And with their first pick in the 2010 draft, the O's select...

[QBsILLEST1]

I think the O's need to go with a college player. High school players are too difficult to project, and the O's have had terrible luck with them. Notable high schoolers who were developed by the O's in the last 10 years? Seems like a really short list.

Best college hitter or a college pitcher like Matusz

Well, I dont think its fair to judge Joe Jordan or our current player development over the past 10 years since they werent present at the time. Since JJ and the new regime, of HS talents came Britton whop now looks to be a top 100 guy, SNyder who is a borderline top 100 guy, Spoone who would have been a top 100 guy if not for the labrum injury in 08, Erbe who has been a top 100 guy and IMO will be one this season.

Oh and you cant forget about Brad Bergesen who was our best pitcher this year who happened to be a rookie, and if he would have finished the season IMO woulda been a top 2 or 3 ROY choice.

The numbers are obviously against you if you draft a HS talent, but those odds are subjective, not all talents are equal, shoot not even all 1st round talents are equal. If we drafted Taillon, and you think he has the same chance of success/fail as Hobgood, then you arent understanding the beauty of the draft. Same thing when we drafted Matusz, his chance of being a quality ML pitcher was a whole lot higher than that of James Paxton a 2009 1st rounder. You cannot use a blanket clause to determine who you think is best to pick or else you will fail.

[paulcoates]

3. Deck McGuire, rhp Georgia Tech

This kid went to high school right down the street from me.

[Stotle]

3. Deck McGuire, rhp Georgia Tech

This kid went to high school right down the street from me.

McGuire is my favorite to beat out Ranaudo as top college arm. I'd be pretty excited if BAL ended up with him (provided solid spring, of course).

[BringBackMagic]

Deck McGuire. Whatta baseball name. Hopefully he's better than Tripper Johnson.

[paulcoates]

McGuire is my favorite to beat out Ranaudo as top college arm. I'd be pretty excited if BAL ended up with him (provided solid spring, of course).

http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/mcguire_deck00.html

4 quality pitches

6'6" 215 nice frame

how hard does he throw?

[Stotle]

http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/mcguire_deck00.html

4 quality pitches

6'6" 215 nice frame

how hard does he throw?

Low 90s with boring action.

[wickedwitch]

Low 90s with boring action.

What does "boring action" mean?

[Stotle]

What does "boring action" mean?

Hard, downward action. Boring as in drilling. Also, you see "heavy" fastball or "sinking action".

[QBsILLEST1]

What does "boring action" mean?

Hard, downward action. Boring as in drilling. Also, you see "heavy" fastball or "sinking action".

Apparently Jake Arrieta has a hard fastball with boring action on it, though Ive never seen him pitch in person.

[jerios55]

http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/mcguire_deck00.html

4 quality pitches

6'6" 215 nice frame

how hard does he throw?

Anybody think we could get this guy in the 2nd round? Jedd Gyorko, 3B/2B, West Virginia. He looks like a guy that could help out quickly as, at least, a bench middle infielder.

edit: I quoted Paul since it's a WVU guy and he has the avatar

[NoVaO]

McGuire is my favorite to beat out Ranaudo as top college arm. I'd be pretty excited if BAL ended up with him (provided solid spring, of course).

I haven't seen any of next year's projected top picks except for Ranaudo, so I can't make any definitive statements one way or another in terms of rankings, but I was really, really impressed with what I saw from Ranaudo.

Of course, I saw two of his better starts on the year, so I'll need to see one in which he struggled, but I didn't see any particular weakness...fastball doesn't have huge velocity, but it has tremendous life up in the zone and he still has some projection in his body, his curveball is a true hammer and he can throw it for strikes. His command will get off track occasionally, but when he's going good he's able to hit both corners of the plate with his fastball.

I have rarely seen the guy throw a change-up, but I've heard it's potentially an above average pitch.

Lastly, this guy is fiery and he has a certain swagger to his game...he makes Joba look like a wallflower and he'll definitely pacify all those saying this team needs somebody with heart and passion.

[allstar1579]

I haven't seen any of next year's projected top picks except for Ranaudo, so I can't make any definitive statements one way or another in terms of rankings, but I was really, really impressed with what I saw from Ranaudo.

Of course, I saw two of his better starts on the year, so I'll need to see one in which he struggled, but I didn't see any particular weakness...fastball doesn't have huge velocity, but it has tremendous life up in the zone and he still has some projection in his body, his curveball is a true hammer and he can throw it for strikes. His command will get off track occasionally, but when he's going good he's able to hit both corners of the plate with his fastball.

I have rarely seen the guy throw a change-up, but I've heard it's potentially an above average pitch.

Lastly, this guy is fiery and he has a certain swagger to his game...he makes Joba look like a wallflower and he'll definitely pacify all those saying this team needs somebody with heart and passion.

Reminds me of a softer throwing Carlos Zambrano.