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Oliver Drake

CharmCityHokie

By CharmCityHokie
in Orioles Talk

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Crazysilver03 Hangout Grand Counsel

Crazysilver03

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I overheard a training discussion a couple years back where Dan Duquette recommended to Oliver that he get hooked up with the trainer that Ryan Flaherty had used in the offseason. Tony-OH always said that if they relieve in the minors, that they are not a prospect. Unless they close. Seems like that is what they want him to do. At whatever level. If he can stay healthy. WHich he has never really done as a pro.

Yeah I hope Drake can eventually make it to the majors. Will make a nice story.

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hoosiers Hangout Grand Counsel

hoosiers

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Innings pitched.

2012: 18

2013: 31

2014: 37

I think he is getting close, but he hasn't proven he can pitch effectively for long enough to warrant a full time promotion.

Gotta love his results, and if he keeps this up he could even fill in for the Orioles at some point this year should the bullpen really take some abuse.

That's enough IP for me - especially counting this year. He is old for the league and should be promoted to the next level IMO.

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weams Hangout Grand Counsel

weams

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Then let's get the Thing to the Show (or at least AAA).
He's been doing his thing at AAA with Norfolk since the beginning of the season. I tacked on yesterday's outing onto an old thread.

All six outings have been in AAA.

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Crazysilver03 Hangout Grand Counsel

Crazysilver03

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He's been lights out down here all season long. If he isn't in Baltimore by the end of the year I will be greatly surprised.

Well he will be up in September. It is just a question if he makes it there sooner. I really hope that the team can trade WWright and Hunter, and maybe Matusz, this summer and open up some spots.

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OFFNY Hangout Grand Counsel

OFFNY

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What in the World are They Doing with Oliver Drake?

I am one of the last guys that likes to see guys rushed up levels and all if you are not really dominating a league but come on. What else can this guy do. He has been at Bowie in 2012, 2013, 2014 and has an ERA under 2 in two of those years and this season 2.38 with 20 plus saves. It is not like Norfolk has a ton of ptching they have abut 5 guys I would let go right now that are pitching awful.

He's here. You've got your wish. :)

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OFFNY Hangout Grand Counsel

OFFNY

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I know alot of people on here know some of these details about Oliver Drake, but thought it was an interesting little blurb from FanGraphs regarding his background:

Oliver Drake may or may not make it to the big leagues. If he does, he?ll be a great story. In many ways, he already is.

A right-handed pitcher in the Baltimore Orioles organization, Drake lasted until the 43rd round of the 2008 draft. He had shoulder surgery two years ago and at age 26 has yet to pitch above Double-A. If he wasn?t playing professional baseball, he would likely be an officer in the military. Growing up, he wasn?t even sure baseball was his best sport.

?I was a pretty good hockey player,? explained Drake, who hails from Massachusetts. ?I was a forward and in the best school league in New England. When I turn on the TV, I see a bunch of guys I used to play against, like Max Pacioretty of the Canadians, Jonathan Quick, the goalie for the Kings ? guys who are in the NHL now.?

Drake wasn?t NHL material, and coming out of prep school it didn?t look like he?d be MLB material either. He enrolled in the Naval Academy, where he majored in quantitative economics. He also established himself on the baseball team and began catching the eye of scouts. They?d have watched him more carefully had they known his status.

?Teams hadn?t realized I was 21 and draft eligible,? said Drake. ?At the Naval Academy, West Point, and the Air Force Academy, anyone can leave, for any reason, before the start of their junior year. Most teams had only seen me once or twice with the intention of actually scouting me.?

The Orioles were among them, and took Drake late in the draft. After watching him pitch well in the Cal Ripken summer league, they inked him to a contract. That was mere weeks before Drake would have needed to sign full-commitment papers with the Naval Academy. It wasn?t an easy decision for the player currently rated the No. 24 prospect in the Baltimore system by Baseball America.

?There were times that summer where I thought I was going to stay,? said Drake. ?[but] a captain there sat me down. He looked at me and said, ?Oliver, you can always come back to a career in the military if baseball doesn?t work out, but you can?t do it the other way around. If you want to pursue baseball, this is your chance.??

Seven years later and fully healthy, the former Midshipman has a chance to one day pitch in Baltimore. Working out of the bullpen in Double-A Bowie last season, he had a 1.74 ERA and punched out 11 batters every nine innings. Drake features a fastball that touches 94 mph and a quality splitter.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/sunday-column-mets-indians-orioles-white-sox/

Hopefully he can keep his health this season, he's definitely a guy I've been keeping my eye on the last few years and has really done well with the transition to the bullpen. He's Tony's #23 prospect:

http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/showthread.php/137591-2013-23-prospect-Oliver-Drake-RHP

Thank you for this story from February of 2014.

At long last, Oilver Drake has gotten called up to the major leagues today by the Orioles.

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