As I talked with and interviewed several hitters that were having big seasons on the Orioles farm during the 2021 season, it became clear that those players believed in the organization's hitting program. At times, we saw that program embrace the talent it drafted and acquired and turn their program into results. It was likely encouraging for Birdland to see this and yesterday it led to Double-A Bowie hitting coach Ryan Fuller getting promoted to the major league staff. Fuller joins Matt...

The Orioles made two hires this afternoon to fill out their coaching staff in 2022. Ryan Fuller has been promoted from Double-A and joins Matt Borgschulte, summoned from the Twins organization, to serve as co-hitting coaches. Fuller was the Baysox's hitting coach and full-season hitting coordinator. Borgschulte worked as hitting coach with the Triple-A St. Paul Saints. The duo replaces Don Long, who was informed after the season that he wouldn't return. As reported earlier this month,...

The last time the Nationals found themselves in this position - 95-plus losses, a franchise rebuild - Mike Rizzo had just completed his first season as a major league general manager. His 2009 club was a mess, a 103-loss train wreck made up of parts left over from Jim Bowden's tumultuous tenure, with an in-season managerial change (Manny Acta to Jim Riggleman) but a No. 1 overall pick ready to be spent on a once-in-a-generation right-hander from San Diego. In discussing his decision to embark...

The results of the Baseball Writers' Association of America Rookie of the Year voting will be announced tonight beginning at 6 p.m. on MLB Network. The National League winner will go first. Ryan Mountcastle isn't among the three finalists in the American League, but we'll find out where he's slotted behind the group. Mountcastle can't do better than fourth after trailing Tampa Bay's Randy Arozarena and Wander Franco and Houston's Luis Garcia. Critics of Franco, formerly the No. 1...

When it comes to players on the Orioles who could come up in trade talks this winter, outfielder Anthony Santander might be on that list - maybe near the top of it. The Orioles are building a nice surplus of young outfielders and the latest group, including players like Kyle Stowers and Robert Neustrom, are closing in on the majors. Their day could be coming and a spot might need to be opened for someone to slide into. Santander has value to other teams. They remember his big 2020 season, one...

The eight players the Nationals traded away during the final days of July all had value to their acquiring clubs, each of them believing those players would help lift them into the postseason and in some cases deep into October. The Nats didn't just deal away anybody. They purposely traded veterans in the final year of their contracts (aside from one notable example who had two years to go until free agency) who would be appealing to contenders and could potentially make a real difference over...

Spenser Watkins didn't have a pre-arranged agreement to stay with the Orioles after they outrighted him to Triple-A Norfolk earlier this month. He was a free agent with the right to join any team that offered him a contract. He never wanted to leave, and the Orioles made certain that he stayed in the organization. Watkins agreed to a minor league deal on Thursday that includes an invitation to spring training, where he'll attempt to again crack the 40-man roster. "Before this happened, there...

Time for you, my very appreciated readers, to take a few minutes today and answer a few more questions I am throwing out and at you today. Not throwing at you like a beanball pitcher, but you get the point. With my (lack of) velocity, the pitch wouldn't hurt anyway. The World Series is over and the team with the fewest regular-season wins to make the playoffs won it. So hey, the Orioles' rebuilding could culminate in a playoff spot with just 88 wins? Yes, it is possible, but this year 88 wins...

Before they can start figuring out who to pursue in an attempt to improve their roster for next season, the Nationals must first take stock of their roster as currently constructed and figure out what they already have in place. That roster went through a whole lot of change this year; only 22 players who were on the 40-man roster at the end of spring training are still on it today. Some were traded, some became free agents, some were released along the way. In their place is a much younger...

On the Orioles farm this season, this lefty had a Minor League Pitcher of the Year kind of season. He led the organization in wins and innings. He was among the best in ERA and had a low walk rate. He pitched well at two levels and ended the year on a roll, pitching well in the Double-A playoffs. But Grayson Rodriguez was better and any O's farm pitcher could have said that after the 2021 season. So, yes, that was a given, but for lefty Drew Rom, 21, it was a banner season. One that began at...