Who do you not want the O's to take?

[eb45]

So JTrea, is it fair to say that you only want Cox, and nobody else will satisfy you?

EDIT: Wow, I just realized how that sounded.

[Duke2010]

I won't be upset with the pick, but I'm really worried he'll turn into another Rowell.

I just don't trust our system to develop those toosly HS players.

I agree. I won't be unhappy with the pick, and in fact, I would be leaning towards selecting him over everyone else that is left. I think that Machado will have a major league career unlike Rowell, but I'm skeptical that he'll reach his ceiling. Even if Machado falters some with the bat and is moved off SS, I think his floor projections of .280 BA and 15 HRs will be similar to what a guy like Cox could be if he doesn't reach his peak.

As for your last statement, it must be nice to be a Rays fan. It just seems that they are always drafting and developing the toolsy atheltes, which is something that I wish we could do.

[Three Run Homer]

Machado is a great talent, but I don't want the O's to take a HS hitter. We don't know how to develop HS hitters.

Even so I won't exactly be upset if we get Machado. Maybe he'll be the exception. What will get me upset is if we reach for some HS or college pitcher that isn't even ranked among the top 5 guys at his position, like we did last year.

[Big Mac]

I do not want the O's to take any player not named Machado or Colon...Cox would be the only other player I could get on board with but I think he's definitely below the other two.

[carolinaoriole]

I will be disapointed if the Pirates take Taillon and the Orioles take Machado.

[OsnRavensallday]

I would rather have Taillon because the dude is a beast and could be a dominating #1 in our rotation, he can hit 99 with his fastball and has 3 other plus pitches. That being said i would not be upset at all with Machado, some scouts have compaired him to A-Rod. Anytime you hear that you have to be excited, and he plays short a big hole we have had sense Ripken. We Drafted Givens last year who is a highly touted young guy last year to play short but he's still a few years a way . A future double play combo of Machado and Givens wouldn't be too bad at all.

[JayThomas]

Rowell is Rowell. Machado is Machado. I'll blame Jordan for drafting Rowell. I don't think the Orioles failed in developing him. I just think he wasn't that good. I think the problem with Rowell is that he wasn't seen enough against top level competition. Great batting practice hitter. Put on a great show in a pre-draft tryout. I think Machado is more battle tested. Hopefully they have a better read on him. I'm not saying the Orioles are great at developing hitters but they've gotten a few through the system.

Precisely. Machado is nationally recognized as Top-3 talent. Rowell was recognized as having top power potential. As for the competition level, there's no comparison between NJ high school competition and FL high school. I would never use a 1st round pick on a high school player from north of Maryland. The competion up here is just too weak to make any sort of comparison to guys from FL, TX, CA.

[LookinUp]

Adams, Henson, Avery, Hoes, & Snyder. Besides Rowell (06) and Pope(05), that is the entire list of top 10 picks spent on HS hitters since Jordan took over. Out of those guys, Snyder and Rowell are the only 1st rounders. I could make a case that those first 5 have all developed to some extent and most have not finished developing. No big stars, and Rowell is the biggest disappointment but this constant harping about the O's not developing hitters is overblown IMO. Jordan went for a HS guy in Rowell and he busted. The others, except for Pope, have all progressed through the system. I think most of the griping is based soley on Rowell.

Props to McLovin

http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64294

06 looks like a terrible position prospect year for us, but otherwise there's a sprinkling of nice picks throughout (too early to know for 09).

2009

Givens

Townsend

Dalles

1 other unsigned

2008

Avery

Hoes

Hudson

Miclat

Joseph

1 other unsigned

2007

Wieters

Mahoney

Angle

Crowley

2006

Rowell

Adams

Henson

Davis

Stephen

1 unsigned

2005

Snyder

Reimold

Pope

Andrews

Figeruoa

[Three Run Homer]

Adams, Henson, Avery, Hoes, & Snyder. Besides Rowell (06) and Pope(05), that is the entire list of top 10 picks spent on HS hitters since Jordan took over. Out of those guys, Snyder and Rowell are the only 1st rounders. I could make a case that those first 5 have all developed to some extent and most have not finished developing. No big stars, and Rowell is the biggest disappointment but this constant harping about the O's not developing hitters is overblown IMO. Jordan went for a HS guy in Rowell and he busted. The others, except for Pope, have all progressed through the system. I think most of the griping is based soley on Rowell.

My concern is not based on Rowell. It's based on a 20 year period (at least) in which the organization hasn't developed a single good high school hitter.

Focusing on the Jordan era makes sense only if we think the main problem all along has been scouting. I don't. I think the problem is player development. Specifically, hitting instruction in this organization is very poor. Hiring Jordan didn't change that.

Even focusing on the Jordan era, I don't think the list you've cited is anything to brag about. Brandon Snyder will play in the big leagues but I wouldn't bet on him being an average hitter for his position--he looks like the second coming of Shea Hillenbrand to me. I'm not optimistic about Henson or Adams at all. Hoes I'm more optimistic about--but note that he's a guy who came into the organization knowing how to play the game, in particular with a mature approach to the strike zone.

[cnmilton]

I don't want any part of Machado. He's the most overrated person in this draft. No way do I draft him number 3.

[Sanfran327]

I want them to take the best player available and sign him by the end of the week. I don't want to waste a season on a player that doesn't sign until the 11th hour again ala Matusz and Wieters. Clearly, I'm glad we have both of them, but I'd like to get a player in uniform as quickly as we can.

[cnmilton]

The problem with signing a week out is that MLB won't approve an over-slot signing early due to it possible affecting every player signed after said over-slot player. Even if the Nationals and Strasburg had a deal in place early last year, it would not have been announced until the same time period as it naturally happened.