Catcher Matt Wieters is off to a good start tonight in Oakland. Wieters threw out Jemile Weeks trying to steal second base in the bottom of the first inning, and it wasn't even close. Shortstop J.J. Hardy took the throw. put his glove down, picked it back up, pulled out his Blackberry and updated his Facebook status, put his glove back down and let Weeks slide into it. After disposing of the Athletics' potential go-ahead run, Wieters gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead in the top of the second with...

The Nationals have signed fourth round selection left-hander Kylin Turnbull, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America. Turnbull is 6-foot-4, 195-lb., and reportedly inked for $325,000, which is $100,000 over the slot. Turnbull attended Santa Barbara Community College and has a 94 mph fastball, going 5-2 with a 2.47 ERA over 80 innings, striking out 92 hitters. He was selected in the 30th-round of the 2010 draft by the Chicago White Sox.

The Orioles reached agreement with their second-round pick, Vanderbilt third baseman Jason Esposito. A team official confirmed it a few minutes ago. Esposito is known more for his glove, but he hit .341 with nine homers and 59 RBIs in 65 games. Esposito posted a .405 on-base percentage and .534 slugging percentage. Esposito just tweeted the following (@jasonesposito): "3 of the best years of my life in Nashville and loved being a Commodore! Thank you to all Vandy fans! Time to move to the...

The Single-A Hagerstown Suns announced that Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg will start Wednesday in his third rehab start as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. Strasburg is expected to go four innings and throw a maximum of 60 pitches as he continues his road to a healthy return to the Nationals lineup. Friday in Woodbridge, Strasburg fired 33 pitches, 26 for strikes, consistently hitting 98 mph and once touching 99 mph in the second inning. He threw three shutout innings and...

The Orioles have come to contract terms with their sixth-round pick, high school third baseman Nick Delmonico from Knoxville, Tenn. The word comes from Delmonico himself. He just said on Twitter: "Thank you God for Leading me... I will always be a Georgia Bulldog but now I'm a Baltimore Oriole! #GodBless." Delmonico was drafted with the 185th overall pick out of Farragut High in Knoxville and he turned 19 on July 12. The Orioles have now signed 21 of their selections and now look to add...

The Orioles have come to terms with their second-round draft pick, Vanderbilt third baseman Jason Esposito. They selected him with the 64th overall selection. Esposito is a 6-foot-2, 205-pound right-handed hitter that turned 21 on July 19. This year in college he hit .341 with nine homers and 59 RBIs in 65 games. He had an on-base percentage of .405 and slugging percentage of .534. Esposito hit .376 in Southeastern Conference games. He started every game in three seasons with Vanderbilt and...

The Orioles have signed their first-round draft pick, high school pitcher Dylan Bundy. They selected him with the fourth pick in the June draft. The word came out just about right at the midnight deadline. This means the Orioles signed all their picks over the first 11 rounds of the draft as today they got second-round pick Jason Esposito and sixth-rounder Nicky Delmonico. This is the first time the Orioles signed all the picks in the first 11 rounds since 2005, Joe Jordan's first season as...

As of just after 6 p.m., there was still no word on the Orioles' remaining three top draft pick targets. The Orioles still hope to sign first-round pick Dylan Bundy tonight along with second-rounder Jason Esposito and Nick Delmonico, taken in round six. Bundy seems a very safe bet to sign at this point, but right now, there is no clear indication either way about the other pair. My guess, and it remains just a guess, is that they get all three. I think Delmonico would probably be the most...

Reliever Dan Klein, widely regarded as the Orioles' top pitching prospect, will undergo exploratory surgery tomorrow in his right shoulder. Klein has a SLAP tear in his right labrum, but the Orioles want to make sure he isn't dealing with other issues, as well. He underwent surgery while at UCLA to clean out the capsule in his rotator cuff area. Klein hasn't pitched since June 1 at Double-A Bowie. Continuing soreness in his shoulder led to an MRI that confirmed the tear. Dr. Lewis Yocum...

It appears that Orioles minor league pitcher Clayton Schrader, who was having a real strong season, could miss the rest of this year. Schrader has been on the Single-A Frederick disabled list since Aug. 2, due to elbow discomfort. He has a flexor mass strain. He has not resumed throwing to this point and there may not be enough time for him to get back in games before the 2011 season ends. The right-hander, the Orioles' 10th-round pick last year, is 1-1 with three saves and ERA of 1.13 for...