Tampa Bay has confirmed they will make Tim Beckham the top pick in the MLB Entry Draft later today. So, he won't be slipping and falling to Baltimore.
Keep in mind the Orioles have never drafted ahead of the Rays. Or the Devil Rays for that matter. Never. No wonder Tampa is so good.
I still think the Orioles will take Brian Matusz, a lefthander from San Diego, in the four slot. But there is some who believe that Aaron Crow will be the pick. MLB.com said so in their final draft projection last night, but sometime changed it before I just looked again. So I'm thinking there might have been some information leaked to those folks that Crow was the guy. But now I think that might have been some posturing to ensure that Matusz got there. Ahh, the beauty of the Major League draft.
I don't think the Orioles would pass on Gordon Alvarez, the third baseman out of Vanderbilt. Unfortunately, neither will the Pirates and they pick ahead of the Orioles.
So I think it comes down to Justin Smoak, a switchitting first baseman or Matusz. I think the O's think Matusz is the bpa (best player available) and will take him. I like the bpa strategy and don't think the major league draft should be a need based draft especially early, as these players are still years away in development.
But it will be interesting to see if any patterns develop with the Orioles through this draft. I wouldn't be shocked to see them try to snatch up some college position players after round one, in hopes of getting them to the Bigs quicker than the H.S. players.
I also wouldn't be shocked to see Josh Vittek go from Emmitsburg to the O's. But that won't happen until tomorrow.
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