LookinUp

I think this is right. Assuming he keeps it up, his overall ranking will go up by a fair amount. I'm guessing he'd be low-mid teens in an improved system. That's a good thing. I want to believe there's still plenty of room for a guy like this in the majors. I feel like sometimes we compare a guy like Wells to a guy like Hall. They're two totally different types of pitchers though. How does Wells compare to the few successful soft tossers that are out there? In the absence of physical projection, that would be what I'd like to see to help me understand better whether his odds are good or whether his ceiling is something less than a ML-caliber starting pitcher.

I'll trust Elias on this one. Really hope he signs.

It doesn’t matter where he’s ranked or what us message board dudes think about him. He will get more love when he moves up and performs. Then he’ll get love when he does that again. Just like Means. If he’s that good, he’ll drag fans into his bandwagon.

I know it's been like a decade since he left, but does SportsGuy still have more posts on OH than any other poster? I'd almost not be surprised if he does.

Elias also spoke about the GCL on the radio this AM. He said that they'd usually want to send college players to Aberdeen and high school guys to the GCL. However, with the heavy drafting of college guys this year, it looks like many will also have to go to the GCL.

Elias was pretty effusive in his praise of Gray Rod this AM on 105.7 the Fan. Said he's beyond where we expected. Talked up his FB, CB, CH mix, but also cautioned this is low A and higher levels will tell us more.

And I wouldn't tweet out a picture either if I didn't have something relatively big planned.

I'm actually pretty shocked there are as many MiL affiliates as there are. Is it fair to assume that Aberdeen, Delmarva, Frederick, Bowie and Norfolk all bring in more revenue than it costs to pay the players and run the stadiums? Serious Q. I have no idea.

I think it shows that we either don't draft well, don't develop well or don't assign guys with ML upside to the GCL very often. I wonder if most of our college guys have started at Aberdeen?

I don't know who it will be, but I expect some pitchers to emerge in Aberdeen this year. That's what Elias' brief track record with the Orioles suggests.

I want to hear it. If we can trade a catcher for a legit return, I'm all for it. We are in a rebuild and we did just draft AR after all. With that said, I think he'd have to rake through July to net a serious return this year. Anything mediocre and the offers will be next to nothing. I think it's more likely that he'd get a better return if he can be good through the full season. We can always hope. (well, Drungo can't, but the rest of us can. )

6'5", 282 lbs. Do the Ravens need a pulling guard? This is a big boy.

Improved LD% too. I get (and agree with) all of the caveats, but this guy could turn into a solid starting Catcher. That's valuable. In a perfect world, he'd have a full good year. I think it would take that type of performance for other teams to value him enough to make a decent trade offer. You never know though.

Agree on all points.

I like his lower half. Generates a lot of power there and it looks like through the hips.

I hate to wonder this outwardly, but one could get the impression that Elias either loves that scout or (my concern) doesn't have enough other trusted scouts for kids across the country. Don't get me wrong. I'm not necessarily questioning any of those picks, I just don't really like the coincidence. [Edit: Now watch all three Stanford guys become top prospects for the O's in the next 2 years. Lol.]

I don't know what Elias is thinking, but rather than get angry about it, I'm just trying to ask myself what it is that he is thinking? Here's what I'm going with. Elias is using this draft to help his pitchers. We have a few bats, but mostly guys who can catch the ball. We now have two catchers who are apparently very good defensively. This guy is a team captain. So is it more important to take a flyer on a mid-upside arm in the 6th, maybe a reliever for example, or is more important to make sure that Hall and Rodriguez are partnering with ML-quality leaders and backed up by slick, rangy, fielders? Would you rather have a 3-man high upside over slot draft with mediocre senior signs or a 2-man draft with 6-8 guys who have a shot to click but still offer value throughout our system? I have no idea if that's what Elias is thinking, but it's plausible.

But how many guys go to those showcase events already known to evaluators? They're literally watching most guys on the field. If there's another dude that's relatively unknown and doesn't particularly put on a show that week, I think he can be missed. It seems like this guy really didn't get out there that much until recently. However, he was known enough to have several team visits and ultimately get picked at 5/1, so he must have made a decent enough impression.

Sounds like he's from a place that doesn't get a lot of eyes too. Popped up late, young. I like it.

I've watched 20 seconds of video. Color me intrigued. A 17 y.o. SS taking a ball out to right center like that is very interesting.

For those interested in a comparison, in last year's OH prospect list, prospects 6-11 (Hays to Akin) all had 50 FV projections.

I love that he was an all-state basketball player.

I wonder if the O's think it's possible that he'll continue to improve his stuff and maybe get back to what he was out of college, with time. That's my uninformed hope.

I agree. I just see a 17 year old kid and remember how long the developmental paths really are. It is what it is, but it's a reminder that the O's have to play the long game in building the best organization possible.

Really happy with this pick, but he's the opposite of Rutschman in terms of age and experience against top competition. This kid will take a minute to get here unless he really pops big, which I assume is possible. Probably a Mountcastle-like progression through the minors (e.g., 4-5 years).