baltfan

Although injuries can make people look at things differently, Witt bet on himself before when he went to college. He also probably knows that even if he doesn't have particularly great stats next year, there will still be teams that are willing to take a chance based on him still recovering. Realistically, his worst case scenario next year is probably the third round.

This is even more depressing if you click on the picture in the Tweet.

Quick someone DM the guy that is God on Twitter and have him tweet to Tanner that his destiny is with the Orioles.

This definitely has the chance to be a Grade A draft if they can get Witt signed.

Orioles might need to throw in another minor leaguer in their top 10 to get two of those. There probably is a deal out there for one of them though.

I tend to think this way. More likely they trade for minor league pitchers.

They are as likely to trade Gilbert as the Orioles are to trade Gunnar. Imagine if G-Rod was actually what we expected him to be and then envision what you would want to trade him away.

This is a place where NIL money could make a difference. He could gamble on himself and actually potentially make up what he would get from Orioles with NIL money

Yeah but the Orioles picked them for specific traits and improved upon them. They didn’t get to choose guys already in the system

Hillsdale - I heard that all of the hitters and pitchers have to be right handed there.

That suit is fire.

Looks like he is committed to Northwest Florida. Seems like an odd pick. He isn't ranked terribly high.

Q&A with Lowndes’ Qrey Lott – Georgia Dugout Preview (gadugoutpreview.com)

I doubt he is getting much in the way of NIL money and he has no leverage next year. He also could get drafted by a team with horrible pitching development.

Riley has the body of Alek Manoah. Let's hope he can pitch like him last year.

He is from Missouri, so maybe the parents didn't know. I am not a Civil War buff, but definitely have a pretty good knowledge of history and didn't know who he was until people started to bring this up.

Not a ton of high schoolers taken in the 11th round. Teams must still see good college guys available.

I really was confused by all of the hullabaloo about this. Family members are shown all of the time for these things. She was in a jersey and honestly cheering wildly for her brother and father. Moreover, she was standing next to her mother who was doing the same. Were they not supposed to shoot her because some people would think she was attractive? It's fine (within reason) if the internet wants to go wild because they think she is attractive, I just don't get the criticism of the network for the camera shots.

The part of the draft that was supposed to be so deep was the college part because there were a ton of high school players that went to college because of the 5 round COVID draft. It would make sense that you would lean college in selections.

Might be but the hope was that because he is from Maryland maybe he could be tempted more than another high school guy. Some people do want to play for the local team so relatives can see them more or just because they grew up a fan.

Guys like Ichiro who have elite bat-to-ball skills are only going to walk so much because they don't swing and miss that often. Guys with big walk rates tend to have a fair amount of swing and miss as part of their game.

Feel sorry for this kid that his parents hung this name on him. I hope they just didn't know.

I'd like to see them take a shot at Cam Johnson if he is still available. Maryland kid. Good frame and left-handed. Maybe he grew up an Orioles fan. This is from Baseball America. School: IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla. Source: HS Commit/Drafted: Louisiana State Age At Draft: 18.5 BA Grade:55/Extreme Tools:Fastball: 60. Slider: 55. Changeup: 40. Control: 45. Johnson is one of the most physical players in the 2023 class with a 6-foot-4, 240-pound frame and plenty of stuff to go along with it. Originally from Maryland, Johnson transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where he vastly improved his stock with a strong spring season. He has a crude delivery that features plenty of violence and and some inversion of his arm action in the back of his arm stroke, but he has good arm speed and his low, three-quarter slot creates a tough angle for hitters. As might be expected with his release point, Johnson drives a high groundball rate and his low-90s fastball, which ticked up this spring and has been up to 98 mph, has excellent running life. His go-to secondary is a swing-and-miss breaking ball that was previously in the mid-to-upper 70s but has also ticked up to get to the low 80s this spring. He has always had solid shape to the pitch, and now with more power and hard biting action, the high-spin, sweepy slider looks like an above-average offering. It has two-plane break and impressive tilt at times that should make it an effective pitch against both righties and lefties. Johnson has infrequently thrown a low-80s changeup, but the pitch needs plenty of work and much more feel before it’s a legitimate third offering. Johnson’s control is spotty and he’ll need to improve both that and his delivery for scouts to feel confident in a starter profile at the next level. He’s committed to Louisiana State.

I am excited about this kid, but we also shouldn't pretend that he hasn't gotten any professional instruction. He was in a D1 program after he did all of the work himself. There also has to be some concern that his increases came too fast and he will get injured. Wouldn't cause me not to pick him, but there does seem to be some correlation between big velo increases and injury.

Ciolek’s take: “I think the one name that we were excited about getting him where we did … is Jake Cunningham. Jake was on our radar last year from UNC Charlotte. He is a toolshed. He has double-plus raw power in [batting practice]. He’s a plus runner, and he’s one of those guys that has instincts for center field. We actually had Jake out here at a workout at Camden Yards a few weeks back leading up to the draft, and he was up to 111 [mph exit velocity] with wood, so we are very excited obviously to get all these guys, but ... we’re very excited that we ultimately ended up getting Jake where we did.”