O's Sign Former All Star and Make More Picks

The outfield deprived Orioles have signed CF Nate McLouth to a minor league contract. This is a very low risk move for the Orioles who hope to catch lightning in a bottle with McLouth. If he can bounce back, the Orioles come up huge here. Baltimore definitely could use the outfield help with Markakis and Reimold out so it is hard to argue with the move. Now moving on to the draft...

In the 2nd round the Orioles selected UVA RHP Brandon Kline. Kline has some filthy stuff. As an ACC guy, I saw Kline a few times this year and am glad he came into the fold. He is a local kid as well. Kline attended Thomas Johnson HS in Frederick, Maryland. Gotta love the Orioles adding locals. I will now take this opportunity to brag about how my high school always pummeled Thomas Johnson in football.

In the 3rd round they picked prep SS Adrian Marin from Gulliver Prep HS in Miami. Marin is kind of small, but if he can fill out may end up being a solid pick for the Orioles.

With their 4th round pick, the Orioles finally went with a college bat. There they picked South Carolina 1B Christian Walker. Walker has helped them to a record 19 straight tourney wins. We need winners in this organization and Walker is a winner. He may be limited to 1st base, but he rakes.

The Orioles went with a southpaw in their 5th selection. There they picked Colin Poche from Marcus HS in Texas. There isn't much information available on Poche. Hopefully he works out.

Next, the Orioles selected Felix Rutledge another southpaw. Rutledge went to Samford University. He is a power lefty reliever. Can throw up to 98 mph. With the success we have with Strop and Johnson, wouldn't it be something to have another power arm in the pen.

After that, the Orioles selected another Gamecock in the 7th. This selection was Matthew Price who has starting experience. Bring in the winners.

With their 8th round pick, the Orioles selected Michigan State CF Torsten Boss. Boss has a lot of potential, but hasn't come close to meeting it yet.

9th round pick Brady Wagner is a RHP from Grand Canyon University. Not a lot of info on this guy.

Then in the 10th round, they selected SS Joel Hutter. He attends Dallas Baptist University. That team was just knocked out by Baylor. None of that was due to Hutter though. The good thing is that we can get him in quickly now. He hit .338 and 11 HR this season for a very good Dallas Baptist team. Good pick.

-Noland