Spring Training Autographs- Top Prospects

I promise that I will make it through my Spring Training autographs one day. In fact, I hope to wrap them up tomorrow, but no promises.

Today's autographs are of players who are currently among the organization's top prospects or who have been regarded as a prospect over recent years. If applicable, I will list their current ranking according to Baseball America.


I was very happy to get my first autograph from the Orioles 2011 First Round pick and 2012 top prospect, Dylan Bundy. He was still at the O's big league camp during my trip and I happened to be in the right place at the right time to get his signature.

The Birds' #2 prospect (who was #1 in 2011) is Manny Machado, who also got into some big league Spring Training games. The team seems very high on him, as they likely should be. I was very glad to get  a personalized autograph from him, and his autograph seems like it has improved a bit since the end of last season.

 

#3 prospect Jonathan Schoop (all the way up from #10 last year) is probably my favorite player in the system right now. He's consistently nice to the fans and I think he has a legitimate chance to really help the Orioles a few years down the road.

Since he has yet to pitch above lo-A Delmarva, I haven't had a chance to see #4 prospect Parker Bridwell pitch yet. But at least I have his autograph.

The Orioles 2nd round pick in the 2011 draft is 3B Jason Esposito, who BA ranks as their #8 prospect. This was my first chance to get his autograph and he seems like a pretty decent guy. He even took his time signing the Topps USA card since he said they often smudge; thanks for the effort Jason!

Dan Klein has some serious potential but has battled injuries throughout his time in the minors. He could very well be the Orioles closer of the future , but only if he can stay healthy. He is the #10 prospect this year, slipping from #5 last season.

Glynn Davis, no not Glenn, is ranked just outside the top ten and is regarded as the fastest player in the O's farm system. 

Ryan Berry was the organization's #9 prospect last year but injuries derailed his season, so he's off the list this year. And somehow I didn't notice that both of these cards used the same picture until i was getting them signed.

Matt Hobgood was the team's 2009 first round pick and #5 prospect in 2010 but has yet to have much success at the professional level. And he won't pitch this year due to some sort of injury. At this point, I'm not expecting much of Matt, it's kind of a Billy Rowell 2.0 situation.

Caleb Joseph was ranked as the #10 prospect in 2010 but seems to have plateaued. He's always been a favorite of mine, but he needs to make the jump to AAA this year to prove himself. 

Kipp Schutz has never been ranked amongst the team's top 10 prospects but he has some major league potential, so I'm including him here.

Spring Training Orange Uni Autographs

You might or might not know that one of my mini autograph collections focuses on Orioles/O's affiliate cards that picture players wearing orange uniforms. I don't generally like to spend much money on the collection but will get orange uni cards signed when I can. Here's my haul for my Spring Training trip.

I'll start out with a few players who have played for the O's at some point.

Headlined by current/former Oriole Brian Roberts.

Chris Hoiles was in camp as a special catching instructor and he signed a number of cards for me.

As I mentioned the other day, Alan Mills is back in the organization as a pitching coach. 

And Ryan Minor is still around as the manager of the Shorebirds. 

Josh Bell was kind enough to sign a couple cards for me on my trip. 

Next up are some top prospects...

Xavier Avery really seems like he doesn't like signing and it shows in his signature. It's insane how different his autograph is from that pre-printed version.

Dan Klein is continuing to recover from surgery (tommy john maybe?) that he had last year. 

Next up are a few guys battling for roster spots in big league camp...

Including John Hester, who is one of Kalina's favorites since he is a nice guy.

And Steve Johnson, who is trying to become a second generation Oriole, following in the footsteps of his dad, Dave. 

One of my personal favorites it Caleb Joseph, who should make the jump to AAA this season. 

And probably Kalina's absolute favorite O's minor leaguer, Car-los Ro-jas!

The 2011 Norfolk Tides team set was absolutely rife with orange uni cards, so I was obviously a big fan!

The Last of My Spring Training Successes

Just over two weeks after I got back from my spring training trip, here are the last of the autographs I got in Sarasota. I got these all signed at the Twin Lakes Minor League complex, but two of these guys have appeared in a few games for the O's.

 

Like Pedro Viola and Troy Patton. 

Viola was a pretty tough autograph to get at Camden Yards, but is much easier when he is forced to walk right past you. I just read that he will be back with AA Bowie this season, and since this is my last card of his, I guess I need to buy a few more "blanks" to get signed.  

That is probably the sloppiest signature I've ever seen from Patton. His T.P. initials seem to have swallowed one another.

 

I was excited to finally come across the O's 2009 1st Round Draft Pick, Matt Hobgood. At this point, I don't know what to expect from him, but I was happy to add his signature to my collection. His Matt is pretty good but his last name is pretty hard to make out.

I was also pleased to add 2010 3rd Rounder, Dan Klein, to my collection. He was included in the Ironbirds' update set that I received for Christmas (thanks Kalina), so I obviously didn't have this card when I saw the Ironbirds play in September. Klein has a cool autograph, and I especially like the D. 

 

 

Randy Henry was probably the nicest player I've ever come across during my 'graphing exploits. He was talkative and personable and spoke with me like I was his friend, not just some random person getting autographs. He told me how his Spring Training was going and that he had only pitched one inning to that point, but was happy with how it went. I think I have a new favorite O's Minor Leaguer. Good luck this year Randy!

 

 

 

 

Atkins & Houser were non-roster Spring Training invites, so I don't know if they will even pitch in the O's system this year, but I was happy to add them to my collection regardless.

Atkins didn't seem very excited to sign, but begrudgingly stopped for a minute. The reverse j loops on his M & A are certainly unique.

Houser's signature is pretty interesting and stylized. You can tell that he takes pride in it.

 

 

 

 

You know I like my orange uni autographs, especially from the O's 2010 Minor League Player of the Year (Mahoney) and a new player for my collection (Ohlman). 

 

I'm not entirely sure how Cowan was chosen to be included in the Bowman Chrome set since he's not a top level prospect, but I'm always happy to get an "Orioles" card signed. 

 

 

Johnson & Erbe are veterans on my blog, and I don't have much new to say about them. I'm still hoping that they can both turn a corner and make a push to the O's roster one of these years.

 

Raul has always been a willing signer and is very polite. His signature is pretty smooth too and the O at the end is something you don't see too often.

 

I don't have too much to say about Anderson or Moore, besides that Anderson is a huge guy, probably 6'7'' 275. You wouldn't like him when he's angry.

Now that I'm done with my Spring Training autographs, I will start taking a look at the O's 2011 roster. Thanks for sticking with me through this one.