The Orioles continued their recent focus on loading up on pitching in the 2018 draft. It\u2019s no secret that they have struggled to develop starting pitching so in recent years they have have loaded up on pitching in the draft. This year they took an interesting mix of high upside high school arms and safer college pitchers. They did sprinkle in a few interesting bats as well.<\/p>\n
The Birds currently have the worst record in the majors and are likely looking forward to picking first overall next year. But before we put them on the clock, let\u2019s take a closer look at the players the Orioles<\/a> grabbed in this year’s draft.<\/p>\n 1.11 Grayson Rodriguez, RHP – Central Heights HS<\/strong><\/p>\n Rodriguez is a hard throwing right-hander who was a name with a lot of helium leading up to the draft. He was consistently projected to go in the 20\u2019s range in the weeks leading up to the draft, but as draft day approached his name was mentioned as one that could be called earlier than expected. He reportedly improved his conditioning and results followed. It will be important to see if he can stay in shape and maintain the improvements that he made late in the process. He needs to work on his secondaries and continue to develop, but he should rank high on the Orioles<\/a> updated prospects list based on potential alone.<\/p>\n A look at three pitches from #Orioles<\/a> first-round pick Grayson Rodriguez – a curveball, fastball, and slider. pic.twitter.com\/yPx2eBAcmG<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ben Palmer (@benjpalmer) June 5, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n