Gabriel Lino is the #10 prospect

This 18-year old catcher came on the scene quickly and quietly, but after talking to a few scouts, his upside could not be ignored as he's one of the few Orioles positional prospects with tools to become an everyday major league player.

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This is a welcome surprise.

Awesome. I knew nothing about this kid before your write-up, Tony. I saw his name floated a couple of times, but it sure is a nice profile for a player (good plate discipline, good power, very good defense). This is the type of guy we want/need in this system.

Can we add Calvin Maduro to the list of guys who work for the Orioles and are good at their jobs now?

Wow, two international players in the top 10. Schoop and Lino. Let's see how many more international players are in the top 30 prospects.

Wow, two international players in the top 10. Schoop and Lino. Let's see how many more international players are in the top 30 prospects.

This is where you have to give MacPhail some credit. He changed the Orioles philosophy and made two to three scouts go see a player before being signed. No more Bernheart or others just signing who he wanted.

This is where you have to give MacPhail some credit. He changed the Orioles philosophy and made two to three scouts go see a player before being signed. No more Bernheart or others just signing who he wanted.

But not signing quality international players has been one of the big complaints against MacPhail. What gives? Does perception and reality not meet in this case?

I'm a little surprised Tony had Lino this high, but not at all surprised to see him in the Top 20.

I do think our crop of international talent is considerably better now than it was a few years ago. BA had Eduardo Rodriguez and Roderick Bernadino in their GCL Top 20 (no mention of Lino there), and then Schoop in the Top 10 for both the Carolina League and the Sally League.

There was a thread in the minor league section discussing the Orioles' Top 10 international prospects. http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/showthread.php/113921-Rank-our-top-10-international-prospects?highlight=international There were a few guys on there that most posters ranked higher than Lino. Based on some things Tony has said, I'm guessing he will have only Schoop higher than Lino, however. It will be interesting to see who else is in the Top 30.

This is where you have to give MacPhail some credit. He changed the Orioles philosophy and made two to three scouts go see a player before being signed. No more Bernheart or others just signing who he wanted.

Definitely. Generally, I think AM was a slow and steady wins the race type of guy. In about 10 years, we'd probably have the best system in baseball. Too bad business doesn't quite work that way.

Regardless, all of the sudden we're hearing about a lot of young int'l guys who seem to play baseball the right way and who seem to have very nice upsides. This didn't happen by accident. I also wonder how much credit J. Stockstill deserves for this development.

This is where you have to give MacPhail some credit. He changed the Orioles philosophy and made two to three scouts go see a player before being signed. No more Bernheart or others just signing who he wanted.

Great write-up, Tony. Very encouraging report that we may have another quality international prospect in the fold. One FYI, Lino had more Ks than BBs, so the rates for BB/PA and K/PA might need to be flipped.

Maybe we were out-scouting other organizations internationally ......

Great write-up, Tony. Very encouraging report that we may have another quality international prospect in the fold. One FYI, Lino had more Ks than BBs, so the rates for BB/PA and K/PA might need to be flipped.

Maybe we were out-scouting other organizations internationally ......

Well, I wouldn't go that far. As of 10/6 (before the International League and Pacific Coast League prospects lists were announced), I had counted 17 international prospects for the 5 AL East teams who were listed on a BA top 20 list. 3 of those 17 were on the Orioles. I'm glad we're making a decent showing, but I'm not ready to say we're outscouting anyone else out there.

This 18-year old catcher came on the scene quickly and quietly, but after talking to a few scouts, his upside could not be ignored as he's one of the few Orioles positional prospects with tools to become an everyday major league player.

Plus Members can read the whole profile be going here.

Tony,

Are all of these scouts working for the Orioles? Just wondering if outsiders agree or not. Thanks!

Great report and looking forward to watching Gabe advance - hope to see him in the spring in Sarasota.

Tony,

Are all of these scouts working for the Orioles? Just wondering if outsiders agree or not. Thanks!

Great report and looking forward to watching Gabe advance - hope to see him in the spring in Sarasota.

For the GCL guys its hard to find an outside the org scout to give an opinion. The guys I usually talk to from out of the organization don't see these guys that far down. That said, I talked with multiple guys who have seen him. Ultimately I would have liked to have had him in the 11-20 range, but it comes down to giving the nod to a guy with the tools to be a everyday guy vice a utility/5th starter/4th of kind of guy/middle reliever guy. Honestly, after getting reports on guys I didn't see much, I ended up drooping a few guys to the teens because I can't project them as everyday guys, 4th or better starter, or closer/top level 8th inning setup guy.

Well, I wouldn't go that far. As of 10/6 (before the International League and Pacific Coast League prospects lists were announced), I had counted 17 international prospects for the 5 AL East teams who were listed on a BA top 20 list. 3 of those 17 were on the Orioles. I'm glad we're making a decent showing, but I'm not ready to say we're outscouting anyone else out there.

Acknowledging that I have not seen the details, I doubt this is an on-point response to my comment as it is hardly a representative sample of the rest of MLB or the prospects signed since AM put into place his international plan.

But not signing quality international players has been one of the big complaints against MacPhail. What gives? Does perception and reality not meet in this case?

The Orioles have improved, but I still believe they lag behind our competition. Of course, anything is better than nothing, but notice where these guys are from. It's not the DR.