The Orioles will give Chris Jakubauskas the start tomorrow night against the Oakland Athletics unless he's needed in relief tonight. Jakubauskas was chosen over Alfredo Simon, who threw 50 pitches in relief yesterday. The Orioles could have purchased Mitch Atkins' contract from Triple-A Norfolk, since he would be working on normal rest. Jakubauskas hasn't started a major league game since April 2010 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He lasted only two-thirds of an inning before being hit in the...

O's manager Buck Showalter said he has talked to scouting director Joe Jordan today and that "Joe feels like he's going to have to make a choice between two. Two guys are going to be there (that he likes)." Showalter is very interested in all things about the game, including the draft, and was asked about his outlook for tonight where the Orioles have the fourth overall pick. "From listening to Joe talk, we're going to get a good player at four. Happy with all the possibilities. There...

Nationals top prospect Bryce Harper left Sunday's game for the low Single-A Hagerstown Suns after getting hit by a pitch on his knee during his first at-bat. A club source confirms that Harper is in tonight's starting lineup. This is good news that any problem with Harper's left knee was not serious. Harper would not want to leave the starting nine now as he is enjoying another hot streak at the plate, batting .400 with three homers and seven RBIs in his last 10 games. During one...

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 Brian Matusz LHP

With the major league baseball draft later today, Baseball America has put out its final mock draft, and there have been some changes at the top. No longer does executive editor Jim Callis of Baseball America believe the Diamondbacks will take Virginia southpaw Danny Hultzen. Instead, Callis thinks the Nationals will select him with the No. 6 pick. Hultzen is not only a top-flight pitcher, but also contributed at the plate all season and in the NCAA regionals this weekend in Charlottesville,...

Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is slated to continue his injury rehabilitation assignment tonight with the advanced Single-A Potomac Nationals, who will host the Frederick Keys for a 7:05 pm game at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, Va. Zimmerman went 2-for-2 with a double and a triple for low Single-A Hagerstown Sunday at Municipal Stadium. This is certainly a good sign that Zimmerman is scheduled to play in back-to-back games as he looks to return to the lineup for the first time...

My vision has become blurred from reading all the mock drafts. And yes, everyone seems to think the Orioles will take Oklahoma high school pitcher Archie Bradley tonight with the fourth overall pick. The Orioles most certainly like Bradley, as do a lot of other teams that consider him worthy of a top 10 pick, but I'm sure they also want his name floated out there, just in case pitchers Dylan Bundy and Danny Hultzen are willing to lower their price tags. Remember when the Orioles supposedly...

It didn't take long for some fans to get worked up over the possibility that the Orioles may take high school pitcher Archie Bradley with the fourth pick in tonight's draft. Before we go any further, please keep in mind that Keith Law has Bradley rated 5th on his latest top-100 board and Baseball America lists him 9th. They would not be reaching into the late first-round to draft a player fourth, but Bradley's name has not been linked to the Orioles much in the last few days and some fans...

It's not often that I find myself 10 pages deep into MLB.com's sortable player statistics, but that's how far you have to go to find Mark Reynolds if you search by batting average. It turns out that page 10, which in this case lists players ranked between 451 and 500 for average, is a pretty interesting place for Orioles fans. In addition to Reynolds who, for the record, is No. 460 for average, page 10 contains names of guys who have played for the Birds this season or who were talked about...

It's been a weird summer for baseball in Washington, D.C., without Ryan Zimmerman in the lineup. Without his consistent bat and Gold Glove performances daily, the Nationals have had to do the best with what they've got. That's all they can do under the circumstances. On Sunday, the Nationals got a little closer to getting Zimmerman back. Zimmerman played for the Single-A Hagerstown Suns - his first time playing in a live game since April 9 - as part of a minor league rehabilitation...