Amateur Draft, Day 2

Day Two of the Draft:

Round 7

#206: BAL - Caleb Joseph, C, Lipscomb. "Corban's brother Caleb Joseph is a catcher at Lipscomb and is also eligible for this year's draft. Caleb is also a good hitter with power, as he led Lipscomb in batting (.345), home runs (14) and RBIs (53). Caleb is athletic behind the plate with an average arm and a quick release. At the plate, he's a solid fastball hitter but can have trouble with breaking stuff." - Baseball America. Seems like he has a pretty good eye at the plate. He also played third, but doesn't seem like he could get to the majors playing there.

(Shadow) - Jordan Danks, OF, Texas. Very good athlete who can play center and has some power potential that hasn't shown up as well as would be liked in games. It was a toss-up between Danks and Eric Thames (both outfielders dropped pretty far), but Thames injury concerns had me go with Danks. It'll be expensive to sign him, but it's an upside pick (which is what I tend to do. I want guys that have a chance to make a real impact, not be 4th/5th outfielders, even if the chances are low).

Round 8

#236: BAL - Robert Bundy, RHSP, High School. "Tore his ACL in December playing basketball, but bounced back nicely from the injury this spring, still featuring a plus curve along with a low-90s fastball. He is committed to Arkansas and it is doubtful that a team will throw enough money at him to lure him from Fayetteville, as he is still on the mend from his knee injury." - BA He's got some up-side; I think it's a good pick.

(Shadow) - Bundy. Could be a steal if the O's give him enough money.

Round 9

#266: BAL - Nicholas Haughian, LHSP, Washington. Throws four pitches, but lacks polish and command. Not a bad selection.

(Shadow) - Trevor Holder, RHSP, Georgia. Not a real hard-thrower, but has some deception. I think he could add a mph or two if he got more momentum into his delivery. Not great secondary stuff, but he can pitch.

Round 10

#296: BAL - Christopher Herrmann, 3B, Alcin CC.

(Shadow) - DJ Mitchell, RHSP, Clemson. After going heavier on the bats on day one, I'm picking through the pitchers that are left today. Mitchell isn't a high-upside pick - his stuff is really only average but he gets good movement on the fastball - but he goes after hitters. Not very projectable, but a good athlete, which is nice to have in a pitcher.

Round 11

#326: BAL - Nathan Moreau, LHAP, Georgia. "He has a 90-92 fastball with big curve. Moreau will pitch at the next level and possibly in the big show" Can't really complain about that.

(Shadow) - Dominic De La Osa, 2B, Vanderbilt. Played mostly outfield, but used to be a shortstop and has some pop and a bit of speed. Could turn into an offensive-minded second-baseman (he's not particularly nimble).

Round 12

#356: BAL - Jason Rook, OF, Appalachian St. Has some power and nice all-around tools. Again, a fine pick.

(Shadow) - Kyle Day, C, Michigan St. "Day's favorite player is Javy Lopez, and his scouting report reads similarly." - BA. Hey, Jazy was a pretty darn good player (defense aside). Catcher is this outside of Wieters, and even a JR House type guy would be good with me. Maybe look for a guy that can play some defense later.

Round 13

#386: BAL - Corey Thomas, 3B, High School. "Large framed athletic build, big time projection. Good field fundamentals, has arm strength, hands work well, 3B profile. Runs well for big kid. Limited load, raw bat speed, flashes power potential, hitting tools are there. Big upside/lots to learn."

(Shadow) - I'll defer to Joe Jordan's opinion. I like the look of Thomas.

Round 14

#416: BAL - Jesse Beal, RHSP, High School. Big right-hander who doesn't throw that hard yet but has some projectability. Local guy, so he should get signed.

(Shadow) - Nathan Recknagel, 1B, Michigan. I like Beal, but Recknagel can mash. An elbow injury is what dropped him this far, but he's a senior and so probably will sign.

Round 15

#446: BAL - Jason Gurka, LHSP, Angelina Coll. Don't know. Seems like an OK pitcher.

(Shadow) - Derrick Saito, LHRP, Coll. Small lefty with a big arm. Has four plus pitches, but not the stamina to be a starter. I'll take that out of the pen any day, and am not turned away by his size. Scott Kazmir (though bigger) is also supposed to be a small lefty.

Round 16

#476: BAL - Robert Stevens, SS, Northern Illinois. Has some speed, but not a great hitter.

(Shadow) - Michael Palazzone, RHSP, High School. Very good curveball; throws a low 90's fastball and a change. Mechanics aren't great, but he is very projectable.

Round 17

#506: BAL - Brian Conley, OF, Towson. Another local guy, Conley is a pretty good hitter who played all over the diamond.

(Shadow) - James Mallard, 1B, High School. Big, big guy has some huge power potential, but is also a good hitter with excellent plate discipline. SaberScouting really loved him, and that's good enough for me. This makes three first-basemen in the 17 picks. Mallard is a bit riskier than the other two, but could pay big (pun intended) dividends for the six years he is under team control at the major league level. The O's system is getting some power infused into it.

Round 18

#536: BAL - Keith Landers, LHSP, High School. Still raw, but has good stuff and is quite projectable. Dropped due to signability.

(Shadow) - That Jordan picked him implies that they should be able to sign him. If so, then I'm on board. Great arm to get in the 18th round.

Round 19

#566: BAL - Jarret Martin, LHSP, High School. Like Palazzone, he has a very good curve and a solid fastball. Another projectable pitcher who may have some signability issues.

(Shadow) - I'll stick with Jordan's pick. Xavier Scruggs is another slugging first-baseman that I would have liked, but three are already on-board. Harold Martinez also has a huge ceiling at third, but I doubt he'll sign if picked this late. I would have taken a flier on either, but actually prefer Martin.

Round 20

#596: BAL - Ronnie Welty, OF, CC. Pretty good athlete with a good arm and power potential.

(Shadow) - Zach Cox, 3B, High School. Good hitter but some questions about his power. Solid defender. He's another signability guy. I'd rather take 20 guys where only 15 sign, but they are all top 10-15 talents. At this point, I'm pretty much spent. I don't really know anything about the remaining players, and so will stop shadowing here. There are a couple of interesting picks made by the team in the lator rounds, including HS SS Brandon Loyd and HS RHSP Kevin Brady.

I think Joe Jordan did a much better job today than yesterday. A couple of athletic hitters and several high-upside pitchers. If he signs Bundy, Landers, and Martin, then I'll be very happy.

7-206: Caleb Joseph, C, Lipscomb.
8-236: Robert Bundy, RHSP, High School.
9-266: Nicholas Haughian, LHSP, Washington.
10-296: Christopher Herrmann, 3B, Alcin CC.
11-326: Nathan Moreau, LHAP, Georgia.
12-356: Jason Rook, OF, Appalachian St.
13-386: Corey Thomas, 3B, High School.
14-416: Jesse Beal, RHSP, High School.
15-446: Jason Gurka, LHSP, Angelina Coll.
16-476: Robert Stevens, SS, Northern Illinois.
17-506: Brian Conley, OF, Towson.
18-536: Keith Landers, LHSP, High School.
19-566: Jarret Martin, LHSP, High School.
20-596: Ronnie Welty, OF, CC.