Re-Evaluating Baltimore Orioles' Top Draft Picks from the Past Decade
One of the most exciting and interesting times of year is the annual MLB draft.
Teams spend countless hours scouting all across the country, attempting to find what they deem to be the best young talent eligible for the draft. It's a competition all its own.
Seeing as how the Baltimore Orioles had a losing record for 14 consecutive seasons prior to posting winning records in each of the last three, the team has had many top-five and top-10 draft picks over the last decade-and-a-half or so.
Because of that, one would think that the team is loaded with homegrown talent and the farm system is well-stocked with young, controllable players.
But when we take a look back at the team's last 10 first-round picks, dating back to 2005, we find that it's only a more recent thing for the O's first pick to pan out as a productive major league player.
2005: Brandon Snyder, Catcher
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Catcher Brandon Snyder was the Orioles' first-round draft pick (13th overall pick) in the 2005 draft out of Westfield High School in Virginia.
Snyder spent four-and-half seasons in the O's minor league system before being called up to the big leagues in September 2010. The September call-up didn't mean much, however, as he only appeared in six games in two different stints with the Orioles the following year.
After the 2011 season, Baltimore traded Snyder to the Texas Rangers for cash considerations, where he made the team out of spring training as a backup first baseman and outfielder and hit his first big league home run.
Snyder spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons in the Boston Red Sox's organization while appearing with the parent club in 2013. And on April 27 of this year, the O's brought Snyder back to their organization on a minor league contract.
A career .271 hitter in the minors with a solid .334 OBP, Snyder has struggled somewhat in his limited action in the majors, hitting .243 with a .287 OBP and five home runs in 148 at-bats. He is now 28 years old, and it's safe to say he's a prospect who didn't pan out, though there's still time for him to make something of a major league career for himself, most likely as a backup or platoon player somewhere.
2006: Billy Rowell, Third Baseman
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This young third baseman out of Bishop Eustace Preparatory School in New Jersey is probably the biggest bust on this list and arguably one of the biggest busts ever for the Orioles.
The O's drafted Billy Rowell ninth overall in 2006, and he signed a deal with a $2.1 million signing bonus.
He was supposed to have a good bat with potential to be an impact hitter at the major league level. However, he never surpassed the role of a backup player at Double-A Bowie before the Orioles decided to try their hand at converting him into a pitcher at the start of the 2012 season.
In May 2012, Rowell failed a drug test due to marijuana usage and was suspended 50 games. It was the second time in his career he had failed a test due to marijuana (2009). After his suspension, he went to the O's spring training complex in Sarasota, Florida, to begin his transformation into a pitcher but suffered arm soreness and ended up never throwing a pitch in a competitive game for the O's organization.
At the end of the season, the team cut ties with Rowell, who hasn't played professionally for any MLB organization since. His last at-bat came in 2011, and he ended his career with a .261 batting average with only 40 home runs in six minor league seasons.
And to think, the San Francisco Giants drafted pitcher Tim Lincecum just one pick behind Rowell in 2006.
2007: Matt Wieters, Catcher
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The fifth overall pick in 2007 out of Georgia Institute of Technology, Matt Wieters has been one of the more successful first-round draft picks by the Orioles in the last two decades.
Touted as a switch-hitting Joe Mauer with power when he was drafted, Wieters steadily became of the best offensive and defensive catchers in the majors after he broke into the bigs in 2009. He has made the All-Star Game three times and twice won the Gold Glove award while belting 22, 23 and 22 home runs from 2011 to 2013.
Unfortunately for Wieters as well as the Orioles, the catcher suffered an injury last May that required Tommy John surgery and hasn't appeared in the majors since. While the O's remained hopeful that Wieters would be able to start the season with them or at least return by the end of April, the switch-hitting catcher has yet to play this year after being diagnosed with elbow tendinitis right after catching his first spring game since the surgery back in March.
Wieters could potentially begin a rehab assignment soon, according to Rich Dubroff of CSN Baltimore, and is eligible to come off of the 60-day disabled list on June 4.
Hopefully, Wieters will be able to recapture the form that made him one of the best catchers in baseball, although that could be asking a lot from a guy coming off of such a major injury.
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2008: Brian Matusz, Left-Handed Pitcher
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The case of Brian Matusz is a tricky one. Some fans would argue that he has been a bit of a bust, while others would point to some of the value he's shown over the course of his now seven-year career.
Matusz was drafted fourth overall out of the University of San Diego, and had a solid rookie year for the Birds in 2010 when he went 10-12 with a 4.30 ERA in 175.2 innings pitched.
The following season, though, wasn't so kind to the left-hander. A 1-9 record and an ERA of 10.69 in 12 starts covering 49.2 innings was one of the worst showings in major league history, and Matusz found himself in the bullpen after that. While he did make 16 starts among 34 appearances in 2012, the O's have found a role for Matusz as a solid lefty bullpen arm. He posted an ERA of 3.53 in 51.0 innings in 2013 and 3.48 in 51.2 innings last year.
Most notably, he has owned David Ortiz, holding him to just three hits in 27 plate appearances with 13 strikeouts against the slugger.
Matusz was recently tossed from a game in the 12th inning against the Miami Marlins for having a foreign substance on his arm that he was using to doctor the ball. He received an eight-game suspension that he will appeal.
2009: Matt Hobgood, Right-Handed Pitcher
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The Orioles selected Matt Hobgood, a three-sport athlete, fifth overall out of Norco High School in California.
Since his professional career started in June 2009, Hobgood has struggled to pitch consistently well. The highest he's made it is Double-A Bowie (this season), and he sports a career minor league ERA of 4.90 in 321.2 innings pitched. He's 17-24 in his minor league career.
He's had a little bit of trouble staying healthy as well, and he missed the entire 2012 season due to rotator cuff surgery. This season he's been out since mid-April with shoulder soreness.
Being brought along as a relief pitcher at this point, Hobgood will turn 25 years old in August. While that's not young, that's not old either. There's still time for Hobgood to make something of himself in the O's organization and possibly contribute to the big league club down the road.
But for now, he's one of the team's biggest draft busts in the last 10 years.
2010: Manny Machado, Shortstop
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Manny Machado has played third base for the Orioles since his call to the bigs in August 2012, but the right-handed hitter out of Brito High School in Miami was originally drafted as a shortstop.
Upon the time of his call-up to the majors, the O's were struggling defensively at third base while in the midst of a run for a playoff spot. They thought that Machado, who was 20 years old at the time and hadn't played above Double-A Bowie, could help shore up the defense on the left side of the infield.
Did I mention he had only played two professional games at third at the time?
Machado's call-up solidified the left side of the infield for the Birds and helped propel them to their first playoff appearance since 1997.
Since then, Machado has had plenty of success in the big leagues. He was selected to the All-Star team in 2013, a year that saw him lead the league in doubles (51) and take home a Gold Glove and the Platinum Glove award.
He has had trouble with both knees, missing significant time at the end of the 2013 and 2014 seasons, though now that he's had corrective surgery, the knees should no longer be a problem. Proving the injury issues are behind him, Machado has already set a career high in steals with seven this season.
He figures to only progress as a hitter while maintaining a high level of defensive ability. So far, so good with this draft pick.
2011: Dylan Bundy, Right-Handed Pitcher
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Drafted fourth overall out of Owasso High School in Oklahoma, Dylan Bundy was a strong kid who kept himself in shape and could throw in the upper 90s.
After steamrolling the competition in his first pro season in 2012 (9-3, 2.08 ERA, 119 K in 103.2 IP), he received a September call-up, appearing in two games out of the bullpen for a total of 1.2 innings and allowing just one hit and one walk.
He hasn't seen the majors since.
Bundy underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2013, and the Orioles have been nursing him along as his rehab from the surgery progressed. He finished the 2014 season with a 3.27 ERA in 41.1 innings between Single-A and Double-A.
After starting the 2015 season at Double-A Bowie, Bundy was recently scratched from a start due to shoulder soreness, though an MRI on Wednesday proved to be a positive sign.
Orioles fans had hoped that Bundy would be making a contribution in the big leagues by this point. Hopefully, the young right-hander can stay healthy from now on and make his way to the majors.
2012: Kevin Gausman, Right-Handed Pitcher
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Kevin Gausman was drafted fourth overall out of Louisiana State University. The hard-throwing righty who enjoys eating powdered donuts was supposed to pair up with Dylan Bundy at the top of the rotation for the Baltimore Orioles.
Luckily for Gausman, his career has fared a bit better than Bundy's so far.
Gausman made his debut in 2013 and has experienced his share of ups and downs. But the righty put together a nice rookie season in 2014 in the O's rotation, going 7-7 with an ERA of 3.57 in 20 starts covering 113.1 innings pitched.
He started the 2015 season in the bullpen and pitched to a 4.50 ERA in 12 innings before being placed on the disabled list on May 7 due to right shoulder tendinitis.
According to Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports, Gausman is set to throw to live hitters on Friday, pitch a side session on Sunday and pitch two innings in a simulated game on June 2.
He is very much a part of the Orioles' plans for this season and beyond.
2013: Hunter Harvey, Right-Handed Pitcher
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The third straight right-handed pitcher selected by the Orioles in the first round, Hunter Harvey was taken 22nd overall out of Bandys High School in Catawba, North Carolina.
After signing, he saw success right away as he pitched to a 1.78 ERA in 25.1 innings between the Gulf Coast League Rookie-level Orioles and the Low-A Aberdeen Ironbirds, striking out 33 batters.
The 2014 season went according to plan, as Harvey went 7-5 with an ERA of 3.18 in 17 starts and 87.2 innings with 106 strikeouts before he was shut down for the season in late July after being diagnosed with a flexor mass muscle strain.
Unfortunately, he has yet to throw a regular-season pitch in 2015. He suffered a slight fracture in his right shin during the spring, and as he rehabbed from that injury he suffered a flexor mass muscle strain in his pitching arm for a second time. He visited Dr. James Andrews on May 18 and received a platelet-rich plasma injection while being advised to shut it down for six weeks.
The Orioles need to make sure they take their time to get Harvey right and don't rush him back from injury.
2014: Brian Gonzalez, Left-Handed Pitcher
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The Orioles didn't have a draft pick in the first round of the 2014 draft. Nor did they have one in the second round.
The O's made their first selection in the 2014 draft in the third round due to surrendering their first-round pick to sign pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez and their second-round pick to sign outfielder/designated hitter Nelson Cruz. That selection was Brian Gonzalez, a left-handed pitcher out of Archbishop McCarthy in Southwest Ranches, Florida.
Just 19 years old, Gonzalez has had a decent career to date. He pitched well in 2014 between the rookie-level Orioles in the Gulf Coast League and the Aberdeen Ironbirds (1.34 ERA in 33.2 IP) but hasn't been as impressive this year for the Delmarva Shorebirds. Currently, he is 3-2 with a 4.43 ERA in nine starts covering 44.2 innings. His walks are quite high (24), while he's struck out 33 batters.
Gonzalez could potentially progress into a back-end starter or bullpen arm, or he could serve as a trade piece for the O's down the road.
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