The Quest For Pick No. 22

Now that the NFL draft has concluded, its time to (at least for me) to shift my focus to the MLB draft!

As you may or may not know, for the first time since Hanson was still relevant music, the Orioles will be picking beyond the top 15 picks in the MLB draft. That’s right. The Orioles proudly hold pick no. 22 in this year’s first year player draft on June 6, 2013 after their return to dominance during the stellar 2012 campaign. We also hold the no. 37 pick (supplemental 1st round) in this years draft thanks to MLB’s new competitive balance lottery picks. I’m more excited than Bieber fangirl (and I live with one by the way) about the MLB draft this June.

See, I’ve been following college baseball a gazillion times more closely this year than I ever did – and I was already an avid follower since 2010 – thanks to my work with Minor League Ball. I’m fascinated to see where all the top college prospects wind up going in the draft. Of course, I’m not nearly as familiar with all the high school prospects but that’s what Baseball America and Perfect Game are there to help me out with.

With the no. 22 pick comes a wide array of possibilities for scouting director Gary Rajsich. Come draft time, he may have a specific player in mind that he expects to be available and that’s who we get regardless of who else is available. He also may not have a particular player he favors and may just grab whoever ranks highest on the Orioles board when it’s their turn to pick.

I don’t know how it will unfold but my plan with this here blog is to highlight about ten names I expect and/or want to be serious candidates to go off the board when the Orioles make their first selection. In the coming weeks, I will profile a player (or two) each week up to the June 6 draft. I plan to do my first draft prospect profile on my favorite position player in college baseball this year: Mississippi State outfielder, Hunter Renfroe.

Stay tuned for that noise. I’m out.