Now that he has selected a pitcher - LSU's Kevin Gausman - with his first-round draft pick, does that make Orioles scouting director Gary Rajsich more likely to take a position player today in the draft's second round? "No. I'm not inclined either way (pitcher or position player). I don't think the pick before will influence the next one. In the early rounds, I still want to get the best player," Rajsich said last night. Rajsich said he was surprised that three position players were...

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."

Asked about an hour ago which major leaguer

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'

The Orioles tonight selected RHP Kevin Gausman of Louisiana State University with their first selection in the 2012 First Year Player Draft, the fourth overall pick of the draft. Gausman, 21, is a 6-foot-4, 185-pound draft-eligible sophomore from Centennial, CO. He went 11-1 with a 2.72 ERA (115.2IP, 35ER), 128 strikeouts, 27 walks and two complete games in 16 starts for LSU this season. Gausman was 5-6 with a 3.51 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 89.2 innings in his freshman season in 2011. He was...

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...

The Washington Nationals today selected 17 year-old right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito (Harvard-Westlake School, California) with the 16th-overall pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo, Nationals Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Player Personnel Roy Clark and Nationals Director of Scouting Kris Kline made the joint announcement. The 6-foot-6, 230 lbs. Giolito is regarded as one of the...

With the 16th pick in the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft, the Nationals went the pitching route, selecting right-hander

The Orioles tonight selected LSU right-handed pitcher Kevin Gausman with the fourth pick in round one of the First-Year Player Draft. Gausman pitched LSU to a 7-1 win Sunday over Oregon State in the NCAA regionals, going eight innings and allowing seven hits and one run, throwing 129 pitches. In 16 starts this year with the Tigers, he is 11-1 with an ERA of 2.72 along with 128 strikeouts and 27 walks in 115 2/3 innings. Opponents have batted .231 against him this season, his sophomore year for...

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,