jcarm

How can they have signed someone when they do not have a presence there? (sarcasm)

Really he is not old for a prospect at that level. If he goes to AA next year, he would likely make his MLB debut sometime in 2020. 24 years old for a rookie is about what I would expect for a well regarded draft pick out of a 4 year college who was drafted and signed after his Junior year. He very well might make his MLB debut next year.

I am confused as to why someone would say he is old for his level. He just turned 22 on 4/30/18! That is not old for High A.

Because that is what they agreed to before the Orioles picked them. What if I agreed to do a job for $50K a year during the interview process and when I showed up to do the final paperwork to get me hired, I demanded $75K? Would the employer want to hire me? I doubt it. Even if they did, it would leave a sour taste in their mouth that would likely impact my employment at some point. This is very similar. As was said earlier, they are senior signs whose talent merits being drafted much later. The Orioles draft them earlier so they can use the difference between the slot money and the bonus money to go over slot with other draftees.

John Olerud was drafted in the 3rd round in 1989 and debuted on September 3, 1989. He was a first round talent that was drafted in the 3rd round because he had a brain aneurysm and missed part of the season. Other teams assumed he was going to return to Washington State for his senior year. I believe he never played in the minors.

Yes, so they can invest it in international scouting.

If they do not sign Conlon, they do not get a comp pick next year. They get nothing.

Signability will always be a factor unless/until teams are allowed to have players go to school and still retain their draft rights (like the NHL).

Looks like he is going to sign according to his Twitter. https://twitter.com/jcon1744?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

College Senior-here is an underslot pick.

A true freshman at a 4 year college can be draft eligible if he turns 21 within 45 days of the draft. It has happened before. Chris Dwyer was a true freshman at Clemson in 2009 and was drafted in the 4th round by Kansas City that year. I believe that he graduated high school at 19, attended prep school for a year and then went to Clemson.He was 21 at the time of the draft.

I hope Alvarado has a great major league career. I am not sure how hard he throws. When I think of a player that had pitchability and excelled in the minors with great K and WHIP numbers I think of this guy: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/stephjo03.shtml He was a top international prospect when the O's signed him in 1996 and was a hard thrower. He suffered a neck injury fielding a bunt in 1998. After that his fastball clocked at top speeds of 82 to 86 MPH. Did not stop him from excelling in the minors. Never did much in the Majors though. Check out his stats from 1999 217 K's, 170.1 innings, 36 walks, WHIP of 1.080

His "advisor" may think that he will get a bigger bonus in 3 years, so his "advisor" most definitely could have advised him not to sign. Good agents are those that have the best long term interests of their client in mind and are not in it for the quick buck. That is how they retain clients and gain more.

Very, Very few college baseball players get full athletic scholarships. Teams are limited to offering 11.7 scholarships for the whole team-probably 30 or so players, so he may be having to foot some of the bill himself. It is also possible that other scholarships may be able to make up some or all of the difference. Georgia does offer the lottery funded HOPE scholarship for students that have good grades in high school and maintain those grades in college. There is a decent chance that he will not be going to college completely free, however.

Reading that, the only possibilities that makes for a reason why he has not signed yet is that there is and injury concern(post physical) or he has upped his price, in which case the Orioles should definitely pass.

You are right. It was still odd timing and I still wonder if one had anything to do with the other, although they may be completely unrelated. Ron Hopkins was a National Crosschecker for the Orioles. National Crosscheckers are involved with amateur scouting, correct?

Didn't the Orioles fire their amateur scout that was in charge of Texas shortly after the draft? I do recall at the time wondering if it had anything to do with Poche. Looks like it might have.