Tony-OH

2017 1st round pick: DL Hall - LHP Valdosta (Ga.) HS http://riveraveblues.com/2017/06/2017-draft-d-l-hall-154800/ Video Sickles High Risk, High Reward at the number 21 position. 21. Baltimore Orioles: LHP D.L. Hall, Valdosta (Ga.) HS Callis: I think Hall has the potential to be a great value for the Orioles here at No.21. He's a smaller left-hander who draws comparisons to Scott Kazmir with his low-90s fastball and overpowering curve. Based purely on talent, he could have gone five or so picks higher. Tony's Quick take: This high risk, high reward selection is a bit of a surprised for an organization that is need of pitching talent now. The Orioles have not had much luck drafting and developing high school pitchers with Dylan Bundy (4th overall selection) and Adam Loewen (Yes I know he played one year of JC before the Orioles actually signed him) being the best two. All the scouting reports love the arm and curveball, but he'll need to develop a changeup to reach his ceiling. I think the Orioles were hoping Oregon LHP David Peterson fell to them, but he went a pick before to the Mets. In need of a shortstop of the future, the Orioles passed on North Carolina SS Logan Warmoth who was taken by the Blue Jays with the next pick.

He has a family issue to be there for. He should be back soon.

Give them 10-12 starts at Frederick and assess. If they are ready, challenge them at Bowie. They will learn more in AA because of the jump in talent level with the hitters and really know what they need to work on.

According to Brooks Baseball Miguel Castro has thrown 678 pitches that have been tracked by the PITCHf/x system between 2015 and 2017, including pitches thrown in the MLB Regular Season and Spring Training. In 2017, he has relied primarily on his Fourseam Fastball (97mph), also mixing in a Slider (85mph). He also rarely throws a Sinker (97mph).BETA Feature:Basic description of 2017 pitches compared to other RHP:His fourseam fastball generates an extremely high number of swings & misses compared to other pitchers' fourseamers, has heavy sinking action, has an obvious tail, is blazing fast and results in somewhat more flyballs compared to other pitchers' fourseamers. His slider (take this with a grain of salt because he's only thrown 7 of them in 2017) generates an extremely high number of swings & misses compared to other pitchers' sliders, is an extreme flyball pitch compared to other pitchers' sliders, has primarily 12-6 movement and has some two-plane movement. His sinker (take this with a grain of salt because he's only thrown 1 of them in 2017) has heavy sinking action, is basically never swung at and missed compared to other pitchers' sinkers, is thrown at a speed that's borderline unfair, is an extreme flyball pitch compared to other pitchers' sinkers and has slight armside run.

DD can never have enough pitching depth. Basically he replaced Alvarez and Gunkle with two pitchers who may be able to help the Orioles this year. It was clear how fast Gunkle was sent to the minor league camp that his future with the club was in doubt.

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He's slashed .233/.282/.392/.674 over 2019 PAs, in AA and below over his career. He needs to be a game changing defender at catcher to have any chance in the big leagues as a position player.

If he can't catch, then you try to convert him to pitcher. he doesn't have the bat to move anywhere else.

Kapstein only started one game in the minor leagues as a catcher and that was in the first year after he was drafted. He's a 44th round draft pick who's been a light hitting organizational outfielder for his entire career basically.

Sisco is literally the only guy on this list you make a spot for. Perez is a AAAA guy, If Wynn is better than he'll beat out O'Connor, but I wouldn't mind seeing them split time at Bowie.

By my count the team has 38 players on the 40-man roster and that includes at least 5 guys they could DFA and no one would claim them. Why not? Worse case scenario is you DFA him if you need a spot.

Tampa just designated former #1 pick and top prospect Catcher Justin O'Conner. Seems like the kind of guy Duquette likes to take a flier on. Seems to have a rocket arm but definitely can't hit. He's coming off back surgery as well. Here's what MLB Trade Rumors had to say: The Rays announced on Monday that minor league catcher Justin O’Conner has been designated for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to Wilson Ramos, whose two-year deal with Tampa Bay is now official. O’Conner, 25 in March, was drafted with the No. 31 overall pick by the Rays in 2010 and rated as one of the organization’s top 30 prospects (per Baseball America) each year since. Prior to the 2015 season, BA rated him as highly as No. 3 on Tampa Bay’s top 30, and MLB.com entered the season with O’Conner ranked 61st overall among MLB prospects that same season. That ranking came on the heels of a very solid .278/.316/.466 batting line compiled between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, but O’Conner limped to a .231/.255/.371 performance in 2015 — his first full season at Double-A. Injuries have been an issue for O’Conner, though, and the Rays announced today that he’s undergone a pair of back surgeries after being limited to just 20 games in 2016. He also underwent a pair of hip surgeries early in his career, so durability concerns aren’t exactly a new phenomenon for O’Conner. Last winter, O’Conner rated 13th among Rays farmhands, per BA, though their scouting reported questioned his ability to hit breaking pitches and changeups while also raising questions about his “decision-making on defense and aptitude for game management.” BA does note that he’s gotten 80 grades on his throwing arm — O’Conner has halted 46 percent of stolen bases attempted against him in his career — and has above-average raw power."

Brian Gonzalez - LHP 6' 3" 230 Bats: L Throws: L Age: 20 2016 Team: Delmarva Most Likely Major League Role: 5th starter Ceiling: #4 starter Floor: Left-handed reliever Background: Without a 1st or 2nd round pick in the 2014 draft, Gonzalez was nabbed in the 3rd round to become the Orioles top pick in the 2014 draft. A big wide body young man with little projection, scouts were mixed on whether his pro future was with the bat or on the mound. The Orioles though liked him on the mound and after signing him quickly for 700K, they sent him off to the Gulf Coast League to start his professional career. GCL batters though proved to be no match for Gonzalez has he didn't allowed an earned run in 24.2 innings over eight starts while striking out 25 and walking eight. He only allowed 11 hits and GCL batters hit just .134 off him. The Orioles challenged him by allowing him to finish out the year in the New York Penn League where he held his own in two starts against the much more mature competition. Promote to full season Delmarva at just 19-years old, the wheels came off in 2015 where he struggled to command his stuff. Held Sally League batters to a .249 average, but walked 59 and struck out just 81 in 105.1 inning to put up a 5.71 ERA. 2016: The Orioles returned Gonzalez to Delmarva and he was much better the second time through the league at 20-years old. Although his hits allowed per nine and K per 9 were basically the same as his 2015 season, he dropped his walks per nine down to 3.5. Improved greatly against left-handers holding them to a .193 AVG and allowing only one extra base hit all season. 2016 stats (Delmarva) ERA: 2.50 IP: 147.2 H: 135 (8.2/9) HRA: 0 (0.5/9) BB: 7 (3.5/9) SO: 25 (6.8/9) AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS: .247/.325./349/.674 RHB Slash: .267/.341/.403/.744 LHB Slash: .193/.284/.207/.491 GO/AO: 1.30 Scouting report (now and future) FB: 45/50 CB: 40/50 CH: 45/55 What we know: Gonzalez throws three pitches all of which can be average major league offerings at times. His fastball crept up a tick sitting in the 90-93 range with some occasional sink. Like all of his offerings, he can struggle at times to command the pitch and can go through stretches during games where he just struggles to command anything. His changeup is his best off-speed pitch and it will flash plus on occasion. Like his fastball he doesn't consistently command the pitch. His curveball remains a below average offering though he will flash an average one on occasion. One major league scout noted that his upper and lower halves get out of synch which causes his inconsistent command. Another AL scout felt he improved the most of any starter he'd seen in the system from 2015 to 2016, but also noted he has command issues. What we don't know: Can he get control of his mechanics more often as he matures on the mound? If that happens, will he improves his command of his three pitches, all of which can flash major league average. Can he develop a put away pitch when he needs the strikeout? What he needs to improve: Obviously he needs to improve his command of all three offerings. In addition he needs a go to pitch that he can miss some bats with. Summary: Scouts continue to be mixed on Gonzales with some seeing the potential for him to have three major league average pitches from the left side and thinking that could be enough to pitch at the back end of the rotation even without the plus command. Others have concerns with the mechanics and the lack of command and think he may end up a reliever or a long man. Gonzalez learned a lot this season about being a professional and how to prepare himself between starts. He made strides in 2016 which is exactly what you want to see from a young pitcher. He's prospect age appropriate going into 2017 where he should start the year at Frederick. If he can find consistently more times than not he should find success and continue to move up the chain.

Thanks. Cut and pasted that since he was under the same three innings order as Sedlock, Dietz and Muckenheim.

Keegan Akin - LHP 6' 0" 225 Bats: L Throws: L Age: 21 2016 Team: IronBirds SS Career stats Most Likely Major League Role: 3rd/4th starter Ceiling: #2 starter Floor: Left-handed reliever Background: The Orioles drafted Keegan in the 2nd round (54th overall) of the 2016 draft out of Western Michigan University after an outstanding Junior season (1.82 ERA, 109 IP, 72 H, HR, 30 BB, 133 K, .192 AVG). MLB.com said this about Akin coming out of college - "One of the hardest-throwing lefty starters in the college ranks, Akin usually pitches at 91-94 mph and peaks at 96 with late life on his fastball. Though he's not a big guy, he maintains his velocity deep into games and generates it without much effort in his delivery. There's some debate as to which is better, his low-80s slider or his tumbling changeup, but both should be at least average offerings. Akin has three pitches and fills the strike zone, so he'll definitely be a starter going forward. He fared well against quality competition in the Cape Cod League last summer, another point in his favor." 2016: Like several other college starters they drafted in 2016, the Orioles eased Akin into pro ball due to his college workload assigning him to short season Aberdeen and limiting him to three innings a start. No one had a better pro debut as he dominated New York Penn League batters. Allowed earned runs in two of his first three starts before not allowing a run in his last six three inning starts. Over his last 12 innings he struck out 17, walked two and allowed just five hits. 2016 stats (Aberdeen) ERA: 1.04 IP: 26 H: 15 (5.2/9) HRA: 0 (0.0/9) BB: 7 (2.4/9) SO: 25 (10.0/9) AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS: .161/.218/.194/.411 RHB Slash: .177/.235/.226/.461 LHB Slash: .129/.182/.129/.311 GO/AO: 1.00 Scouting report (now and future) FB: 50/55 SL: 45/55 CH: 45/55 What we know: Akin is a three-pitch lefty with a plus left-handed fastball who can throw strikes. At 6-foot tall with a thick lower half, his body is mature, so what you have is what you have. Luckily for the Orioles what they have a pretty good left-handed pitching prospect. His fastball sits 89-93, though he can touch as high as 94-96 on occasion with good late arm side run. His slider is inconsistent but it's a good left on left pitch and should settle into an average offering once he finds some consistency. His change can flash average or even plus at times, but his command is inconsistent. During his college time he was able to keep his stuff late in games What we don't know: He was about good as you can be in his pro debut, but can he maintain that crispness over 6-7 innings? His slider and changep can be solid average often at times, but they could be inconsistent from start to start. The consistency of those offerings will determine his chance of reaching his ceiling or floor. What he needs to improve: Just consistency of his stuff. He can throw three solid average major league pitches and the sooner he commands all three consistently the faster he was move. Summary: Akin actually outperformed 1st round pick Cody Sedlock and put up one of the most impressive pro debuts of any Orioles draft pick in recent memory. A legitimate three-pitch lefty, he could move very quickly through the system along with his teammate. He'll probably start next season at Delmarva but could be pushed to Frederick.

No, not arguing with you, just relaying what I observed and what I heard from others who have seen him. Regardless, I can't imagine the Orioles pulling him up mainly due to them trying to nurse him through his pro debut after his harsh college use this year.