Thoughts on the Orioles 2011 Draft

I'm far from an expert on high school or college baseball, so I can't provide any sort of in-depth breakdown of the Orioles draft. But I will share a few thoughts and opinions.

Dylan Bundy, the Oklahoma high-schooler who the O's selected as the 4th overall pick in the draft, is the player I was hoping that they would draft for quite some time. He seems to be regarded as the pitcher with the best "stuff" in the draft class. The Orioles took his older brother, Bobby, in the 8th round of the 2008 draft, so that might alleviate some of the signability concerns that have surrounded Dylan. Bobby has been pitching very well for the Hi-A Frederick Keys so far this season.

I also heard Danny Hultzen's and Archie Bradley's names as possible Orioles selections. I like that Hultzen is a college player and a lefty to boot, but the Mariners took him off the board with the second overall pick, so we'll never know if the Orioles would have preferred him. Bradley is a Oklahoma high school guy, just like Bundy, but I prefer Bundy over him for some reason. You never know how these guys will turn out, but you can believe that I will be following this trio throughout their professional careers to find out!

Most of the players drafted after the first round are names that I don't recognize, but the O's 2nd Round pick, Jason Esposito, is a 3rd basemen from Vanderbilt who is repped by Scott Boras, who doesn't just help out anyone.

In the 8th round, the O's took ASU centerfielder Johnny Ruettiger. If that name sounds familiar, it's becuase he is Rudy's nephew. Pretty cool connection.

Overall, the Orioles drafted 32 college players, 16 high schoolers, and two guys with no school listed. They selected 28 pitchers (19 righties, 9 lefties), 4 catchers, center-fielders, and third baseman, 3 shortstops and right-fielders, and 1 left-fielder, first baseman, second basemen, and a guy just listed as an outfielder. I guess you really can't ever have enough pitching!