Now that the draft is over, how did the Orioles do? We won't know for sure on that for a few years, but few analysts know the draft better than Baseball America's Jim Callis and he gives the Orioles high marks. "They got the best pitcher in the draft and depth after that," Callis said. "They got tremendous quality and quantity. There's an expression that every scouting director tells every GM on draft day they had the best draft in baseball. But I think this is a very good draft for the...

The Orioles made 20 picks on day three of 2011 First-Year Player Draft on Wednesday, completing rounds 31-50. The Orioles selected 50 players overall, 28 pitchers and 22 position players, with 32 of their 50 selections being college products. The Orioles selected 9 left-handed pitchers and 19 right-handed pitchers, 4 catchers, 1 first baseman, 1 second baseman, 4 third baseman, 4 shortstops and 8 outfielders. ORIOLES 2011 DRAFT SELECTIONS ROUND PLAYER POS SCHOOL ...

The Washington Nationals today selected 20 players on the final day of Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo, Nationals Assistant General Manager & Vice President of Player Personnel Roy Clark and Nationals Director of Scouting Kris Kline made the joint announcement. During the three-day Draft, the Nationals selected a total of 51 players: 15 right-handed pitchers, 11 left-handed pitchers, two...

Second baseman Brian Roberts will spend a few days with the team before heading back to the minor league complex in Sarasota. Roberts received some encouraging news yesterday from Dr. Michael Collins, the concussion-specialist in Pittsburgh. Though he still isn't cleared to begin baseball activities for two more weeks, his symptoms are less severe. "I think anytime that they say you're getting better, that's always good," Roberts said. "Two weeks had gone by. If I went up there and he...

The Orioles have moved Bowie closer Jose Diaz to Triple-A Norfolk. They officially placed pitcher Dan Klein on the 7-day DL and added Pedro Viola from Baltimore along with pitcher Armando Gabino, who leaves Norfolk and joins Bowie. Diaz appeared in 25 games for Bowie, going 0-2 with a 1.48 ERA and an Eastern League-leading 17 saves in 19 opportunities. The right-hander struck out 28 batters in 24.1 innings of work. Klein has appeared in nine games for the Baysox, going 3-0 with a 1.08 ERA...

It is not often a team drafts two players from the same school, but this year not only did the Orioles do that, but they drafted two players from the same Baltimore-area high school. Yesterday, they took K.J Hockaday from Harford County's John Carroll school in the 14th round and today the O's drafted his teammate, Brendan Butler, in the 50th round with the 1,505th overall pick. Butler was a corner infielder in high school but was listed as an outfielder when selected today. Butler goes...

Nick Markakis remains in the second spot in the lineup, with Adam Jones batting third. He's looking for his first extra-base hit since May 15, a span of 84 at-bats. His average is down to .236 with four homers, 19 RBIs, a .298 on-base percentage and a .304 slugging percentage. He's totaled at least 40 doubles in each of the last four seasons, but he's stuck on four this year. I'm watching Markakis take batting practice now and he's launching a few balls into the right fields seats and...

Here's a quick, but not necessarily verified list of athletes drafted by the Nationals during the 2011 First-Year Player Draft. Make sure to welcome them to NatsTown. Alex Meyer: @AlexMeyer17 Meyer tweeted: "Just got drafted by the Washington Nationals!!!" on June 6. Greg Holt: @reggieholt14 Caleb Ramsey: @CRamsey28 Blake Monar: @BlakeMonar Hawtin Buchanan: @Hawtin_Buchanan Buchanan tweeted: "Just got drafted by the Washington Nationals. Thanks everyone for the support, but still...

First baseman Derrek Lee will leave the team tomorrow to attend his grandfather's funeral. Lee expects to be gone through Sunday, which means he'll miss three games. The Orioles will place Lee on the bereavement list that covers three days, including tomorrow's open date on the schedule. Technically, Lee could return Sunday, but he's informed the team that he'll be gone through the weekend. Right now, the Orioles are leaning toward bringing up a position player, with Triple-A Norfolk...

Robert Andino is leading off tonight, with J.J. Hardy moving down to seventh. Nolan Reimold returns to left field after being unavailable last night because of neck spasms. For the Orioles: Robert Andino 2B Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Vladimir Guerrero DH Derrek Lee 1B Matt Wieters C J.J. Hardy SS Mark Reynolds 3B Nolan Reimold LF Zach Britton LHP Here are the Orioles' draft picks today through the 46th round: 31st round: John Costa, RHP, Summit Christian (Fla.) School 32nd...