Tony-OH

When I was coaching at Archbishop Spalding I would do this. Not so much to plan for a specific pitcher, but I would throw curveballs during BP (later rounds) to keep them from cheating on grooved fastballs.

I don't care who you are, that's funny right here! Well played.

Good stuff D, thanks for sharing!

I sure hope they will improve their MiLB TV broadcast and add a center field camera. The Baysox's broadcasts have been an embarrassment. One of the worse in all of baseball, and definitely the worse in AA from what I've seen.

It's very interesting what he's bringing to the organization. Assuming we are going to get a big league season this year, it will be interesting to see if the occlusion training can help players like Mountcastle, Hays and Santander with better swing decisions.

He certainly did go very fastball, split change heavy last year. His pitches: Fastball - 1583 Split Finger - 1061 Changeup - 181 ..these could have been just bad split fingers in my opinion Slider - 177 Bradish though doesn't have that swing and miss pitch like Gausman's split-finger.

The interesting thing is he basically dumped the big curveball for the slider late in the year as his goto pitch when he had better success. The problem is he really doesn't have a consistent changeup to give him that 3rd pitch. The change is pretty hard in the 89-90 range but he was holding his velocity into the 5th inning better by the end of the year. I still think he's going to end up in the pen as a good bullpen arm, but there's still some hope for him as a starter.

From the video I've seen and the reports, I think he's probably somewhere around those guys prospect wise. He's got a nice swing but the quality of pitching he was seeing was not very good. I'd probably have him behind Norby but in front of Vavra initially.

The only thing I'm not a fan of is raising the height of the wall. I liked the home run robbing catches while battling the fans.

Guess we know how the Elias plans to help our pitching staff! lol Probably makes sense since he's been drafting hitters heavy. I'm sure the analytics department showed it would be an advantage to the makeup of the team.

Yes, these were the highlighted players of this class. I will get more info about them when they are officially signed.

Mata is from Venezuela, Prieto from Cuba the rest are DR guys.

No problem. There are certain people in the organization that are great in responding quickly for sure. It's great that they are giving fans some info when they are starving for it right now.

Directly from an Orioles exec close to the situation.. "All of that is true. Amateur players are allowed a certain amount of days at teams complexes so some of the footage is there. Since they are players of interest they end up with much of every teams gear. Teams give out gear to players to make them feel good and also promotes the club in their home town."

The general feeling is he should end the year in AA or AAA but where he starts depends on his spring.

A good source..

No problem, figured people would like the three more names no one else has mentioned yet!

This will be the official place that we will announce once players are signed. The Orioles 2022 J2 signing class: Braylin Tavara (CF) bonus $1.7 million million (video) - "He is one of the most well-rounded players in this year’s class and has a chance to be a five-tool player with above-average grades in the future. At the plate, the lean and athletic 16-year-old shows a good approach and sound fundamentals with improving pitch recognition. Like most prospects his age, Tavera’s swing is a work in progress, but he already has good bat-to-ball skills and emerging power that projects to be a plus tool. He can run now, and the run tool is also expected to be a plus tool if he continues to develop at a normal pace. He continues to improve as a defender. “He does everything easily and effortlessly,” Koby Perez said. “He is a player who was highly coveted by most of the teams in the league, and a lot of it had to do with us offering an opportunity. Us not having given out these types of bonuses in our history, it makes the player, you know, feel special to be the highest-paid international player. I think that really helped us land Braylin, because there was definitely a lot of competition for his services. He ranks No. 18 on Baseball America’s listing of the highest projected signing bonuses in this class and No. 22 on MLBPipeline.com’s listing of the top 50 international prospects. ” César Prieto - 22-year-old Cuban infielder ( $650,000) (video) - "The athletic Prieto has shown good instincts, and the ability to play multiple infield positions. Think of him as a super-utility player. For now, it’s Prieto’s bat, not his glove, that provides him most value despite questions about his power. He’s considered an average defender at second base with room for improvement." Leandro Arias (SS) - (video) Switch hitter ($600,00) - "Arias, a switch-hitting shortstop, has power potential from both sides of the plate. He has shown good bat-to-ball skills and has been praised for his overall hitting ability, including his advanced approach at the plate. His emerging run tool projects to be solid to average. The 16-year-old is still fine-tuning his actions on defense, but is expected to have enough arm strength and the skills necessary to keep him at shortstop as he makes his way through the Minors. Arias was ranked as the No. 46 prospect on the MLBPipeline.com top 50 prospects list. He’s a 16-year-old switch-hitter who gets 50 and 55 grades from MLBPipeline.com. " Edwin Amparo (SS) - (video) switch hitter ($650,00) - Very similar to Arias. Can play Short. Targeted him early. Has the arm to stick at short. Once considered a 7 figure player. Thomas Sosa (OF) - (video) ($400,000) - Really like the approach, bat to ball skills. Wasn't being showcased at the time. "Gregory Polanco" body type. Can hit run, hit for some power. Adrian Santos, (SS) Dominican Republic -($285k) RH, 6-3, lean. Has a good arm at SS. Maybe some power Jean Mata (OF) - (swing video, video) - Venezuelan - ($210,000) Big game player. Lot of hit, can really run. Raylin Ramos, (OF) Dominican Republic - ($200,000) - Physical tools, some power. Yirber Ruiz, (OF) Dominican Republic - ($200,000) CF, switch hitter, good runner, good performer. High profile who's market came back. Aron Estrada, (INF) Venezuela - (175,000) Switch hitting INF. Defensively has a way to go. Good athlete. Henry Tejada, (RHP) Dominican Republic - (165k) - RHP. 88-90, pitchability. More in there. Cristian Benavides (SS), Venezuela - ($150,000) Good looking SS, some power, Right-hander. Tall and skinny. Average arm Edrei Campos, (SS) Dominican Republic - ($150,000) Straight bat. Keeps getting better. Got stronger. Got him late when his market fail. Not as polished defensively. Elis Cuevas, (SS) Dominican Republic - (150,000) Switch hitter SS. Chance with the bat, defensively improving. Good tools. Development guy. Jean Carlos Martinez - (OF) - (125k) Big strong guy, really athletic guy. Paperwork issues, age issues but cleared by. Andrés Nolaya, (C) Venezuela - ($100k) Athletic catcher. Really good arm. Plays outfield as well. Can really run. Jesús Palacios, (RHP) Venezuela - (90k) Feel for three pitches, 87-90, t91. More in there when he gets strength. 6-2. Juan Peña, (RHP) Dominican Republic - ($75k) - Good change and slider, run it up 92. Command comes and goes. 6-1. José Noguera, (C) Venezuela - $50,000. Defense first catcher, some strength. Adrián Delgado, (RHP) Venezuela - ($50,000) (RHP) , runs it up 93 MPH. Command comes and goes. Fernando Peguero, (SS) Dominican Republic - ($50k) Switch hitting middle infielder. Undersized. A performer. Can run. Ezequiel Bonilla, (RHP) Panama - ($35,000) Pitchability strike thrower, run it up 88-91. Alfredo Velásquez, (INF) Venezula - (20k) Undersized, INF, probably 2B. Elías Moscoso, (RHP) Venezuela - (10K) - Undersized Righthander. Good arm. Andrés Parra, (LHP) Venezuela - (10k) - Pitchability lefty. Ronal Hererra, (RHP) Dominican Republic - (10K) - RHP, can pitch up to 92-94. Miguel Mesa, (RHP) Dominican Republic - 2021 International Tracker

This is a great point. Even Elias will admit there's still a ways to go with the international pipeline, but it seems to be going in the right direction. Another milestone will be a top 10 prospect international signee that's reached at least Double-A. The first set of DSL players (mostly low level signees) that made it to the FCL mostly fell on their faces, particularly the pitching outside of Rangel. Now its worth noting that many of these players were the guys that the Orioles signed when they Elias and Perez first took over and the Orioles were two years behind in building those relationships that get the top players. This will be the first class where the Orioles should have been on equal footing so it will be interesting to see the haul.

He did a long one with the media during the Fall camp. Not sure what else there is to say at this point. Hopefully he shows up in March in great shape and opens his year in the minors ready to go.

De Los Santos got a lot of nice comments by Perez. I was noticing him out performing Hernandez while being three months younger last year although I take the DSL stats with a grain of salt. Hernandez has the better frame and arm, but De Los Santos has the more mature bat. It will be interesting to watch their progress next year in the FCL. I really wish the FCL was extended to a full season.

They may, but put them in a professional size baseball outfield and I bet they look like beer league softball players chasing balls! lol

I'm glad everyone enjoyed the list. Honestly, I had fun digging into guys I've watched this year but weren't quite at the top-30 level. Here's a few more fun tidbits: Players who were considered to but just fell a little short: Junior Lara - Put up really good numbers in the DSL at 17-years old, but not a lot of punch or speed for an OF Angel Tejada - Just not enough info him and didn't show power or speed despite the nice OPS. Billy Cook - Hit three homers in one game last year in Delmarva and showed some nice pop, but is a bit stiff and his 41-9 K-BB ratio in 128 PAs is not good. Frederick Bencosme - DSL guy who at 18 but up some nice numbers and hits left-handed. Was actually mentioned as a guy to watch but I want to see what he looks like in the states first." Cody Roberts - Decent defensive catcher who they can stick anywhere in the system and he's hangs in there. Just never a priority play so more of an org guy. Collin Burns - Handled the bat ok but was an error machines at SS in Delmarva. Has some utility possibilities though. Mason McCoy - Just a hard nose guy who can play just about anywhere. If they needed a utility guy for a little bit, he would not be embarrassed by the major leagues. Yasmil Bucce - The other 16 year old catcher in the system didn't show as well with the bat and will be back in the DSL next year at 17 where the hope is he'll continue to develop enough to bring over by 2023. Jake Prizina - 24 year old lefty pitch decently but will have to prove it all the way up the chain. Houston Roth - Gets outs with a loopy curveball that will be hard to work at higher levels but at times threw well. Connor Gillispie - Underwhelming stuff but team pitched him as a starter all year in Aberdeen. Ryan Watson - Another 23-year old who threw the ball well in relief but has org guy stuff overall. Diógenes Almengo - Getting long in the tooth at 26, but has a fastball that can touch the high 90s at times. Limited control and almost no command. Cesar Alvarez - 6-1 right-hander from Venezuela with low 90s fastball. Worth keeping an eye on in 2022. Anthony Morillo - 6-2 RHP from Venezuela was 19 last year in the DSL but the numbers make him a guy to monitor coming into 2022. Peter Van Loon - Didn't walk a guy in his debut after being drafted Brenan Hanifee - Missed the entire year with TJ surgery and hasn't pitched since 2019 now.

Like you guys, I'm a baseball fan and especially a fan of baseball during the 70's and 80s when I was kid. I found this documentary today and watched it and it's really well done. Certainly makes me a fan of Eckersley even more.

Things I learned by watching this clip: 1) Prieto has a nice swing, likes to go the other way. Seems to be a good bunter. 2) There are guys playing center field in the Cuban Leagues that look like they should be playing beer league softball 3) Between pitches it appears that everyone from the pitcher, hitter, umpire and catcher all take a little break before the next pitch is thrown like 40 seconds later. Games must be like 4 hours long. 4) Whoever made this video doesn't really understand how to make a highlight video! 5) The quality of pitching is not very good in the Cuban League. They guy he homers off of towards the end of the clip makes Cesar Valdez look like a fireballer.