Question: I’m not criticizing the signings of these international players, but is there any reason we don’t focus every couple years on high-end pitching prospects?
We signed the 14th-ranked guy, which is sweet. Hypothetically, let’s say No. 4 is a pitcher. Use whatever it takes that year to get a top pitcher instead of scrounging every other team’s roster for leftovers. Mike Elias does the same thing in the draft, then we end up paying up to buy pitchers later. From: Tony McLean
Answer: Tony, let’s separate the international signing class from the amateur draft.
The Orioles did sign shortstop Jose Luis Acevedo, the 14th-ranked prospect, according to MLB.com.
Teenaged Latin American pitching prospects are hard to judge, and the Orioles actually signed the highest-ranked pitcher in the rankings, left-hander Andri Hidalgo, who was the No. 25 prospect.
Unlike the draft, teams don’t generally spend much money on 16- or 17-year-old pitchers. There were only three pitchers rated among the top 50.
You are correct that the Orioles have never drafted a pitcher in the first round under Elias, something that I’ve long been concerned about, too.
When he drafted players for the Houston Astros, he had bad experiences with two top pitchers drafted first overall, Mark Appel and Brady Aiken, and I think this affects his philosophy.
Question: I was wondering about Tyson Neighbors, a player we acquired from the Padres at last year’s deadline. Baseball America described him as strictly a reliever who could possibly move quickly. Any thoughts or info? From: 5Brooks5
Answer: Thank you for this question, Steve. Tyson Neighbors isn’t among the top 30 Oriole prospects listed by MLB Pipeline, but perhaps he should be. His statistics at Chesapeake were excellent. He allowed one run on seven hits in 15 1/3 innings with 19 strikeouts and five walks.
I don’t know if he’ll be among the non-roster invitees to major league spring training, but if he continues to put up the numbers he did in his time with the Baysox, you’ll be hearing more about him soon.
Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.