5th Round - Colin Poche: LHP, Marcus HS (TX)

[LookinUp]

I'll say this, whereas I agree with Tony about signing toolsy position players (generally prefer higher probabilities, rather than guys who stand out for general atheticism), I definitely like the idea of getting tall young pitchers in the organization relatively cheaply before they get to college.

I guess my pitching equivalent to Kieron Pope would be someone who has a strong arm but cannot throw strikes. It'd be nice to add a few kids like this and hope 1-2 turn into a guy like Britton or Matusz over the next few years of development.

[Tony-OH]

I'll say this, whereas I agree with Tony about signing toolsy position players (generally prefer higher probabilities, rather than guys who stand out for general atheticism), I definitely like the idea of getting tall young pitchers in the organization relatively cheaply before they get to college.

I guess my pitching equivalent to Kieron Pope would be someone who has a strong arm but cannot throw strikes. It'd be nice to add a few kids like this and hope 1-2 turn into a guy like Britton or Matusz over the next few years of development.

I generally agree. I'd rather go with a projectable arm than an equivalent bat. I just don't trust minor league bats. Maybe it's because the Orioles are historically bad at drafting and developing high school bats, but it also could be because high school hitting is the single hardest thing to scout in my opinion.

[LookinUp]

Definitely understandable. I played in AA county (pretty good county in the early 90s) and the pitching we faced was totally hit and miss, with very few actual top flight (e.g., Division 1) talents.

Edited June 18, 2012 by LookinUp
typo

[TXOriole]

My son just reminded me Poche struck him out 3 times in a tourney game. Actually forgot how solid he was.

[hoosiers]

http://scntx.com/articles/2012/06/15/sports/schools/flower_mound_marcus/253.txt

Article says that Poche will decide this week.

[coe76]

Did the kid sign yet or does the lack of progress mean bad news? Just curious as to the delay.

[hoosiers]

Did the kid sign yet or does the lack of progress mean bad news? Just curious as to the delay.

I think we are all curious as to the delay, but the number reason is most likely money.

Poche may be requesting oversign $ as well. As an Arkansas signee, this might not be surprising, but Poche appeared to be missing from a top prospect list like BA's - though perhaps teams were sleeping on him.

Hopefully, this gets done. I really like these late HS bloomers like Poche and Britton - though Britton was BA top 75 IIRC. They learn how to pitch as sophomores and juniors and really become standouts when the mph ramps up.

[rusty777]

Hey guys, LSU fan here. Really excited about seeing Gausman work his way to the bigs for the O's. Y'all just gained a lot of Louisiana fans due to the draft.

FYI on Poche, quote from his brother to Arkansas fans:

As most of the Arky fans on here know, my brother signed to play there, but was drafted in the 5th round.

Well, after a lot of deliberation and things changing on both sides, Colin made the call to Van Horn yesterday (7/3) to say he will be needing a room in the dorms because he will sign with Arkansas

Not getting into specifics, but he was offered well above slot value

[LookinUp]

I call BS, but time will tell.

I liked the pick, but I wouldn't want to even pay him slot, much less more than slot.

[Tony-OH]

Hey guys, LSU fan here. Really excited about seeing Gausman work his way to the bigs for the O's. Y'all just gained a lot of Louisiana fans due to the draft.

FYI on Poche, quote from his brother to Arkansas fans:

Thanks for the info. If the kid wants to go to school that much and was offered well above slot, then it will be interesting to see if the kid's number changed or if the Oriole mis-read the situation. The one thing Jordan was good at was knowing what a guy wanted to sign and never wasted a top five pick on a kid that wouldn't sign. Obviously the whole story is not out there and he could still change his mind, but it will be interesting to hear how this played out.

[glenn__davis]

Definitely expected him to sign after his initial thoughts on draft day about how excited he was to "officially" be an Oriole.

Not really buying the alleged report from his "brother" yet, but we'll see.

[jcarm]

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.

[eb45]

They fired Ron Hopkins, who came from the Texas Rangers. I don't think they fired the scout in charge of Texas.

[jcarm]

They fired Ron Hopkins, who came from the Texas Rangers. I don't think they fired the scout in charge of Texas.

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?

[eb45]

Pretty sure they're one step down from the amateur scouting director.