jhoan) Duran last night, you know the call at first base. Just, he hadn't seen 103 mph sinkers before. Spit on some stuff down. Just relaxed throughout that big spot. Been really, really impressed with the way he's handled himself in the dugout. Defense has been really, really solid. I like his energy and he's fun to be around."
Cowser is 2-for-10 to start his big league career with three walks and no strikeouts.
Hyde said the team is discussing now how to set up its rotation out of the All-Star break, but added "we are not going to announce anything any time soon."
Ryan Mountcastle is batting .222 with an OPS of .572 on his rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk. The assignment will end during the All-Star break. Is there a chance the O's add Mountcastle to start the second half?
